Christianity Is Not Easy: The Ladder of Divine Ascent | St. John Climacus

About this sermon

Discover the powerful spiritual wisdom of St. John Climacus and The Ladder of Divine Ascent—one of the most profound guides to holiness in Christian history. In this deeply moving homily, we explore why modern Christianity often feels “easy” and what has been lost by abandoning the ascetic tradition of prayer, fasting, and spiritual struggle. Drawing from the Gospel and the teachings of the Desert Fathers, this sermon reveals the true path to faith, healing, and union with God. 🔥 Topics Covered: Who is St. John Climacus? Why Christianity today feels shallow The meaning of the ascetic life Faith: “Lord, I believe—help my unbelief” The power of prayer and fasting Entering the narrow gate The path to theosis (union with God) This is essential listening for anyone seeking a deeper, more authentic Catholic faith. 🙏 Let this Lent be different. Let it be transformative. 📌 Support the mission: https://sensusfidelium.com 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Opening remarks & gratitude 00:45 Fourth Sunday of Lent & St. John Climacus 01:03 A convert discovers the Desert Fathers 01:50 Why St. John Climacus is so important 02:24 The forgotten saint of Christianity 03:06 “Christianity seems easy” — why? 04:11 The loss of asceticism in modern faith 05:06 St. John as a new Moses 06:10 The Ladder of Divine Ascent explained 07:27 Freedom from sin and the path to God 08:16 The historical importance of the Ladder 09:13 Why we must immerse ourselves in it 09:47 St. John as our Lenten guide 10:27 The Gospel: healing of the possessed boy 11:24 “Do you have faith?” — the key question 11:40 “Help my unbelief” — powerful faith moment 12:13 Why the disciples failed 12:22 Prayer and fasting explained 13:03 Christianity is an ascetical religion 13:44 Ordering our desires toward God 14:16 The crisis of modern faith 14:48 Entering the narrow gate (agonizing effort) 15:29 Final exhortation & prayer 15:49 Outro & support message Please remember to say 3 Hail Marys for the priest 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶️ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶️ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.us for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶️ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 SensusFidelium.TV - https://sensusfidelium.tv/@SensusFidelium 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 LBRY.tv --- https://lbry.tv/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 Brighteon - https://www.brighteon.com/channels/sensusfidelium ▶️ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ ▶️ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 Please "Like" our videos so that Youtube shares it to others by clicking the "Like" thumbs-up under the video = 👍🏻 ▶️ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. ▶️ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 SP3RN: https://www.sp3rn.com/community/pages/14-sensus-fidelium 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Bastyon: https://bastyon.com/sensusfidelium 🔴 GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/sensus_fidelium 🔴 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sensusfidelium/ 🔴 Telegram: https//t.me/RealSensusFidelium ▶️ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #Catholic #StJohnClimacus #Lent #Christianity #Asceticism #PrayerAndFasting #SpiritualGrowth #DesertFathers #CatholicFaith #Holiness #Theosis #SensusFidelium