With stunning clarity, St. John Climacus begins to show us the subtlety of vainglory; how easily it draws us to focus upon the self in one fashion or another. It suggests thoughts that elevate us in our own eyes and diminishes others in our judgment.
Through vainglory we begin the movement of placing ourselves in the position of God; placing the self at the center of the spiritual life. The battle becomes ever so fierce and dangerous because at this point the focus of the demons’ attention is on our virtues. The demons make them the object of our attention. In doing so they turn us away from God who is the beginning and end of all things.
And with the self firmly planted at the center, we are easily driven to rage and wrath towards anyone who gets in our way. In the end, St John will show us how this gives birth to pride and how it draws us into the very darkness of hell itself.
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Text of chat during the group:
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLI, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part X
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XL, Part VII and Hypothesis XLI, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part IX
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part VIII
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XL, Part VI
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part VII
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XL, Part V
”The Prayer of Fire” - A Pentecost Retreat, Session Three
”The Prayer of Fire” - A Pentecost Retreat, Session Two
”The Prayer of Fire” - A Pentecost Retreat, Session One
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part VI
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part V
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XL, Part IV
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part IV
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XL, Part III
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part III
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XL, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XIV: On Gluttony, Part IV, and Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part I
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