Posted on 12/05/2015 9:55:09 AM PST by Salvation
Antidote for sloth?
4/8/2015
Q. Do you have any suggestions for a person who is guilty of sloth and laziness? On account of it, I am often sluggish and this keeps me from many of my responsibilities and duties to be a good and prayerful Catholic.
— N.W., Baltimore, Md.
A. Here’s a reply from Msgr. Charles Pope:
Sloth, which is one of the seven capital sins, is sorrow or aversion to the good things that God is offering us. And thus one who has sloth — and hears that God can save them from sins and enable them to do many good works — instead of being happy and eager to embrace these gifts, has a kind of sadness or aversion to them. Perhaps the thought of good works seems burdensome. So, the slothful person becomes avoidant of God and the gifts that he is offering.
While this is often manifest through a kind of a laziness or inattentiveness, sometimes the opposite is true. And thus, some slothful people immerse themselves in worldly activities such as business and career and claim they are far “too busy” to pray, to think about God, or go to church. Therefore, at its heart, sloth is a problem about desire; namely, that we do not ardently desire God and the things he is offering.
Secondly, I would counsel that while praying for greater desire, some small and initial steps be made toward God. Look for something you can reasonably do, which may not be highly desirable at first, but still can be reasonably accomplished. Before I was a priest, I worked in downtown Washington, and I made a Lenten resolution to go to daily Mass at my lunch break.
At first, this seemed difficult and irksome. But gradually, I grew to like it. And when Easter came, I just kept going to Mass almost every day to experience its peace and the nourishment of God’s Word and his body and blood. Often life works like this. We ask for deeper desire and step out on our request by small actions that build.
Monsignor Pope Ping for the OSV column.
I did not know that this is what “sloth” meant. I thought it was just being lazy and not tending to whatever needed tending.
Thanks for posting. Monsignor Pope always provides great wisdom concerning the spiritual life.
I used to think that it was laziness too until another person told me it wasn’t just laziness.
Reading this reply it sounds like the definition of depression.
The noonday devil is the demon of acedia, the vice also known as sloth. The word "sloth", however, can be misleading, for acedia is not laziness; in fact it can manifest as busyness or activism. Rather, acedia is a gloomy combination of weariness, sadness, and a lack of purposefulness. It robs a person of his capacity for joy and leaves him feeling empty, or void of meaning.
Highly recommended.
I’ll see about a copy.
Testosterone injections will perk you right up.
Description of Obama supporters.
I’ve taken some pills from Amazon that are highly rated and they seem to help.
Never asked my quack-ette about them, I might since I have a physical in few weeks.
I agree. The article was very enlightening. I always thought slothfulness was a synonym for laziness but in this context is seems like a lack of vitality for religious obligations.
Sounds like a good book.
Save
I, too, just got finished with “The Noonday Devil.” I also recommend it highly.
I just bought the Kindle version on Amazon. This Advent I am praying for more gifts to give to the baby Jesus. I’m going to Mass at least one weekday a week and doing an extra hour of adoration. I’m also trying to read more sacred literature.
I give up secular reading during Lent and it makes a huge difference! I’ll take a page from your book and try that during Advent, too.
“I made a Lenten resolution to go to daily Mass at my lunch break.”
Luxury.
sloth
noun
reluctance to work or make an effort; laziness.
“he should overcome his natural sloth and complacency”
synonyms: laziness, idleness, indolence, slothfulness, inactivity, inertia, sluggishness, shiftlessness, apathy, acedia, listlessness, lassitude, lethargy, languor, torpidity; literaryhebetude
“who is responsible for the sloth of this department?”
Thank you. I just ordered it for myself. Looks like a great read.
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