March, 2026

Every Lent, the entire book, “The Ladder of Divine Ascent” by St. John of the Ladder, is read in monasteries. Often, at least parts are read in parishes or by the faithful. Any Orthodox Christian can gain some benefit from reading it, but care must be taken to adapt the lessons to one’s own situation, possibly avoiding a couple of chapters whose practices are not suited to our time and place.

This snippet directed to lay people, appears in the first step/chapter

“Some people living carelessly in the world have asked me: ‘We have wives and are beset with social cares, and how can we lead the solitary life?’ I replied to them: ‘Do all the good you can; do not speak evil of anyone; do not steal from anyone; do not lie to anyone; do not be arrogant towards anyone; do not hate any one; be sure you go to church; be compassionate to the needy; do not offend anyone; do not wreck another man’s domestic happiness; and be content with what your own wives can give you. If you behave in this way you will not be far from the Kingdom of Heaven.”

This may be a relief to anyone who encounters the book’s more severe directions. But what if one is neither a monk in a strict monastery, nor “A person living carelessly in the world”? Is there any middle ground? Yes! St. Ignatius Brianchaninov wrote a rule, "Written for a certain pious layman because of his desire to lead an attentive life in the world." For those who want to struggle a bit more to overcome their passions and grow closer to Christ, this rule and others provide the opportunity (see the other article in this newsletter for the rule).

Having determined your relationship to this weighty book, you can take the plunge. But wait, it’s a bit long, and we are already starting the 5th week of Lent! Maybe next year? Perhaps...but St. John of the ladder has given us a “reader’s digest” summary of the book near the end. Here it is:

Brief summary of all the previous steps to 26:

