LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT STEP 20

Step 20  Staying Alert

On bodily vigil and how to use it to attain spiritual vigil and how to practise it.

As we labor to ascend to God (understanding that prayer is both the way of and the end of the ascent) we must prepare ourselves for the test of prayer.  The first battle is getting to the place and time of prayer.  This is what St. John talked about in Step 19: overcoming sleep, getting out of bed (or staying out of bed) and actually forcing ourselves to attend to the time of prayer.  In Step 20 he talks about the next part of our struggle in prayer - alertness.

Pray To Stay Alert = We keep alert in prayer, and on guard against the deception of sin. "Alert" means to be ready, watching so that a calamitous tragedy doesn't overtake us.

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints  Ephesians 6:18

To keep alert in prayer, we must have an attitude of thanksgiving. Any other attitude won't result in alertness against sin.

Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude (thanksgiving)  Colossians  4:2

Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping   1 Peter 5:8

We are admonished to be alert because our enemy is at the door, stalking us as we make our way through life.

But stay awake (alert) at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man  Luke 21:36

Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. Mark 13:33

Alertness is exercising my physical and spiritual senses to recognize the dangers that could diminish the resources entrusted to me.                           

“So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled”               I Thessalonians 5:6

Some stand before earthly kings without weapons and without armour, others hold staffs of office,  and some have shields, and some swords. The former are vastly superior to the latter, for they are usually personal relations of the king and members of the royal household. So it is with earthly kings.

Now let us see how we stand before God our King, when we stand at our prayers in the evening, or during the day and night. For some at their evening all-night vigil lift up their hands in prayer as if they were incorporeal and stripped of all care. Others stand at that time singing psalms. Others are more occupied in reading. And some out of weakness courageously resist sleep by working with their hands. Others try to feel the horror of the thought of death, hoping thus to obtain contrition. And of all these, the first and last are in all-night vigil for the love of God; the second do what befits a monk; while the third go the lowest way. Yet God accepts and values the offerings of each according to their intention and power.

The question then, is what is the intention and power of our prayer?

The "praying always" that Jesus commands in Luke 21:36 affects every part of our Christian lives. It is the tool that God gives us to be in constant contact with Him so that we can truly bring every thought into captivity, under the control of God 2 Corinthians 10:5.  We are encouraged to make bold use of this tool for our every need Hebrews 4:16.  We need to explore some of the important implications that striving to pray always—praying at all times—has on this life to which God has called us.

In Luke 21:36, Christ also commands us to "watch." The underlying Greek word stresses the need to be alert or on guard. This fits with a major requirement of Christian life, that we are to be alert to those things about ourselves that will disqualify us from entering God's Kingdom….

A vigilant eye makes the mind pure; but much sleep binds the soul.

A vigilant monk is a foe to fornication but a sleepy one mates with it.

Vigilance, vigilant - the action or state of keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties. It is being alertly watchful.

Vigil is a quenching of lust, deliverance from dream phantoms, a tearful eye, a softened heart, the guarding of thoughts, the dissolving of food, the subduing of passions, the taming of spirits, the bridling of the tongue, the banishment of phantasies.

Vigil - a period of keeping awake during the time usually spent asleep, esp. to keep watch or pray. Note: (in the Christian Church) the eve of a festival or holy day as an occasion of religious observance, surveilence.

A monk who denies himself sleep is a fisher of thoughts, and in the stillness of the night he can easily observe and catch them.  

Alertness begins when we approach the time of prayer. “The bell rings for prayer.  The monk who loves God says, `Bravo! Bravo!’  The lazy monk says, `Alas.  Alas.’ (or “What a nuisance!”).  Mealtime reveals the gluttonous, prayer time the lovers of God.  The former dance and the latter frown when the table is made ready.”  

We should not be surprised if we “don’t feel like praying.”  This is part of our fallenness, our own sinful condition,  the disorientation of our internal selves.  There are many times when the desire for prayer is almost nonexistent.  We must rouse ourselves to prayer.  

