It is known that our holy Church celebrates persons and events on Sundays during the period of Great Lent to support the struggling faithful in the stage of virtues. The fourth Sunday, therefore, is dedicated to the memory of Saint John of the Ladder or also called Sinai, who was a model of a struggling man.
John was born to wealthy and virtuous parents around 523 AD in Syria. His parents offered him the best education of the time and young John stood out from his peers. He had a special inclination towards prayer and the study of patristic texts. His heart yearned for and loved Christ. At the age of 15, he joined as a novice monk on Mount Sinai, having as his guide the abbot, Elder Martyrius. John, with the guidance of Elder Martyrius, began to acquire virtues according to divine, always, grant. After four years, he became a monk. For the needs of the Monastery, he was ordained a hierodeacon and later a hieromonk. With the blessing of Elder Martyrius and after the repose of his elder, he departed from the monastery for the desert for more asceticism and quiet.
There he devoted himself to prayer, to the study of the fathers of the church and to vigil. He slept very little, for so many hours that his brain would not suffer damage. He was a frugal man, consuming all foods, so as not to offend the creatures of God, in a minimal amount. It goes without saying that he consumed the foods permitted to monks. God granted him the gift of prayer, as well as of tears. Every day he watered the soil of the cave with the tears of repentance and constantly glorified God by studying the divine scriptures and writing.
He remained in the desert hermitage for forty years. The reputation of the holy man became known, although he himself did not seek it. It was God's providence that other people would benefit from this holy fighter. Many lay people, monks and clergy came into contact with him and left having benefited manifold. Every day his soul burned and was set on fire by the infinite love for the Savior Christ. God continually and daily bestowed upon him grace and blessing. He climbed the ladder of virtues. He remained in the desert for 40 whole years.
He left the desert at the age of 75 to take over the abbotship of the Holy Monastery of Sinai against his will. The brotherhood of the Monastery elected him its shepherd and he obeyed. He guided the brothers of the Monastery for a few years and then fled again to the desert for peace and asceticism. Before departing for the desert, he appointed his brother George as his successor. In the desert, he surrendered his spirit to the God of the athletes. It was March 30, 606 AD and for this reason his memory is honored every year on this day.
When John was about to go to the Lord, the athlete,, in the flesh, His brother George said to him, “So you are leaving me and leaving? I begged you to send me ahead. Because I, my lord, cannot shepherd the company without you. And now, on the contrary, I am sending you ahead.” Abba John then answered him: “Do not be sad and do not worry, because if I find boldness before the Lord, I will not leave you behind me to complete the time.” Within ten months, he too departed to the Lord.
Wonderful events.
The arch-evil devil incited envious people to accuse the Saint of being a "talker and a chatterbox." They wanted to limit the Saint's ability to help their fellow human beings. The Saint, wanting to put into practice what he had taught and in order not to scandalize the faithful, stopped his work. The people then realized their mistake, that is, they had deprived the world of a source of help for souls. They repentantly asked John to continue his God-pleasing work. Indeed, John, by divine providence, continued to offer his ministry to the faithful.
A certain monk named Moses felt in his heart the desire to become a disciple of the holy man. The saint obeyed the entreaties of the other monks and received him as a subordinate. One day the saint sent his subordinate to go and bring soil suitable for planting cabbages for the needs of the monastery. It was summer and the heat was high, at noon Moses sat in the shade of a rock to rest. He fell asleep as he was very tired. John was in his cell. For a moment it seemed that he had fallen asleep and he saw a bright man telling him that Moses was in danger. He woke up and began to pray for his disciple. When the subordinate returned in the evening, the saint was informed that while Moses was sleeping, he heard the voice of his elder and woke up, moving away from the spot, and immediately the rock fell on the spot where Moses was sleeping. Out of humility, the holy father did not mention the vision to Moses, but inwardly he thanked and glorified God who had saved his disciple from certain death.
The monk Isaac suffered greatly from carnal temptations and was possessed by sorrow and despondency. With tears in his eyes and pain of soul, he told the elder John about the carnal war he was undergoing and asked for his help. The all-wonderful one, after ascertaining his faith and humility, said to him, "Come, brother, let us pray together, and the good and merciful God will not overlook our supplication." Before they finished praying, the humble monk, who was lying face down on the ground, realized that he was being delivered from temptation. The devil could not bear the fervor of the common prayer and abandoned the monk. Immediately the saint and the monk thanked God, who heard the prayer and healed his servant.
Elder Martyrius and young John visited the great Anastasius, who asked “who is the young man and who ordained him a monk?” Martyrius replied “he is your servant and I ordained him a monk.” Anastasius’s response was “Wow! Abba Martyrius, who would say that you ordained the Abbot of Sinai”! Anastasius was not denied, after 40 years John became Abbot.
Another time, Abba Martyrius took John and they went and visited the great John the Sabbatean. As soon as Sabbatean saw them, he took water and washed John's feet and not the elder of Martyrius. In response to a question from Stephen's disciple, the Elder replied: "Believe me, my child, that I do not know who this young man is. I welcomed the abbot of Sinai and I washed the feet of the abbot."
John became a monk at the age of 20. On this day, Abba Strategios prophesied that the young monk would become Abbot.
The most miraculous thing is this event that took place on the day of the Saint's assumption of the abbessship. The foreigners who arrived numbered 600. During the meal, he saw a young man with short hair and wrapped in a sheet like the Jews, giving orders authoritatively and directing all the cooks, waiters and all the ministers. When they looked for this young man during the meal, they did not find him anywhere. It was logical. It is evident from the answer given by Saint John, "Leave him alone. Mr. Moses did nothing strange by ministering in his own place."
On another occasion, when there was a drought in the region of Palestine, the inhabitants fled to John. After fervent prayer, the heavens opened., and his prayer was heard. This is not strange, because “the Lord fulfills the desire of those who fear him, and their prayer is heard.”
At the beginning of the text, we mentioned that Saint John is called “Sinaitis” or “of the Ladder”. The appellation “of Sinai” in what has been written so far is because he was a monk of the monastery of Sinai and there he became Abbot. The time has come to write a few words about the other name “of the Ladder”. Here it is: Saint John, obeying the request of the Abbot of the Raithou Monastery, wrote the book entitled “The Ladder”, which is a masterpiece of Orthodox literature and which we should all read, if we have not read it, or rather we should study it daily, especially during the fasting period. This book contains 30 sermons of the Saint, each referring to a virtue starting from the simplest and most everyday ones and ascending one by one, the faithful fighter reaches the last step and meets God. In this work, a wonderful intersection of the human soul and psychology is made which modern psychologists envy. A work clearly inspired by God. It was written in an era when even the concept of psychology was unknown.
A small tribute to this great Saint John, whose memory the Holy Church honors on March 30 (the day of his death) and on March 4.η Sunday of Lent.
Operative texts
Apolytikion Echo 3. Of divine faith.
Divine ladder, you supported, the method of your words, all, Monastic teacher, showing, from practical John's purification, to theory, leading the radiance. Father Saint, beseech Christ God, that great mercy may be granted to us.
Similarly, Apolytikion. Sound pl. d'.
With the tears you shed, you cultivated the barren land of the desert; and with the deep sighs you bore fruit in a hundred pains; and becoming a light to the world, illuminating its wonders, John, our holy Father, intercede with Christ God, that our souls may be saved.
Kontakion. Voice a. Angelic Choir
You offer eternal fruits from the Bible, wise teachings, you soothe the hearts of those who, after waking up, are blessed. For you are a ladder, leading souls from earth to heavenly, and abiding glory, for those who honor you with faith.
Photo By Unknown – [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1485237, https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/
