FIFTH FRIDAY OF LENT – St. John Climacus (aka St. John of the Ladder), 605am: Ps 22
pm: 141, 143
Exod 7:25-8:19
2 Cor 3:7-18
Mark 10:17-31
LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: Monk on Mount Sinai at age 16 he went on to become a hermit in various places in the Desert eventually becoming abbot at Mount Sinai Monastery. He is an Ascetical writer whose works have influenced those seeking the holy life for 15 centuries. His classic work was entitled: The Climax: The Ladder of Divine Ascentwritten in the mid 6th Century
MEDITATION OF THE DAY: Excerpted from the Ladder of Divine Ascent:
“Eyes show different colors and the sun of the spirit may shine in different ways in the soul. There is the way of bodily tears and there is the way of tears of the soul. There is the way of the contemplation of what is before us and the way of the contemplation of what remains unseen. There is the way of things heard at second hand and the way of spontaneous joy within the soul. There is the way of stillness and the way of obedience, the way to come to know oneself. The man who has come to know himself with the full awareness of his soul has sown in good ground. However, anyone who has not sown in this way cannot expect humility to flower within him. And anyone who has acquired knowledge of self has come to understand the fear of the Lord, and walking with the help of this fear, he has arrived at the doorway of love. For humility is the door to the kingdom, opening up to those who come near.
PRAYER OF THE DAY: Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that you may fortify me with the grace of your Holy Spirit, and give your peace to my soul, that I may be free from all needless anxiety and worry. Help me to desire always that which is pleasing and acceptable to you, so that your will may be my will. Amen.
ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “Our prayer must not be self-centered. It must arise not only because we feel our own need as a burden we must lay upon God, but also because we are so bound up in love for our fellow men that we feel their need as acutely as our own. To make intercession for men is the most powerful and practical way in which we can express our love for them. ”- John Calvin
Lenten Discipline – Who is the very least in your circle of life? Are they forgotten, not noticed? Notice them today. Extend yourself for them. Raise up their dignity. Let them know that they are of value? Perhaps simply a meaningful conversation would be such a step or inviting them and treating them to a meal as they are never included. Offer yourself to them in grace as Christ did.