Alertness is doing battle with our laziness and our lack of interest in prayer.  Alertness is motivating ourselves to attend to the things of God rather than the things of this world.  There is great wisdom in the fact that the Church teaches us to begin our prayer with the following verse from the Psalms:

Come, let us worship and fall down before God our King….. Psalm 95:6

Alertness is self-talk; it is self-motivation.  It is the triumph of the spirit over the body, of the will for God over the will for self.

Long sleep produces forgetfulness, but vigil purifies the memory.

The farmer’s wealth is gathered on the threshing floor and in the wine-press, but the wealth and knowledge of monks is gathered during the evenings and the night hours while standing at prayer and engaged in spiritual activity.

Long sleep is an unjust comrade; it robs the lazy of half their life, and even more.

Alertness continues as we pray.  “The inexperienced monk is wide awake when talking to his friends but half asleep at prayer.”  We learn from this that the labor of prayer is a labor with the thoughts.  We are far too “lazy” and “undisciplined” when it comes to our minds.  Instead of directing our thoughts and controlling them we allow them to run free, here and there, wherever they wish to go.  So, during prayer, we find ourselves often thinking about all kinds of other things.  How many times have we come to the end of a prayer only to realize that we have no idea what we just said?  How many times in the middle of liturgy do we catch ourselves reviewing yesterday’s events and planning for the rest of the day?  

Alertness is the struggle to control our minds and center them on the one thing that is needful.  It is the attempt to center our mind in our hearts, to eliminate not simply the bad thoughts but even the good thoughts which distract us from the pursuit of God.

The lazy monk is famous and skilled at talking; but when reading is about to begin, he cannot keep his eyes open. At the sound of the trumpet the dead will rise, and when idle talk is afoot those who were asleep come to themselves.

Pay close attention here….

The tyrant sleep is a crafty friend; when we are full of food it often leaves us; but in hunger and thirst it attacks us vigorously.

It suggests that we should do handwork during our prayers; for it cannot otherwise foil the prayers of the vigilant.

It first enters into conflict with beginners in order to make them negligent from the very outset or to prepare the way for the demon of fornication.

What is the “demon of fornication?”  What is its characteristics? How does it destroy the soul of man?

THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE DEMON OF FORNICATION AND ITS AFTER EFFECT

It is the characteristic of fornicators to quarrel, fight, tell lies, cause trouble and steal. He walks in darkness, in the rain, in the sun, in the forest against all hazard of the weather. He could be devoured by the wild beast. He is in great pestilence, tribulation, affliction, poverty; his soul is in hell fire. This is why many wealthy people complain that they have no peace and rest of mind. Because they fornicate, their souls are not at rest, they are in hell fire. They fight in their dreams. Fornication is harmful both to the spirit and flesh. He is therefore a lost being. This spirit is also known as spiritual rape..  Raping  in the spirit of  “Jezebel.”

Not until we are freed from this should we beg to be excused common worship, for often shame keeps us from dozing. The hound is the enemy of the hares, and the demon of vainglory is the enemy of sleep.

When the day is over, the vendor sits down and counts his profits, but the ascetic does so when the psalm-singing is over.

When prayer is finished wait soberly, and you will see that swarms of demons, as if challenged by us, try to invade us after prayer with absurd phantasies (spiritual rape). Sit and watch; you will see those who are in the habit of snatching away the first fruits of the soul.

Even though in a short outline… How do we recognize the spirit of Jezebel? What are some characteristics?  A Jezebel spirit seeks control through manipulation. It has a deep hatred of true spiritual authority, and uses emotional pressure, witchcraft and obsessive sensuality in its pursuit of power. It uses subtle persuasion to gain influence and get close to those in control. It then uses this position to gradually dominate.

In the Hebrew, the name Jezebel means literally "without cohabitation". She will not live or "cohabit" with those she cannot dominate and control. She will have no equals. Control is what Jezebel wants more than anything. Even when Jezebel appears to be submissive, it is usually out of a carefully wrought plan to gain influence.

