You have surely experienced spiritual weariness; that is, laziness in prayer, negligence in committing to the things of God and the parish, and boredom with aspects of the faith that even bother you. This is called ACEDIA. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraph 2733, speaks of it.
ACEDIA is essentially seeing spirituality as something extremely boring and tedious. It’s not about renouncing God or losing faith; no, it’s something that systematically distances you from spiritual reality and the presence of God in your life, without you outright rejecting the faith. In fact, a person with ACEDIA can be asked if they believe in God, and they will answer yes; and they are surely telling the truth, but they act as if they don’t believe. This is a sin committed through the very action of the evil one, who leads us to a spiritual and faithless desert. Only the humble recognize this reality and strive to counteract it by acting contrary to that experience which devastates faith and the relationship with God. From sloth spring apostasy, heresy, and schism. These are topics we will address in another newsletter.
Are you experiencing sloth?
Have a blessed Sunday, everyone.