After Lent

Well, it’s just about two weeks since we in the Western church left the Lenten season behind for Easter joy! This year was a little different for me as I chose to follow the Eastern church’s fasting guidelines. In the past I have “failed Lent” in this regard very early on-usually by the middle of the day on Ash Wednesday. But this year I really applied myself and as I wrote in earlier posts, even though the dietary guidelines are good and very helpful for curbing instant gratification, the true fast is the bridling of the tongue, and anger, cursing, evil talking and lusts… To that end, I sought for some guidance and came upon a precious gem called “The Ladder of Divine Ascent” which was written by St. John Climacus, a monk on Mount Sinai at the Monastery of St. Catherine, and one of the most famous of the Desert Fathers of Egypt. This gem contains 30 “steps” that Christians may follow to attain in virtue. The following quote is taken from a sermon given by the Russian Orthodox Metropolitan, Philaret, on the feast day of St. John Climacus. It is quoted here from the website “Inner Light Productions” which features readings from many of the Desert Fathers, and is where I came upon St. John’s “ladder”.                   (The link to this website is in the sidebar)

‘”In this work, we see how, by means of thirty steps, the Christian gradually ascends from below to the heights of supreme spiritual perfection. We see how one virtue leads to another, as a man rises higher and higher and finally attains to that height where there abides the crown of virtues, which is called ‘”Christian Love”‘ ‘

(Quoted from Inner Light Productions)

Although the writings of St. John of the ladder were primarily addressed to monks living in monasteries and hermitages, he does minimally address those living in the world. The steps are applicable to anyone attempting to live out the Christian faith not just in word but in deed-and they are formidable, but priceless! Here’s a quote from one of the Step 8: (again taken from Inner Light Productions)

Step 8: On Freedom From Anger and on Meekness

— The beginning of freedom from anger is silence of the lips when the heart is agitated; the middle is silence of the thoughts when there is a mere disturbance of soul; and the end is an imperturbable calm under the breath of unclean winds.

and

— As with the appearance of light, darkness retreats; so, at the fragrance of humility, all anger and bitterness vanishes.

Here’s a quote from step 11, “On Talkativness and Silence”:

– Talkativeness is the throne of vainglory, on which it loves to show itself and make a display. Talkativeness is a sign of ignorance, a door to slander, a guide to jesting, a servant of falsehood, the ruin of compunction, a creator and summoner of despondency, a precursor of sleep, the dissipation of recollection, the abolition of watchfulness, the cooling of ardour, the darkening of prayer.

Oh, the priceless gems of attaining virtue. There is in these writings the exhortation to even desire dishonor and injustice.

I can only say that I was convicted and compelled and sometimes frustrated by my lack of ability to be humble when situations came up that I could have exercised these virtues. I came upon this quote yesterday, (same website)from St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain:

[BEGIN WITH A LOWER DEGREE OF A VIRTUE AND THEN STEP UP]

For example, in the process of acquiring the inner virtue of patience, it is impossible at once to welcome injustice, injuries and all other forms of unpleasantness, to seek them and rejoice in them, although it is possible to endure them with patience when they come. For welcoming them and rejoicing in them are the highest degrees of patience, and before you reach them you should traverse the lower degrees, which are: humble self-depreciation, in which you consider yourself worthy of every insult, overcoming in yourself impulses of revenge, hatred of the least thought of revenge, and so on.

Yes, truly, we are to begin with a lower degree of virtue and then step up. He advises us to take a virtue and occupy ourselves with it, beginning at the first step and letting it take hold. For example, in the case of being free from anger, I would work on the first step of exercising “silence of the lips when the heart is agitated” instead of going for the end in “imperturbable calm in the midst of unclean winds”.

I think it would have been helpful for me to have come across the above admonition before undertaking the very highest degree of virtue, but I guess I needed to see the heights! But there were days in Lent that I never wanted Lent to end, because of the closeness to the Lord that I felt in my brokenness, and I truly saw how GOOD HE IS and how wretched I am-that I need His saving grace, and that His victory on the cross completely destroyed the grip of eternal death for me!

I pray that all of you who are in Easter right now would be daily reminded of Jesus’ final and total victory every day! For those of you in the East still in the midst of Great Lent, may your days be filled with the knowledge of his saving grace as you draw near to Him.

God Bless you!