Although it may be common to refer to Jezebel as "she", we obviously must conclude that as a spirit, Jezebel is gender neutral. Jezebel certainly has as many male slaves as female. However, since Jezebel initially tends to establish control without the actual use of physical force, she is more easily associated with classic feminine persuasion techniques.

Jezebel likes to appear close to leaders, and use their influence. She likes to use the power and influence of others to accomplish her goals and control her environment. In 1 Kings 21:8 we read " Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles of the city." This is typical of Jezebel. She prefers to remain concealed in the background, while she manipulates situations and leaders.

Jezebel is often associated with pleasure, especially sexual pleasure. She will use any form of sensuality at her disposal to gain influence and control. Jezebel uses sensuality, but make no mistake, Jezebel is seeking CONTROL. Lusts are merely tools used to weaken others in order for her to accomplish her goal of control. In many cases sex is not involved at all.

Jezebel’s greatest enemy is true spiritual authority. As Jezebel opposed Elijah and Herodias opposed John the Baptist, so Jezebel today opposes righteous authority. In her heart, she despises all moral authority. .

It may happen that continuous meditation on passages of the Psalms is prolonged into the hour of sleep. And it may happen that the demons put these passages into our mind in order to lead us to pride. I would not have mentioned the third case, had not someone forced me to do so. The soul which has spent all day unceasingly engaged with the word of the Lord will love to be occupied with it in sleep too. For this second grace is in a special sense a reward for the first and helps us to avoid falls and phantasies.

This is not easy.  In our beginning attempts we will fail many more times than we succeed, but we must keep up the struggle.  For, as St. John promises: “This is the twentieth step.  He who has climbed it has received light in his heart.”   

The two character qualities of Attentiveness and Alertness are so intertwined but each so important.   Attentiveness is  showing the worth of a person or task by giving my undivided concentration.  How important to focus on what is in front of you!  However, alertness is a balancing quality; while focusing on a person or task, you must also be aware of what is taking place around you. How does alertness while we are going through life, give new meaning to the importance of always wearing the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20).  Note that “alertness with perseverance” is required in verse 18.

Although we are to remain always alert, the Bible gives us some special areas requiring alertness :

• Ephesians 6:10-18,  Alert and ready as a soldier of Christ.  Notice that our alertness is tied to our prayers.
• John 4:34-38,  Alert to the harvest of souls ready for the Kingdom
• I Peter 5:8  Alert to Satan’s schemes and plans to destroy you.
• I Timothy 4:16, Alert to yourself and your teaching – how does our life and our doctrine affect each other?
• I Peter 3:15-16, Alert to opportunities to share your faith and the hope you have in Christ.

Often alertness is an awareness of danger.  “Beware” is often used on signs to warn others of danger.  It comes from words that mean be wary – be alert, watchful, careful of, on guard.   

Judges 13:2-5  Beware of lowering standards God has given you for your children.

II Kings 6:8-10  Beware of disobeying the voice of God through His Word or His prophets.

Matthew 7:15  Beware of false prophets who come looking good but are really ferocious

Matthew 10:17  Beware of men who will seek to accuse you in courts

Luke 12:13-15  Beware of greed; why is that such a danger?  

Acts 13:38-41  Beware of missing what God is doing in the world and in your life.  

Philippians 3:2-4  Beware of confidence in outward rituals.  Where is our confidence to be?

Colossians 2:8-10  Beware of  deceptive philosophies.  How can we distinguish them?

II Peter 3:17-18  Beware of being persuaded by lawless men.  What is the outcome of that?  How do we prevent it?

LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT STEP 19

Step 19  Ladder of Divine Ascent = Staying Awake

There is a saying in the book of Proverbs which introduces the theme of Step 19 very well: "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep - - so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man." (Interestingly, this saying is repeated twice: Proverbs 6:10,11 and Proverbs 24:33,34).