Firm faith is the mother of renunciation. The opposite of this is self-evident.
Unwavering hope is the door to detachment. The opposite of this is self-evident.
Love of God is the foundation of exile. The opposite is self-evident.
Obedience is born of self-condemnation and desire for health.
Temperance is the mother of health. The mother of temperance is the thought of death and firm remembrance of our Lord’s gall and vinegar.
The helper and foundation of chastity is solitude. The quenching of fleshly burning is fasting. The adversary of shameful thoughts is contrition of heart.
Faith and exile are the death of cupidity. But compassion and love betray the body.
Unflagging prayer is the ruin of despondency. Remembrance of the judgment is a means of fervour.
Love of indignity is a cure for anger. Hymnody, compassion and poverty are the suffocation of sorrow.
Detachment from things of the senses is contemplation of spiritual things.
Quietness and solitude are the foes of vainglory. And if you are amongst people, seek dishonour.
Visible pride is cured by grim conditions, but invisible pride can be healed only by Him who is eternally Invisible.
The deer is a destroyer of all visible snakes, but humility destroys spiritual ones.
By means of what is natural we can be trained to a clear conception of the spiritual.
As a snake cannot strip itself of its old skin unless it crawls into a tight hole, neither can we shed our old prejudices, our oldness of soul and the garment of the old man unless we go by the strait and narrow way of fasting and dishonour.
It is just as impossible for the person who nourishes and panders to his flesh to fly to heaven as it is for an overfed bird.
Dried up mire offers no attraction for swine, and in exhausted flesh demons no longer find anywhere to rest.
As too many sticks often choke a fire and put it out, while making a lot of smoke, so excessive sorrow often makes the soul smoky and dark, and dries the stream of tears.
As a blind man is no use as an archer, so a contradictory pupil is a lost one.
As tempered iron can sharpen untempered, so a fervent brother has often saved an indolent one.
As eggs that are warmed in dung hatch out, so (bad) thoughts that are not confessed hatch out and proceed to action.
As galloping horses race one another, so a good community excites mutual fervour.
Just as clouds hide the sun, so evil thoughts darken and ruin the mind.
As the man under sentence who is going to execution will not talk about theatres, so he who truly weeps for himself will never gratify his stomach.
When poor men see the royal treasury they are still more conscious of their poverty, and so too when the soul reads about the great virtues of the Fathers it at least comes to a more humble frame of mind.
As steel is attracted to the magnet even without meaning to be, for it is drawn by an inexplicable force of nature, so he who has contracted sinful habits is tyrannized by them.
As oil tames the sea, even though it is reluctant to do this, so fasting quenches the involuntary burnings of the body.
As a dammed stream of water rushes upwards, so often the soul that is pressed by dangers ascends to God and is saved through penitence.
As he who carries perfumes with him makes his presence felt by the fragrance whether he wants to or not, so he who has the Spirit of the Lord is known by his words and his humility.
As the sun makes gold glitter, so virtue singles out the man who possesses it.
As winds stir the deep, so temper disturbs the mind more than anything else.
As mere hearsay does not provoke violent desire to taste what the eye has not seen, so those who are chaste in body get great relief through their ignorance.
Just as thieves will not attack a place where they see royal weapons lying, so he who has knit his heart to prayer will not lightly be raided by spiritual thieves.
As fire does not give birth to snow, so those who seek honour here will not enjoy it there (in heaven).
As one spark has frequently set fire to much wood, so it has been found that one good deed can wipe out a multitude of great sins.
As it is impossible to destroy a wild beast without a weapon, so without humility it is impossible to obtain freedom from anger.
As by nature we cannot live without food, so up to the very moment of our death we cannot, even for a second, give way to negligence.
As a ray of sun, passing through a crack, lights everything in the house and shows up even the finest dust, so the fear of the Lord, entering a man’s heart, reveals to him all his sins.
Crabs are easily caught because they walk sometimes forwards, sometimes backwards. So the soul that now laughs, now mourns, now lives in luxury, can make no progress.
The drowsy are easily robbed, and so are those who seek virtue near the world.
A man who is fighting a lion is lost the moment he takes his eye off it, and so is the man who, while fighting his flesh, gives it any respite.
As he who climbs up a rotten ladder runs a risk, so all honour, glory and authority oppose humility and bring down him who has them.
As it is impossible for a starving man not to think of bread, so it is impossible for a man eager to be saved not to think of death and judgment.
As writing is washed out by water, so sins can be washed out by tears.
As some, for lack of water, blot out writing by other means, so there are souls who have no tears, but pound out and scour away their sins by sorrow, sighing and great heaviness of heart.
As a mass of dung breeds a mass of worms, so a surfeit of food breeds a surfeit of falls, and evil thoughts, and dreams.
As a blind man cannot see to walk, so a lazy man can neither see good nor do it.
As he whose legs are tied cannot walk freely, so those who hoard money cannot ascend to heaven.
As a fresh wound is easily cured, so the opposite is true of those suffering from chronic wounds of the soul; if they are healed, they are healed with difficulty.
As a dead man cannot walk, so a despairing man cannot be saved.
He who says he has true faith yet continues to sin is like a man who has no eyes in his face. But he who has no faith, even though he may do some good, is like a man who draws water and pours it into a barrel with holes in it.
As a ship which has a good helmsman comes safely into harbour with God’s help, so the soul which has a good shepherd, even though it has done much evil, easily ascends to heaven.
Without a guide it is easy to wander from the road, however prudent you may be, and so he who walks the monastic way under his own direction soon perishes, even though he may have all the wisdom of the world.
If anyone is weak in body and has had some grave falls, he should take the road of humility and the qualities that belong to her, for he will find no other way to salvation.
As one who has suffered a prolonged illness can scarcely obtain health in an instant, so it is impossible suddenly to overcome the passions, or even one passion.
Keep track of the extent of every passion and of every virtue, and you will know what progress you are making.
As those who exchange gold for clay are the losers, so are those who discuss and divulge the spiritual for material gain.
Many have soon obtained forgiveness, but no one has obtained dispassion quickly; this needs considerable time, and love, and longing, and God.
Let us find out which particular beasts and birds try to harm us at the time of sowing, and at the time when the seed shoots, and at the time of harvest, so as to set our traps accordingly.
Just as a man with fever has no right to commit suicide, so till our very last breath we must never give up hope.
As it is irreverent for a man who has just buried his father to go from the funeral straight on to his wedding, so for those who are mourning over their falls it is not proper to seek from men in this present life either honour, or rest, or glory.
As citizens have one kind of dwelling and convicts another, so the needs of those who are mourning ought to be quite different from those of the innocent.
Just as a king orders a soldier who has received serious wounds in battle in his presence not to be dismissed from his service but rather to be promoted, so the Heavenly King crowns the monk who endures many perils from demons.
Spiritual perception is a property of the soul itself, but sin is a buffeting of perception. Conscious perception produces either the cessation or lessening of evil; and it is the offspring of conscience. And conscience is the word and conviction of our guardian angel given to us from the time of baptism. That is why we find that the unbaptized do not feel such keen pangs of remorse in their soul for their bad deeds.
The lessening of evil breeds abstinence from evil; and abstinence from evil is the beginning of repentance; and the beginning of repentance is the beginning of salvation; and the beginning of salvation is a good intention; and a good intention is the mother of labours. And the beginning of labours is the virtues; the beginning of the virtues is a flowering, and the flowering of virtue is the beginning of activity. And the offspring of virtue is perseverance; and the fruit and offspring of persevering practice is habit, and the child of habit is character. Good character is the mother of fear; and fear gives birth to the keeping of commandments in which I include both heavenly and earthly. The keeping of the commandments is a sign of love; and the beginning of love is an abundance of humility; and an abundance of humility is the daughter of dispassion; and the acquisition of the latter is the fullness of love, that is to say the perfect indwelling of God in those who through dispassion are pure in heart. For they shall see God. And to Him the glory for all eternity. Amen.

