Quotes from St. John Climacus

St. John (Climacus) of the Ladder

“A servant of the Lord is he who in body stands before men, but in mind knocks at Heaven with prayer.”

“Do not say that you are collecting money for the poor; with two mites the Kingdom was purchased.”

“An angel fell from Heaven without any other passion except pride, and so we may ask whether it is possible to ascend to Heaven by humility alone, without any other of the virtues.”

“The Christian is one who imitates Christ in thought, word and deed, as far as is possible for human beings, believing rightly and blamelessly in the Holy Trinity.”

“In all your undertakings and in every way of life, whether you are living in obedience, or are not submitting your work to anyone, whether in outward or in spiritual matters, let it be your rule and practice to ask yourself: Am I really doing this in accordance with God’s will?”

Excepts taken from the book: The Ladder of Divine Ascent, By: St. John Climacus.

Marriage Transforms- By: Fr. Alexander Elchaninov

Fr. Alexander Elchaninov (1881-1934)

Marriage is a revelation and mystery. We see in it the complete transformation of a human being, the expansion of his personality, fresh vision, a new perception of life, and through it a rebirth into the world in a new plenitude.

Our modern individualism creates special difficulties in married life. To overcome them, a conscious effort on both sides is necessary, in order to build up the marriage and make it a “walking in the presence of God.” (The Church alone provides a full and genuine solution for all problems.) And there is something further, something which may appear to be simplest thing of all, but which is nevertheless the most difficult to achieve-a firm intention to allow each partner to preserve his or her proper place in the marriage-for the wife humbly to assume the second place, for the husband to take up the burden and the responsibility of being the head. If this firm intention and desire are present, God will always help us to follow this difficult path, the path of martyrdom- the chant of the “Holy martyrs” is sung in the course of the bridal procession-but also a way of life that yields the most intense joy.

Marriage, fleshly love, is a very great sacrament and mystery. Through it is accomplished the most real and at the same time the most mysterious of all possible forms of human relationship. And, qualitatively, marriage enables us to pass beyond all normal rules of human relationship and to enter a region of the miraculous, the superhuman.

In fleshly love, beside its intrinsic value as such, God has granted the world a share in His omnipotence: man creates man, a new soul is brought into being.

Excerpt taken from the book: “The Diary of a Russian Priest” by- Fr. Alexander Elchaninov

On Frequent Communion- By: St. John Cassian

St. John Cassian

St. John Cassian writes against the idea of “since one cannot partake of Holy Communion often worthily, it is better to abstain from them.” St. John Cassian says:

We must not avoid communion because we deem ourselves to be sinful. We must approach it more often for the healing of the soul and the purification of the spirit, but with such humility and faith that considering ourselves unworthy, we would desire even more the medicine for our wounds. Otherwise it is impossible to receive communion once a year, as certain people do, considering the sanctification of heavenly Mysteries as available only to saints. It is better to think that by giving us grace, the sacrament makes us pure and holy. Such people manifest more pride than humility, for when they receive, they think themselves as worthy. It is much better if, in humility of heart, knowing that we are never worthy of the Holy Mysteries we would receive them every Sunday for the healing of our diseases, rather than, blinded by pride, think that after one year we become worthy of receiving them.

Excerpt taken from the book: Great Lent, By Fr. Alexander Schmemann

The Heavenly Powers Look Upon Us- By: St. John of Kronstadt

When you’re praying alone, and your spirit is dejected, and you’re wearied and oppressed by your loneliness, remember then, as always, that God the Trinity looks upon you with eyes brighter than the sun; also all the angels, your own Guardian Angel, and all the saints of God. Truly they do; for they are all one in God, and where God is, there are they also. Where the sun is, thither also are directed all its rays. Try to understand what this means. Always pray with a fervent heart; and to attain to this, never eat and drink excessively. Remember with Whom you are conversing. Men very often forget with Whom they are conversing during prayer, Who are the witnesses of their prayer. They forget that they are conversing with the Vigilant and the All-seeing God; that all the Heavenly Powers and the saints of Go are listening to their converse.

Excerpt taken from the book: My Life in Christ, By: St. John of Kronstadt.

Remain in Constant Striving

In vain do you rejoice in not eating, O soul!
For you abstain from food,
But your passions are not purified.
If you have no desire for improvement,
You will be despised as a lie in the eyes of God,
You will be likened to evil demons who never eat!
If you persevere in sin, you will perform a useless fast;
Therefore, remain in constant striving so as to stand before the Crucified Savior, or rather,
To be crucified with the One who was crucified for your sake!

Hymn from Cheese-Fare Wesnesday

The Sin of all Sins- By: Fr. Alexander Schmemann

We may from time to time acknowledge and confess our various “sins,” yet we cease to refer our life to that new life which Christ revealed and gave to us. Indeed, we live as if He never came. This is the only real sin, the sin of all sins, the bottomless sadness and tragedy of our nominal Christianity.

Excerpt taken from the book- Great Lent: By- Fr. Alexander Schmemann

An Introduction to Great Lent- By: Fr. Alexander Schmemann

Solitude- By: Tatiana Yushmanova

When a man leaves on a journey, he must know where he is going. Thus with Lent. Above all, Lent is a spiritual journey and its destination is Easter, “the Feast of Feasts.” It is the preparation for the “fulfillment of Pascha, the true Revelation.” We must begin, therefore, by trying to understand this connection between Lent and Easter, for it reveals something very essential, very crucial about our Christian faith and life.

Is it necessary to explain that Easter is much more than one of the feasts, more than a yearly commemoration of a past event? Anyone who has, be it only once, taken part in that night which is “brighter than the day,” who has tasted of that unique joy, knows it. On Easter we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection as something that happened and still happens to us. For each one of us received the gift of that new life and the power to accept it and live by it. It is a gift which radically alters our attitude toward everything in this world, including death. It makes it possible for us to joyfully affirm: “Death is no more!” Oh, death is still there, to be sure, and we still face it and someday it will come and take us. But it is our whole faith that by His own death Christ changed the very nature of death, made it a passage — a “passover,” a “Pascha” — into the Kingdom of God, transforming the tragedy of tragedies into the ultimate victory.

Such is that faith of the Church, affirmed and made evident by her countless Saints. Is it not our daily experience, however, that this faith is very seldom ours, that all the time we lose and betray the “new life” which we received as a gift, and that in fact we live as if Christ did not rise from the dead, as if that unique event had no meaning whatsoever for us?  We simply forget all this — so busy are we, so immersed in our daily preoccupations — and because we forget, we fail. And through this forgetfulness, failure, and sin, our life becomes “old” again — petty, dark, and ultimately meaningless — a meaningless journey toward a meaningless end.  We may from time to time acknowledge and confess our various “sins,” yet we cease to refer our life to that new life which Christ revealed and gave to us. Indeed, we live as if He never came. This is the only real sin, the sin of all sins, the bottomless sadness and tragedy of our nominal Christianity.