Sleep is a treasured commodity. We give it up reluctantly and begrudgingly. But, it is not the necessary sleep that the body needs to function John advises us to give up.  Rather it is the habit of oversleep that is a danger. Sloth and oversleep is a matter of habit, and one which everyone struggles with, especially in the early days of their spiritual journey. Oversleep is that tendency to let slide our practice of prayer and which diverts us from our spiritual work. When we intend to rise from bed for prayer, the temptation comes. “Just five minutes more,” it says, “and then you can get up.”  When we prepare for bed it tells us not to bother with prayer before bed because we are too tired. It encourages us to skip services because we have worked hard all weekend, or have been traveling or for various other reasons. It  encourages us to hurry up our reading or prayer out of laziness. On this journey we must vigilantly fight against all distractions during the time of prayer, especially the habit of sleep. John advises us to focus and meditate on the words of our prayers, or to contemplate the words being chanted or read, to fight off these distractions. Although it seems harmless at first our excessive desire for sleep, if allowed to flourish, will eventually cause us to give up the spiritual life altogether

Therefore He says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine (make day dawn) upon you and give you light.  (Ephesians 5:14, Amp)

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  (1 Peter 5:8)

When the New Testament commands us to “watch,” it is usually the translation of one of two Greek words (gregoreuo and agrupneo), which have similar meanings - to “stay awake” and to “be sleepless.: They are usually meant in the metaphorical and spiritual sense - to be vigilant and on guard, fully awake, aware, alert and intently focused - with several applications and implications.

In Matthew 26:37-40, the meaning of “watch” is primarily physical.  Jesus was chiding the disciples for not remaining awake during the hour preceding His arrest.

But what Jesus next said to Peter has a deeper, spiritual meaning: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing (i.e. intentions are good), but the flesh (mere human willpower) is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

It is spiritual watching coupled with prayer that gives one the strength to survive temptations and difficult situations.

:Awake to righteousness, and do not sin” (1 Corinthians 15:34).

Being awake is equated with righteousness and not sinning. Paul was writing to the church at Corinth, which shows that even true Christians can be spiritually asleep to varying degrees.

Paul also wrote, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).

In step 19, St. John reminds us that too much sleep, like too much of anything, can be spiritually dangerous.

Just as too drinking comes from habit, so too from habit comes overindulgence in sleep. For this reason one has to struggle against it especially at the start of one’s religious life, because a long- standing habit is very difficult to correct.

Of course, we all need to sleep. Just as we need to eat, so we need to sleep in order to live.

Sleep is a natural state. It is also an image of death and a respite (a delay or postponment.. as in the previous step, insensitivity, it is a numbness) of the senses.

But, although sleep is natural and needful, like desire, it has many sources.

…. like desire it has many sources. That is to say, it comes from nature, from food, from demons, or perhaps in some degree from prolonged fasting by which the weakened flesh is moved to long for repose.

How can we tell the difference? St. John does not spend a great deal of time in explaining the answer. But he does point us to one important consideration:

Let us observe and we will find the spiritual trumpet that summons the brethren together visibly is also the signal for the invisible assembly of our foes.

He simply reminds us: it is too much sleep when it keeps us from fulfilling our rule of prayer. When we choose to sleep rather than to pray - we have entered into the spiritual danger zone.

Some (demons) stand by our bed and encourage us to lie down again after we have got up… Others get those at prayer to fall asleep. Still others cause bad and unusual stomachache, while others encourage prattle (babble, chatter) in the church. Some inspire bad thoughts, others get us to lean against the wall as though we were weary or to stand yawning over and over again, while still others cause us to laugh during prayer so as to provoke the anger of God against us… Others, by sitting on our mouths, shut them so that we can scarcely open them.

Many of the fathers have pointed out that Satan can oppress and make us feel more tired than we are in order to keep us from praying. This often happens at night when it is time to say your prayers before going to bed. All of a sudden, you are hit with a tremendous sense of fatigue so that you can barely make it to your bed without falling asleep. Sometimes, undoubtedly, this is natural, but more often than not it comes from the evil one. It is a trick to get us to go to bed without prayer. For if we go to bed without prayer, we leave open our minds and imaginations for demonic assault all night. When we are sleeping, we cannot be vigilant over our thoughts. Therefore, our prayer before sleep is of the greatest importance. Our prayer before sleep shuts down the openings into our minds and hearts.

