The friend of silence draws near to God

Venerable John Climacus ~ The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 11 ~ On Talkativeness

¶5. The friend of silence draws near to God and, by secretly conversing with Him, is enlightened by God.

Intelligent silence is the mother of prayer

Venerable John Climacus ~ The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 11 ~ On Talkativeness

¶3. Intelligent silence is the mother of prayer, a recall from captivity, preservation of fire, an overseer of thoughts, a watch against enemies, a prison of mourning, a friend of tears, effective remembrance of death, a depicter of punishment, a delver into judgment, a minister of sorrow, an enemy of freedom of speech, a companion of stillness, an opponent of desire to teach, increase of knowledge, a creator of divine vision, unseen progress, secret ascent.

Why have we not unceasingly mourned?

Venerable John Climacus ~ The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 7 ~ On Joy-making Mourning

¶70. When our soul leaves this world we shall not be blamed for not having worked miracles, or for not having been theologians or not having been rapt in divine visions. But we shall certainly have to give an account to God of why we have not unceasingly mourned.
This is the seventh step. May he who has been found worthy of it help me too; for he himself has already been helped, since through this seventh step he has washed away the stains of this world.

Do not despair! God's mercies welcome repentance

Venerable John Climacus ~ The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 5 ~ On Repentance

¶38. Nothing equals or excels God’s mercies. Therefore, he who despairs is committing suicide. A sign of true repentance is the acknowledgment that we deserve all the afflictions, visible and invisible, that come upon us, and even greater ones. Moses, after seeing God in the bush, returned again to Egypt, that is, to darkness and to the brick-making of Pharaoh, who was symbolical of the spiritual Pharaoh. But he went back again to the bush, and not only to the bush, but also up the mountain. Whoever has known divine vision will never despair of himself. Job became a beggar, but he became twice as rich again.