Saint of the Day: St. John Climacus, 525-606; called "Climacus" because of his famous book, "The Climax," or, "The Ladder of Perfection"; a Syrian or Palestinian who started his eremitical life at sixteen, living for many years as a hermit on Sinai, then went to Thale; he authored "The Ladder of Perfection" to provide a comprehensive treatise on the ideal of Christian perfection and the virtues and vices of the monastic life; elected abbot of the monks of Mt. Sinai at the age of seventy, and died on Mt. Sinai