For those of us who are in the initial stages of the spiritual journey, in our stuggle with sleep it is necessary that we never choose sleep over prayer.

The really obedient man often suddenly becomes radiant and exultant during prayer; for this wrestler was prepared and fired beforehand by his sincere service.

It is possible for all to pray with a congregation; for many it is more suitable to pray with a single kindred spirit; solitary prayer is for the very few.

In chanting with many, it is impossible to pray with the wordless prayer of the spirit. But your mind should be engaged in contemplation of the words being chanted or read, or you should say some definite prayer while you are waiting for the alternate verse to be chanted.

It is not proper for anyone to engage in any accessory work, or rather distraction, during the time of prayer. For the angel who attended Antony the Great taught him this clearly.

A furnace tests gold. Prayer tests the zeal of a monk and his love for God.

However, the man who considers with sensitivity of heart that he is standing before God will be an immovable pillar of prayer, and none of the demons mentioned above will delude him.

In this short step, John describes sleep and its sources, the habit of oversleeping, the tactics of demons especially at the time of prayer, and finally how these demons may be overcome.

To draw close to God, to drive out the demons - there is a task to be praised.

Set your alarm and climb this step. He who does so draws near to God.

Do you see, do you see, all the people sinking down,

Don't you care, don't you care, are you gonna let them drown,

How can you be so numb, not to care if they come,

You close your eyes and pretend the job's done.

Oh Bless me Lord, bless me Lord, you know it's all I ever hear,

No one aches, no one hurts, no one even sheds one tear,

But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds, and He cares for your needs,

And you just lay back and keep soaking it in, oh, can't you see it's such sin?

Cause He brings people to your door,

And you turn them away, as you smile and say,

God bless you, be at peace, and all Heaven just weeps,

Cause Jesus came to your door, you've left Him out on the streets.

Open up, open up, and give yourself away,

You've seen the need, you hear the cry, so how can you delay,

God's calling and you're the one, but like Jonah you run,

He's told you to speak, but you keep holding it in,

Oh, can't you see it's such sin?

The world is sleeping in the dark,

That the church can't fight, cause it's asleep in the light,

How can you be so dead, when you've been so well fed,

Jesus rose from the grave, and you, you can't even get out of bed,

Oh, Jesus rose from the dead, come on, get out of your bed.

How can you be so numb, not to care if they come,

You close your eyes and pretend the job's done,

You close your eyes and pretend the job's done,

Don't close your eyes, don't pretend the job's done.

Come away, come away, come away with Me, My love,

Come away, from this mess, come away with Me, My love.

“Asleep in the Light”  Keith Green

Listen to the podcast of Step 18

http://missionsradio.podbean.com/e/step-18-of-the-ladder-of-divine-ascent/?token=eb8a8a8ad40c81bd819d72dcbe9b994d

LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT STEP 18

LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT STEP 18

STEP 18  “AVOID INSENSITIVITY…. GETTING SERIOUS”

Insensitivity = The inability to respond to affective changes in interpersonal environment. Not sensitive, numb, lacking sensitivity to the feelings or circumstances of others..  Lacking in obedience to God’s Word.

In summing up this short step by paraphrasing the words of the Apostle Paul, “That which I want to do, I do not do, while that which I do not want to do, that I do” (Romans 7:19). Insensibility is that characteristic where we know we should behave or act in a certain way, yet we do the opposite, and then we just berate ourselves the more for our own failure. Such a person is a “blind man who teaches others to see.” He talks about healing his wounds, but then his body struggles for it. He philosophizes about death, but behaves as if he were immortal. He talks of temperance and self-control, but lives like a glutton and a drunkard. He praises detachment, but is not ashamed to be spiteful and to fight over a rag. John’s list of examples goes on and on.

