"Freedom from anger is an endless wish for dishonor, whereas among the vainglorious there is a limitless thirst for praise. Freedom from anger is a triumph over one’s nature. It is the ability to be impervious to insults, and comes by hard work and the sweat of one’s brow." Source: St. John Climacus, The [...]
"Meditation gives birth to perseverance, and perseverance ends in perception, and what is accomplished with perception cannot be easily rooted out." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"Drive far away that hound of hell which comes at the time of your deepest mourning and whispers that God is neither merciful nor compassionate. You will find, if you take the trouble, that before you sinned he was assuring you that God is loving, compassionate, and forgiving." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder [...]
"We ought to be on our guard, in case our conscience has stopped troubling us, not so much because of its being clear but because of its being immersed in sin. A proof of our having been delivered from our failings is the unceasing acknowledgement of our indebtedness. Nothing equals the mercy of God or [...]
"He who strives for dispassion and for God considers lost any day on which he was not criticized." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"In the world, slander has caused many a breakup, but in monastic communities it is gluttony that brings about all the falls and transgressions. Keep mistress gluttony under control and every abode will then give you dispassion, but let her take hold of you and every place outside the grave will be a menace to [...]
"We should practice complete silence and ignorance in the presence of the superior, for a silent man is a son of wisdom and is always gaining great knowledge." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"Very often demons manage to persuade us either to omit confession, or else to confess as though the sins were committed by someone else or else to blame others as responsible for our own sins." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"Habit forms things and follows them. And it is particularly true that virtue depends on habit, and here God is the great collaborator." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"Confession is like a bridle that keeps the soul which reflects on it from committing sin, but anything left unconfessed we continue to do without fear as if in the dark." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent