The image of Jacob's Ladder has been coming up frequently in prayer of late. This rich symbol is one that has been used to describe the spiritual journey amongst many theologians and mystics throughout salvation history. The symbol is taken from a dream given to Jacob while traveling to marry one of the daughters of Laban. This journey follows the surreptitious paternal blessing he had received from his father Isaac through trickery which rightfully belonged to his twin brother Esau. The Genesis account tells us that at the setting of the sun, Jacob put a stone under his head to sleep. Thereafter, "he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And the Lord stood above it." There it is that the Lord extends the promises already made to Abraham and Isaac to Jacob that his descendants shall be numerous as the dust, and vows, "I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to the land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you" [Gen 28: 15].
It is interesting that in Hebrew the term for this ladder is sullam and is very particular to this one passage in the Old Testament. In Hebrew this term is spelled Samech Lamed Mem. Samech is a prop or means to support, twist slowly, to turn or to assist. Lamed is pictured as a shepherd's staff and means to control, urge forward, or to have authority. Mem is related to cleansing living waters that can come down like a gentle stream or a treacherous tidal wave. This ladder is seemingly the means by which God's revelation and promised blessings flows down to Jacob. This term is used only one other time in all of Scriptures, and that is when Jesus recognizes Nathaniel who sat under the fig tree. Jesus speaks directly to Nathaniel's inner soul by telling him, 'I saw you sitting under the fig tree'. In other words, I know you intimately through and through, so much so that I know that you are an Israelite "in whom there is no guile." Nathaniel is astounded and recognizes Jesus as the Son of God...the King of Israel. Jesus responds, "Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these...Truly, truly I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" [Jn 1:50-51]. By using this imagery, Jesus deepens its meaning by suggesting that He is now the ladder to heaven. He reveals His core identity as "the way, the truth, and the life" and that "No man comes to the Father, but by me" [Jn 14:6]. Indeed, Jesus is the gate that leads man from earth to our Abba in heaven.
Since early Christianity, many writers have utilized this holy symbol to denote the spiritual journey. Perhaps one of the most well-known is the classic The Ladder of Divine Ascent or The Ladder of Paradise by St. John Climacus who wrote this treatise in about 600 AD for religious monks seeking perfection in the spiritual life. He describes 30 rungs upon this ladder that represent the 30 years of Jesus' hidden life on earth, and the necessary development of the virtues upon each rung as one ascends. It warns of the many temptations and sins that can assail the soul when seeking union with God, and the need for detachment, silence, practicing asceticism, and casting out the seven deadly sins and replacing them with the virtues and perfections of Jesus in order to avoid falling off of the ladder.
Fast forward to the16th century, we find St. John of the Cross pouring out his poetic soul concerning the sublime mysteries revealed to him during contemplative prayer through the profound sufferings of the Cross comingled with goodness, beauty and truth. In The Dark Night, he describes the passive dark night of the spirit as experienced,
In darkness and secure,
by the secret ladder, disguised,
- ah, the sheer grace!-
in darkness and concealment,
my house being now all stilled.
In his commentary on this stanza he goes on to describe the secret ladder as dark contemplation or wisdom. He explains in Book Two, Chapter 18:1-2 that 'by this secret contemplation, the soul ascends in order to plunder, know, and possess the goods and treasures of heaven...as the same steps of the ladder are used for both ascent and descent, so also the same communications produced by this secret contemplation extol the soul in God and humiliate it within itself. Communications that are truly from God have this trait: They simultaneously exalt and humble the soul. For on this road, to descend is to ascend and to ascend is to descend, since those who humble themselves are exalted and those who exalt themselves are humbled...God in order to exercise the soul in humility, usually makes it ascend by this ladder so that it might descend, and he makes it descend that it might ascend."
This ladder of contemplation is therefore a science of love with successive deeper degrees of charity. It consists of 10 ascending steps which lead to divine union with the Lord. It includes the following successive degrees on the mystical ladder of love:
1st step: Love makes the soul sick in the sense that it becomes unable to find satisfaction, support, consolation, or a resting place in anything" outside of God.
2nd step: This step causes a person to search for God unceasingly and centers all upon the Beloved in its desire to see the Face of God.
3rd step: This degree of love enflames the heart to perform spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and find themselves lamenting their inability to give God what He deserves, so immersed they are in their impoverishment. One is free from presumption and judging others, and gains courage in continuing to ascend further.
4th step: The spirit has an inflow of great energy to serve the Beloved without counting the cost, and is freed from seeking consolations or other satisfactions in God or elsewhere. The soul seeks to suffer for God for His sake and is quite detached from all creatures.
5th step: There is an impatient desire and longing for God to such an extent that the soul finds itself languishing and "faints for the dwelling places of the Lord"
[Ps 84:2].
6th step: The soul runs swiftly toward God and experiences many touches of Him. It runs without fainting due to this intense hope within. The soul's burning eros is so strong as to enable it to seemingly "take wings like an eagle and fly and not faint" [Is 40:31].
7th step: God imparts to the soul an ardent daring enabling these souls to obtain from God whatever petitions lay upon his or her heart. One must be cautious to not become arrogant, demanding, or presumptuous but always to remain in a posture of humility to prevent falling.
8th step: The soul is impelled by love to lay hold of the Beloved without letting Him go. St. John of the Cross tells us this can be compared to the bride in the Canticle who proclaims, "I found him whom my heart and soul loves, I held him and did not let him go" [Sg 3:4] or like Daniel whom God instructed to "remain on your step, because you are a man of desires." [Dan 10:11]
9th step: This rung causes the soul to burn gently in and for God.
10th step: This love assimilates the soul to God completely because of the clear vision of God that person possesses upon reaching it. These persons do not go to purgatory but instead become like God and rest in His beatific vision. All goods are shared and the soul enjoys spiritual marriage with the Divine Bridegroom.
How to Ascend this Ladder
While pondering the mystery of how one can spiritually prepare and ascend this ladder of love and contemplation, I was brought back to a memory of my early childhood. I always loved water and had no healthy fear of it to the dismay of my parents. When I was about 5 years of age they enrolled me in a swimming class at the large public pool near our home in Ohio. It was the last day of class and I had been eyeing the high dive. I was absolutely enthralled and mesmerized by its huge platform that sat high above the blue waters of the deep end, seemingly beckoning me to climb it and dive off. It was the last day of class and I expressed my desire to plunge off the high dive, and was shockingly given permission to go up, being assured from my instructor that he would await my jump in the deep end of the pool. [I am doubtful that this would be allowed today! I see a lawsuit written all over this!] At any rate, I began to climb the rungs of the ladder leading up to the platform. A couple of times I hesitated, but then continued on my way with determined determination and excitement. As I approached the very top of the ladder, I looked down and suddenly became deathly afraid. I began to shake as I realized how far up off the ground I was now. I felt absolutely terrified and was seemingly paralyzed to move.
The instructor tried to assure me to keep going but I just couldn't. He came up the ladder and assisted me by holding my trembling hands the rest of the way up to the top. As we stood there on the platform, I was in total awe over where my little body was standing, and the view I was taking in. I simultaneously felt exhilaration and overwhelming dread. I was instructed to hold onto the instructor's back and he would jump off with both of us into the awaiting deep waters. He counted to three and then we went plunging into the abyss of the pool. Wow! What an experience of trust, risk, child-like desire, and fortitude!
This story illustrates something that came to me on All Saint's Day, when the Holy Spirit made me realize that the saints are my personal Sherpas who assist me on my ascent of Mt. Carmel. They point out the treacherous falls and temptations that will lead me to fall off the ladder altogether, and warn me of dangerous side trails, and hidden cracks and crevices along the way. They assure me with words of encouragement and affirmations that I can climb this mountain with God's grace when I experience profound fear while engaging in this ascent. They also provide belaying ropes that aid in preventing and minimizing falls, regaining balance and maintaining some friction on their end to enable me to continue climbing. These initial safety ropes include such aids as prayer, the Sacraments, Scripture, and mortifications. At the same time, I am invited to let go of all other attachments, strings and ropes that keep me earth-bound. Eventually, even some of the spiritual goods are forfeited, as one is invited to free climb without ropes by sheer dark faith, hope, and trust in a spirit of ever-increasing and burning love and desire for union with God in radical nakedness. Anyone who has ever scaled a steep mountain appreciates that you must travel lightly and just bring the essentials. Such is the situation during such a precipitous climb. One just has to let go in child-like trust and confidence as I did on the diving board all those years ago.
At this point, one might be shaking their head in disbelief that such a treacherous conquest can be undertaken, much less achieved! As my closest dear Carmelite sister exclaims, "Lord, I feel like I am ascending Mt. Carmel wearing stiletto heels! I need help!" The good news is that not only do we have the Communion of Saints to assist us as personal Sherpas on this dramatic hike, but we have our Mama Mary who as Queen of the angels and saints is often compared to the ladder itself as she connects heaven and earth and shows us how to increasingly love with ever-deeper degrees of charity. Just like the place of Jacob's ladder dream was subsequently named 'Bethel' which means 'house of God', so Mary as the Theotokos, who was the tabernacle housing the Messiah. She was the means by which Jesus descended, and therefore assists us in ascending the ladder back to Him. She helps us to know when to descend and go into the room of self-knowledge in a spirit of docility and humility, and when to stand up and lift up our heads [Lk 21:28] and continue the long climb upward and onward with hearts burning within for God alone in prayerful abandonment.
Our Lady of the Ladder of Paradise See https://immaculate.one/mary-of-the-day-august-3-our-lady-of-the-ladder-of-paradise-noto-siracusa-sicily-italy#.Ybj6yb3MKM8
Finally, my last thought is that Jesus tells us that He is always with us until the end of time and that He will not leave us orphans. Even though the Divine Bridegroom is known for playing hide and seek during this last demanding ascent of transforming prayer, His promise is that He dwells within us and accompanies us on this vertical climb as the Gate, the Door, and the Way to the Father even when we cannot perceive Him. Just as I have previously envisioned myself tethered to Jesus while going spelunking into the abyss of the cave of my heart, I now see that I am tethered to Jesus Himself in ascending such a steep incline.
While living out the spirit of St. John of the Cross, St. Therese discovered that 'The elevator which must raise me to heaven is your arms, O Jesus.' By remaining little, detaching from earthly attachments, and cultivating the deepest degrees of love through the radical practice of faith, hope and love in prayer, she was able to ascend the rungs of this ladder. As one increasingly desires the Beloved, one is impelled by love to lay hold of the Beloved without letting Him go. The bride proclaims in this same impassioned spirit, "I found him whom my heart and soul loves, I held him and did not let him go" [Sg 3:4]. Let us remember that He goes before us and leads the way up this ladder. He is truly our sullam - our support, our staff, Our Good Shepherd and the Source of Living Waters who slakes our thirst. He is our safety, our surety, our refuge and our rock as we ascend to this final tranquil place of beatitude. Let us ask for St. John of the Cross, one of our personal Sherpas, to assist us and intercede for us in climbing this divine ascent and living out these ever deeper degrees of love. Amen.