The danger of this is that in time we begin to feel nothing at all, no remorse, no sorrow or desire of repentance when we falter. Then we gladly and willingly neglect the work of the spirit. We lapse in prayer, we do not fast, we do not read the scripture, and we neglect the services of the Church. And, then the demons laugh at us when they see us stand in prayer, “stony hard and darkened,” and, when we are in Church and we feel nothing, when we take communion, and we act as if it is just ordinary bread and wine. Such a state for us is their delight.

We all suffer this condition, John says. Even the great St. John describes himself as one who does not have the patience to rid himself completely of this insensibility of the spirit. “For I am not ashamed to admit my own powerlessness, since I am sorely afflicted with this sickness.” The only way to avoid this condition he advises is through force of habit, constant diligence and being vigilant in our  spiritual work.

(1 Timothy 4:1-2) Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…….

The “seared” conscience is defiled. People who are defiled or whose conscience is seared will display ungodly attitudes, or they will look away from God and His Word as the proper authority. They have no sensitivity to the things of God.

If the conscience is not active, it is said to be “weak” (1 Cor. 8:7, 10, 12). It may be wounded, insensitive, seared. The sinful conscience is defiled and evil.  This means that the conscience is not able to distinguish between right and wrong…

We must work constantly and focus on avoiding this deadening of the soul and mind so as to not falter in our climb up the ladder.

The Divine Liturgy reminds us of the danger of insensibility and addresses the danger efficaciously when it proclaims, “let us be attentive.” Inattention comes in many forms and goes by many names. Here is the counsel of St. John of the Ladder in this regard…

On insensibility, that is, deadening of the soul and the death of the mind before the death of the body.

Insensibility both in the body and in the spirit is deadened feeling…..Lack of awareness is negligence that has become habit…

According to John Climacus, as we pursue the heavenly goal, we need to be aware of the great danger of becoming desensitized to the importance of spiritual realities.

Insensibility is negligence that has become habit; benumbed thought; the birth of presumption; a snare for zeal; the noose of courage; ignorance of compunction; a door to despair; the mother of forgetfulness, which gives birth to loss of the fear of God. And then she becomes the daughter of her own daughter. (Loss of the fear of God is the daughter of forgetfulness, which is the daughter of insensibility. Then loss of the fear of God in turn gives birth to insensibility.)

He who has lost sensibility is a brainless philosopher, a self-condemned commentator, a self-contradictory windbag, a blind man who teaches others to see. He talks about healing a wound, and does not stop irritating it. He complains of sickness, and does not stop eating what is harmful. He prays against it, and immediately goes and does it. And when he has done it, he is angry with himself; and the wretched man is not ashamed of his own words. ‘I am doing wrong,’ he cries, and eagerly continues to do so. His mouth prays against his passion, and his body struggles for it. He philosophises about death, but he behaves as if he were immortal. He groans over the separation of soul and body, but drowses along as if he were eternal. He talks of temperance and self-control, but he lives for gluttony. He reads about the judgment and begins to smile. He reads about vainglory, and is vainglorious while actually reading. He repeats what he has learnt about vigil, and drops asleep on the spot. He praises prayer, but runs from it as from the plague. He blesses obedience, but he is the first to disobey. He praises detachment, but he is not ashamed to be spiteful and to fight for a rag. When angered he gets bitter, and he is angered again at his bitterness; and he does not feel that after one defeat he is suffering another. Having overeaten he repents, and a little later again gives way to it. He blesses silence, and praises it with a spate of words. He teaches meekness, and during the actual teaching frequently gets angry. Having woken from passion he sighs, and shaking his head, he again yields to passion. He condemns laughter, and lectures on mourning with a smile on his face. Before others he blames himself for being vainglorious, and in blaming himself is only angling for glory for himself. He looks people in the face with passion, and talks about chastity. While frequenting the world, he praises the solitary life, without realizing that he shames himself. He extols almsgivers, and reviles beggars. All the time he is his own accuser, and he does not want to come to his senses—I will not say cannot.

When we are first awakened to the spiritual life and introduced to its depths, we are awestruck and experience godly fear. As we mature, we find how hard it is to keep that same sense of awe and godly fear. In this way, perhaps it is true that familiarity breeds contempt. It is a struggle not to become insensitive to the spiritual realities with which I am now familiar. I have to push myself not to allow  lack of awareness to become a habit of negligence.

