Selected quotes by St. John Climacus

"Light and recollection come to the mind by way of reading the Scriptures. The words are those of the Holy Spirit, and they provide guidance to the readers. Let your reading be a preliminary to action, since you are a doer (cf. James 1:22)."

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"Let no one plead his incapacity to fulfil the commandments of the Gospel, for there are souls who have gone beyond the commandments. And you will certainly be convinced of what has been said by him who loved his neighbour more than himself and laid down his life for him, although he had not received this commandment from the Lord."

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"Ask with tears, seek with obedience, knock with patience. For so it goes that he 'who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened' (Matt. 7:8)."