56+ John Climacus Quotes On Faith, Perseverance And Ladder

John Climacus was a Syrian monk who lived in the 6th century. He is best known for writing The Ladder of Divine Ascent, a spiritual guide for monks. He is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and his feast day is celebrated on March 30. Following is our collection on famous quotes by John Climacus on love, faith, perseverance.

Top 10 John Climacus Quotes

1. Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honour your patience.
2. Humility is the only virtue that no devil can imitate. If pride made demons out of angels, there is no doubt that humility could make angels out of demons.
3. 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.
4. Humility is constant forgetfulness of one's achievements.
5. Repentance lifts a man up. Mourning knocks at heaven's gate. Holy humility opens it.
6. When a man has found the Lord, he no longer has to use words when he is praying, for the Spirit Himself will intercede for him with groans that cannot be uttered.
7. Obedience is the burial of the will and the resurrection of humility.
8. 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.
9. The lover of silence draws close to God. He talks to Him in secret and God enlightens him.
10. A servant of the Lord stands bodily before men, but mentally he is knocking at the gates of heaven with prayer.

John Climacus Short Quotes

• Just as the winds whip up the sea, so does anger stir confusion in the mind.
• Often the Lord heals vainglory by dishonor.
• Simplicity is an enduring habit within a soul that has grown impervious to evil thoughts.
• Faith furnishes prayer with wings, without which it cannot soar to Heaven.
• The friend of silence comes close to God.
• The friend of silence comes close to God. In secret he converses with him and receives his light.
• Humility is the only thing that no devil can imitate.
• The man who pets a lion may tame it, but the man who coddles the body makes it ravenous.
• As long as anger lives, it continues to be the fruitful parent of many unhappy children.
• A proud monk needs no demon. He has turned into one, an enemy to himself.

John Climacus Quotes About Love

It is not the self -critical who reveals his humility ( for does not everyone have some how to put up with himself? ). Rather, it is the man who continues to love the person who has criticized him. — John Climacus

He does not show humility who accuses himself (for who will not accept rebukes from himself?), but he who, being rebuked by another, does not decrease his love toward him. — John Climacus

When you hear that your neighbor or friend has reproached you in your absence or presence, then show love and praise him. — John Climacus

I know a man who, when he saw a woman of striking beauty, praised the Creator for her. The sight of her lit within him the love of God. — John Climacus

It can happen that when we are at prayer some brothers come to see us. Then we have to choose either to interrupt our prayer or to sadden our brother by refusing to answer him. But love is greater than prayer. Prayer is one virtue among others, whereas love contains them all. — John Climacus

John Climacus Famous Quotes And Sayings

Forgetting offences is a sign of sincere repentance. If you keep the memory of them, you may believe you have repented but you are like someone running in his sleep. Let no one consider it a minor defect, this darkness that often clouds the eyes even of spiritual people. — John Climacus

Everyone who asks something of God and does not receive it doubtless does not receive it for one of these reasons: either because they ask before the time, or they ask unworthily, or out of vainglory, or because if they received what they asked they would become proud or fall into negligence. — John Climacus

The offspring of virtue is perseverance. The fruit and offspring of perseverance is habit and child of habit is character. — John Climacus

Whoever has become a servant of the Lord fears only his Master. But whoever is without the fear of God is often afraid of his own shadow. Fearfulness is the daughter of unbelief. A proud soul is the slave of fear; hoping in itself, in comes to such a state that it is startled by a small noise, and is afraid of the dark. — John Climacus

Fight to escape from your own cleverness. If you do, then you will find salvation and uprightness through Jesus Christ our Lord. — John Climacus

The first stage of this tranquility consists in silencing the lips when the heart is excited. The second, in silencing the mind when the soul is still excited. The goal is a perfect peacefulness even in the middle of the raging storm. — John Climacus

Ascend, my brothers, ascend eagerly. Let your hearts' resolve be to climb. Listen to the voice of the one who says: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of our God' (Isa. 2:3), Who makes our feet to be like the feet of the deer, 'Who sets us on the high places, that we may be triumphant on His road' (Hab. 3:19). — John Climacus

Someone who is elated with wine speaks the truth on all subjects, even without meaning to. In the same way, anyone who is inebriated with the spirit of penitence will never be able to tell lies. — John Climacus

When people begin to praise us, let us hurry to remember the multitude of ours transgressions, and we will see that we are truly unworthy of that which they say and do in our honor. — John Climacus

It happens, I do not know how, that most of the proud never really discover their true selves. They think they have conquered their passions and they find out how poor they really are only after they die. — John Climacus

We know the utility of prayer from the efforts of the wicked spirits to distract us during the divine office; and we experience the fruit of prayer in the defeat of our enemies. — John Climacus

When the soul betrays itself and loses the blessed and longed-for fervor, let it carefully investigate the reason for losing it. And let it arm itself with all its longing and zeal against whatever caused this. For the former fervor can return only through the same door through which it was lost. — John Climacus