John points out through his descriptions several root causes of insensitivity. He says it develops when we allow a division to exist between our words and our actions. This can happen to us very easily.

It is easy to allow our Orthodoxy (our belief. Our obedience to God’s Word) to become something we talk about. Orthodoxy must be something we live. We are to live the Will of God in and through our lives. It is as we live it sincerely, struggling to practice what we preach and to connect the exalted words we speak to an exalted way of life, that we will be delivered from insensitivity.

I have seen many people like this hear about death and the terrible judgment and shed tears, and with the tears still in their eyes they eagerly go to a meal. And I was amazed how this tyrant, this stinkpot of gluttony, by complete indifference, can grow so strong as to turn the tables even on mourning.

Recall, if you will, the step on this Ladder, “Mourning” being sorrowful for the possible sins that can cause separation from God.  Here, insensitivity, in that matter of mourning, does not care, does not react.

What John is talking about is that we must never be satisfied with our experience of Orthodoxy. We must constantly push ourselves. We will always talk better than we live. But let us always be bothered by this. Let us repent of this. Let the inconsistencies of our lives be the proverbial burr under the saddle that motivates us out of the comfort of our complacency (our smugness)  into living lives of radical obedience to Christ.

As far as my poor powers and knowledge allow, I have exposed the wiles and weals of this stony, obstinate, raging and stupid passion. I have not the patience to expatiate on it. He who is experienced and able in the Lord should not shrink from applying healing to the sores. For I am not ashamed to admit my own powerlessness, since I am sorely afflicted with this sickness. I should not have been able to discover its wiles and tricks by myself if I had not caught it and held it firmly, probing it to make it acknowledge what has been said above, and plying it with the scourge of the fear of the Lord and with unceasing prayer.

John speaks to Insensitivity, her reponse is telling………

That is why this tyrant and evil doer said to me: ‘My subjects laugh when they see corpses. When they stand at prayer they are completely stony, hard and darkened. When they see the holy altar they feel nothing; when they partake of the Gift, it is as if they had eaten ordinary bread. When I see persons moved by compunction, I mock them. From my father I learnt to kill all good things which are born of courage and love. I am the mother of laughter, the nurse of sleep, the friend of a full belly. When exposed I do not grieve. I go hand in hand with sham piety.

Translation: “Those who are under my sway laugh when they see the bodies of the dead. At prayer they are stony, hard, and blinded. In front of the altar they feel nothing. They receive the Holy Gift as if it were ordinary bread. And I laugh at people when I see them stirred with compunction. My father taught me to kill everything born of courage and love. I am the mother of Laughter, the nurse of sleep, the friend of the full stomach. When I am found out I do not grieve, and I am the ally of fake piety.”

I was astounded at the words of this raving creature and asked her about her father, wishing to know her name, and she said; ‘I have no single parentage; my conception is mixed and indefinite. Satiety (having had enough, filled) nourishes me, time makes me grow, and bad habit entrenches me. He who keeps this habit will never be rid of me. Be constant in vigil, meditating on the eternal judgment; then perhaps I shall to some extent relax my hold on you. Find out what caused me to be born in you, and then battle against my mother; for she is not in all cases the same. Pray often at the coffins, and engrave an indelible image of them in your heart. For unless you inscribe it there with the pencil of fasting, you will never conquer me.’

It is quoted as saying that the worst sin is to make Orthodoxy into a religion. To make our walk with Christ, life in Christ, our experience and relationship with Him into a religion. To reduce it to a set of external rules and rituals which must be performed by rote is the height of insensitivity. It is not a religion, it is life! Let us be serious about this life which we have received.

Let us not play games! Let us not be content to have a life which is only influenced by our faith, let us live lives controlled by our faith.

I have described, as much as my poor talents permit, the wiles and the havoc wrought by this stony, stubborn, raging, ignorant passion, and I refuse to dwell on it. If there is anyone with the God-given skill to heal the sores, let him not shrink from the task.`