I know a man who, when he saw a woman of striking beauty, praised the Creator for her. The sight of her lit within him the love of God.
John ClimacusRead
A servant of the Lord stands bodily before men, but mentally he is knocking at the gates of heaven with prayer.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of prayer and spiritual focus, suggesting that one's physical presence may be in the world while the mind and spirit reach for divine connection.
In this quote, John Climacus highlights the duality of existence for a servant of the Lord. While they may be physically present in the service of others, their true essence and intentions are directed towards a higher spiritual realm through prayer. This illustrates the importance of maintaining a connection with the divine, even amidst worldly obligations. The act of prayer is portrayed as a means to transcend earthly barriers and connect with heaven.
Themes
PrayerSpiritualityServantHeavenDevotion
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon about the importance of spiritual awareness in daily life.
More from John Climacus
All quotes →The first stage of this tranquility consists in silencing the lips when the heart is excited. The second, in silencing the mind when the soul is still excited. The goal is a perfect peacefulness even in the middle of the raging storm.
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Someone who is elated with wine speaks the truth on all subjects, even without meaning to. In the same way, anyone who is inebriated with the spirit of penitence will never be able to tell lies.
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God belongs to all free beings. He is the life of all, the salvation of all ~faithful and unfaithful, just and unjust, pious and impious, passionate and dispassionate, monks and laymen, wise and simple, healthy and sick, young and old just as the effusion of light, the sight of the sun, and the changes of the seasons are for all alike; 'for there is no respect of persons with God.'
John ClimacusRead
Obedience is the burial of the will and the resurrection of humility.
John ClimacusRead
The slave of the belly ponders the menu with which to celebrate the feast. The servant of God, however, thinks of the graces that may enrich him.
John ClimacusRead
Similar quotes
For One in such a lofty position to stoop so low is a marvel that is staggering. What sublime humility and humble sublimeness, that the Lord of the Universe, the Divine Son of God, should stoop as to hide Himself under the appearance of bread for our salvation! Behold the humble way of God, my brothers. Therefore, do not hold yourselves to be anything of yourselves, so that you may be entirely acceptable to One Who gives Himself entirely to you.
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Prayer feeds the soul - as blood is to the body, prayer is to the soul - and it brings you closer to God.
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In these days there is no time to pray; but without time, and a lot of it, we shall never learn to pray.
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May we have communion with God in the secret of our hearts, and find Him to be to us as a little sanctuary.
Charles SpurgeonRead
Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I’ll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out into a great big field all alone or in the deep, deep woods and I'd look up into the sky—up—up—up—into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I'd just feel a prayer.
Lucy Maud MontgomeryRead
To live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of our loneliness and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts into a garden of solitude. The movement from loneliness to solitude, however, is the beginning of any spiritual life because it it is the movement from the restless senses to the restful spirit,l from the outward-reaching cravings to the inward-reaching search, from the fearful clinging to the fearless play.
Henri NouwenRead