Do not stop praying as long as, by God's grace, the fire and the water have not been exhausted, for it may happen that never again in your whole life will you have such a chance to ask for the forgiveness for your sins. — John Climacus

A discerning man, when he eats grapes, takes only the ripe ones and leaves the sour. Thus also the discerning mind carefully marks the virtues which he sees in any person. A mindless man seeks out the vices and failings ... Even if you see someone sin with your own eyes, do not judge; for often even your eyes are deceived. — John Climacus

Fire and water do not mix, neither can you mix judgment of others with the desire to repent. If a man commits a sin before you at the very moment of his death, pass no judgment, because the judgment of God is hidden from men. It has happened that men have sinned greatly in the open but have done greater deeds in secret, so that those who would disparage them have been fooled, with smoke instead of sunlight in their eyes. — John Climacus

Even though one is well advanced in virtue, should he stop mortifying himself, he soon would lose his modesty and virtue - just as fertile soul quickly becomes dry and arid and produces nothing but thorns and thistles if it is not cultivated. — John Climacus

Remembrance of Jesus' passion will heal your soul of resentment, by making it ashamed of itself when it remembers the patience of the Lord. Some people have wearied themselves and suffered for a long time in order to extract forgiveness. By far the best course, however, is to forget the offences, since the Lord says: "Forgive at once and you will be forgiven in generous measure." (cf. Luke 6:37-38) — John Climacus

As fire does not give birth to snow, so those who seek honor here will not enjoy it in heaven... As those who climb a rotten ladder are in danger, so all honor, glory, and power are opposed to humility. — John Climacus

Our inhuman enemy inspires the thought that God loves mankind, and that He quickly forgives this sin. But when we observe the guile of demons, then we see that after the commission of the sin, they suggest to us that God is a righteous and implacable Judge. The first they say in order to lead us to sin, the second, in order to weigh us down in despair. — John Climacus

Those who submit to the Lord with simple heart will run the good race. If they keep their minds on a leash, they will not draw the wickedness of the demons onto themselves. — John Climacus

I would not consider my spirituality worthwhile that wants to walk in sweetness and ease and run from the imitation of Christ. — John Climacus

Become aware of God, in whose presence you are while you pray . . . Then take a formula of prayer and recite it with perfect attention both to the words you are saying and to the Person to whom you are saying them. — John Climacus

God belongs to all free beings. He is the life of all, the salvation of all ~faithful and unfaithful, just and unjust, pious and impious, passionate and dispassionate, monks and laymen, wise and simple, healthy and sick, young and old just as the effusion of light, the sight of the sun, and the changes of the seasons are for all alike; 'for there is no respect of persons with God.' — John Climacus

Meekness is an unchanging state of mind, which both in honor and dishonor remains the same. Meekness consists in praying sincerely and undisturbedly in the face of afflictions from one's neighbor. Meekness is a cliff rising from the sea of irritability, against which all the that waves that strive against it break, but which is itself never broken. — John Climacus

When you are depressed, bear in mind the Lord's command to Peter to forgive a sinner seventy times seven (cf. Mt. 18:22). And you may be sure that He Who gave this command to another will Himself do very much more. — John Climacus

Do not regard the feelings of a person who speaks to you about his neighbor disparagingly, but rather say to him: "Stop, brother! I fall into graver sins every day, so how can I criticize him? In this way you will achieve two things; you will heal yourself and your neighbor with one plaster. This is one of the shortest ways to the forgiveness of sins; I mean, not to judge. `Judge not, and ye shall not be judged." — John Climacus

Do not make judgments, and you will travel no quicker road to the forgiveness of your sins. 'Judge not, so that you may not be judged' (Lk. 6:37). — John Climacus

You wish, or rather, have decided, to remove a splinter from someone? Very well, but do not go after it with a stick instead of a lancet for you will only drive it deeper. Rough speech and harsh gestures are the stick, while even-tempered instruction and patient reprimand are the lancet. 'Reprove, rebuke, exhort,' says the Apostle (II Tim. 4:2), not 'batter'. — John Climacus

The slave of the belly ponders the menu with which to celebrate the feast. The servant of God, however, thinks of the graces that may enrich him. — John Climacus

Pride is the utter poverty of soul disguised as riches, imaginary light where in fact there is darkness. — John Climacus

Do not be surprised if you fall every day and do not surrender. Stand your ground bravely and you may be sure that your guardian angel will respect your endurance. A fresh, warm wound is easier to heal than those that are old, neglected, and festering, and that need extensive treatment, surgery, bandaging and cauterization. Long neglect can render many of them incurable. However, all things are possible with God — John Climacus

Life Lessons by John Climacus

1. John Climacus teaches us to be humble and to strive for spiritual growth through prayer, fasting, and self-discipline.
2. He also reminds us that the path to holiness requires patience and perseverance, and that we should never give up in our pursuit of a closer relationship with God.
3. Finally, John Climacus encourages us to be mindful of our actions and to live with an awareness of our mortality, so that we may live our lives to the fullest in service of God.