Our journey with Saint John Climacus has not been an easy one; in fact, we get a taste of walking upon that narrow path that leads to the kingdom simply through reading about his vision of the spiritual life and his experience. It reflects the reality and the challenges of the spiritual life, and in particular a life of penance and repentance. To give ourselves over to God, to seek his love above all things, to desire him more than we desire our own lives is the path that St. John is putting before us.
However, there is something within us that resists walking this path. Quite simply it is our ego - the self. Even in our pursuit of God, we can make ourselves every bit as willful in our spiritual discipline as we are in our relationships with others, and in our day-to-day work. Through his description of compunction (sorrow over one’s sins eventually leading to the experience of Godly Joy) St John is seeking to free us from the grip self-centeredness and its delusions.
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Text of chat during the group:
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XIII
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis X, Part III and Hypothesis XI, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XII
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XI
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis X, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part X
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis IX, Part II and Hypothesis X, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part IX
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis VIII, Part II and Hypothesis IX, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XIII
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis VIII, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XII
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis VI, Part II and Hypothesis VII
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XI
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis IV, Part III
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part X
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis IV, Part II and Hypothesis V
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part IX
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis III, Part IV and Hypothesis IV, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part VIII
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