OK - that is still some heavy stuff! But perhaps some little phrase in there has encouraged you, or pricked your conscience, or made you sigh. That’s OK. If all we get from the book is to be humbled by our comparatively low estate, then that too is profitable for us. We commemorate St. John of the Ladder this Sunday, and we can ask for his help.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Written for a certain pious layman because of his desire to lead an attentive life in the world.

The heart of all exercises in the Lord is attention. Without attention all these exercises are sterile, dead. He who wants to be saved must so dispose himself that he can preserve attention to himself, not only in seclusion but also amidst distractions into which he is often drawn by circumstances against his will. Let the fear of God outweigh all other feelings on the scales of the heart; then it will be easy to preserve attention to oneself, both in the silence of a cell and amid noise surrounding one on all sides.

Wise moderation in food, lessening the heat of the blood; is of great benefit in preserving heedfulness; but heating of the blood-whether from unnecessary consumption of food, from excessive bodily activity, from the flaming of anger or vainglory,. or from other causes-gives birth to a multitude of thoughts and fantasies, in other words, distraction, The Holy Fathers prescribe for the person who wishes to be attentive to himself first of all constant moderation in food (Philokalia, St. Philotheus of Sinai).

On awakening from sleep-an image of the awakening from the dead which awaits all men- direct your thoughts to God, offering as a sacrifice to God the first fruits of the thoughts of your mind before it accepts any vain impressions. In silence, having done all that is necessary for the body upon rising, carefully read the usual rule of prayer, concerning yourself not so much with the quantity of prayer as with the quality of it, i.e., that it be done with attention in order that the heart might come to life through prayerful compunction.

After the rule of prayer, again being mindful to preserve attentiveness, read the New Testament, concentrating on the Gospels. During this reading, diligently note all the promises and commandments of Christ, so as to direct your own activity-in thought, word and deed-according to them.. The amount of reading should be determined by the person's strength and circumstances. One ought not to burden the mind with extra reading of prayers and Scripture.. .[which may lead to] frustration with pious exercises and despair. For the beginner the Holy Fathers recommend frequent prayers. but not lengthy ones. And when the mind attains spiritual growth, is strengthened and comes to adulthood, then it will be in a condition to pray without ceasing. To Christians who have attained perfect growth in the Lord the words of the Apostle Paul are applicable:

I will, therefore, that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.(I Tim. 2:8)

Enlightened by the Sun of Righteousness, our Lord Jesus Christ, by means of prayer and reading, let every man go about his daily work, preserving attention so that in all his deeds and words, in his whole being. there reigns and acts the all-holy will of God, revealed and explained to men in the Gospel commandments.

If free moments arise during the day, use them for reading with attention certain appointed prayers or passages of Scripture; use these to strengthen your spiritual powers, exhausted by activity amid the vain world if it happens that you say or do something contrary to the commandments of God, immediately treat the sin with repentance, and by means of sincere repentance return to God's path, from which you wandered by violating God's will. Do not stagnate outside God's path. Oppose the sinful thoughts, fantasies and feelings which occur with the faith and humility of the commandments of the Gospel, saying with the Holy Patriarch Joseph: How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? (Gen. 39:9). He who is attentive to himself must deny himself all day-dreaming, no matter how seductive and alluring; all day-dreaming is wandering of the mind outside truth in a land of visions which do not exist and cannot come into existence, which captivate the mind and deceive it. The results of daydreaming are loss of attention to oneself, mental distraction and hardness of heart during prayer; hence-spiritual sickness.

In the evening on going to sleep (an image of death for the life of that day); examine your actions during the day that has passed. Such an examination is not difficult for one who leads an attentive life, because attention destroys that forgetfulness which is so characteristic of a distracted person. And thus, recalling all your sins in deed, word, thought and feeling, offer repentance over them to God with the disposition and heartfelt promise of correction. Then, having read the rule of prayer, end with divine contemplation a day begun with divine contemplation.

(Reprinted from Orthodox Life, Nov -Dec., 1970)

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The Ladder of Divine Ascent - The Greatest Hits

Brief summary of all the previous steps to 26:

A Rule of Attention to Oneself

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