Author Topic: Sloth (Read 3090 times)

vinceaglieri · « **on:** January 23, 2013, 08:32:22 PM »

I'm having a real hard time dealing with this deadly sin. I remember coming across the sermon of a traditional priest who talked about a remedy for those who are or who were dealing with the effects of indulging in the sins of the flesh, specifically sloth, among other things.

He said something about the need for doing violence to yourself or something, i don't know but it made sense but for some reason I got angry when I heard it, and now I want to hear it again, lol.

I know I'm probably not going to find it, but does anyone here have any advice?

Thanks :smile:

Anthony Benedict · « **Reply #1 on:** January 23, 2013, 08:41:57 PM »

Not a direct response but an introduction to the spiritual elements of the malady, from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

"St. Thomas (II-II:35) calls it sadness in the face of some spiritual good which one has to achieve (Tristitia de bono spirituali). Father Rickaby aptly translates its Latin equivalent acedia (Gr. akedia) by saying that it means the don't-care feeling. A man apprehends the practice of virtue to be beset with difficulties and chafes under the restraints imposed by the service of God. The narrow way stretches wearily before him and his soul grows sluggish and torpid at the thought of the painful life journey. The idea of right living inspires not joy but disgust, because of its laboriousness. This is the notion commonly obtaining, and in this sense sloth is not a specific vice according to the teaching of St. Thomas, but rather a circuмstance of all vices. Ordinarily it will not have the malice of mortal sin unless, of course, we conceive it to be so utter that because of it one is willing to bid defiance to some serious obligation."

Angel9 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 23, 2013, 08:43:57 PM »

What are you slothful about, because I am very slothful with picking my room.

vinceaglieri · « **Reply #3 on:** January 23, 2013, 08:54:51 PM »

Quote

Ordinarily it will not have the malice of mortal sin unless, of course, we conceive it to be so utter that because of it one is willing to bid defiance to some serious obligation

This applies to me...

Quote

What are you slothful about, because I am very slothful with picking my room

Im slothful with most things, and its actually pretty serious right now for me. With prayer, school work, everything really, and I need a way to effectively combat it. It has taken a serious hold on me, largely because of not being disciplined as a child, I think, but maybe other things....

Graham · « **Reply #4 on:** January 23, 2013, 08:59:54 PM »

Vince, have you prayed the rosary today?

Sigismund · « **Reply #5 on:** January 23, 2013, 09:46:30 PM »

That is almost always a necessary remedy to any spiritual malady, even though other medicine may be required as well.

vinceaglieri · « **Reply #6 on:** January 23, 2013, 10:00:18 PM »

Quote from: Graham

Vince, have you prayed the rosary today?

No i haven't actually, I should really start praying it more consistently!

vinceaglieri · « **Reply #7 on:** January 23, 2013, 10:04:01 PM »

Quote from: Graham

Vince, have you prayed the rosary today?

No i haven't actually, I should really start praying it more consistently!

Marlelar · « **Reply #8 on:** January 23, 2013, 10:15:56 PM »

True spiritual sloth can only be cured by the grace of God but we have to ask Him for His help. The Blessed Mother is there to help you also, you might try saying one Hail Mary at the top of every hour with this intention, (takes a grand total of 16 seconds).

Sloth (aka laziness) can also be a manifestation of boredom. We all get tired of our routines, even our prayer routine... You could try writing out a schedule for yourself and that way you would be able to plan ways to vary your daily routine. Some tasks can't be varied such as school hours or work schedules, but in between you could change things up a bit, perhaps doing some reading in an area that interests you, or a hobby or a sport.

And now for the mom advice: Get out and get some fresh air and sunshine, walk around the block, run, swim, make snow-angels, play ping-pong, but force yourself to DO something and do it everyday. Cut out junk food and eat real food and drink lots of water to flush the sludge out of body and mind.

Here also are some links w/audio sermons, perhaps you'll find something useful in them.

Traditional Sermons

Audio Sancto

Marsha

Lybus · « **Reply #9 on:** January 23, 2013, 10:56:44 PM »

Sloth is more than just laziness. Josef Pieper, a popular Thomist Philosopher, explains this very well in his book Leisure: The Basis of Culture. I found this passage on a website while trying to find a short description of what he talks about in his book. It reads:

Quote

...Out of the woods and back to school in the fall, I quickly forgot that early morning walk. But acedia came up again one day while I was reading Josef Pieper. According to Pieper, acedia is that state when "man finally does not agree with his own existence; that behind all his energetic activity, he is not at one with himself; that, as the Middle Ages expressed it, sadness has seized him in the face of the divine Goodness that lives within him."

That this sin is called "deadly" is not strange. Sloth is a deep-seated death wish. Thomas Aquinas said that "mortal sin is so called because it destroys the spiritual life which is the effect of charity, whereby God dwells in us." Acedia poisons our inner well of joy with apathy. It is more than dropping out—of college, of work, of daytime—and more than laziness. Acedia is saying "no" to the "yes" that God said when He created us and called us good. It is suffocation of God’s living breath in us, and rebellion against God’s interaction with His creation....

http://www.gordon.edu/article.cfm?iArticleID=1283&iReferrerPageID=1676&iPrevCatID=134&bLive=1

Hate is not the opposite of love, it is apathy. In this way, Sloth is contrary to charity, in that it closes the soul to that which is good, which is God and His Creation. From this, we can infer that even the hardest working, most industrial man can be slothful if he never "stops to smell the roses." I'd say that the opposite of sloth is love, and in order to love, one must be willing to stand still and be receptive (that is, to listen) to the goodness of reality.

An example from my experience is my physics and chemistry classes (I'm in college). I found that I really enjoy listening to lectures more than I like doing the homework. During the lecture, my mind is completely open and receptive to the realities that the teacher is attempting to teach me, and so my mind sees quickly just how fascinating our world really is; it gives me a sense of wonder, it is mind boggling how molecules and atoms work to form mega super structures like the human body, or entire planets, and they all fit together so well in order to do this. It is like reading poetry. However, I don't get that same thrill or wonder while worrying about homework I have to finish or while trying to solve problems. It is that standing still, that listening, that open receptivity, that one begins to find the goodness in reality (and therefore, destroys apathy). Eventually, I find that i am more willing to do those pesky problems for the sake of what is good and lovable. Josef Pieper explains all this better in his books, but there's the jisst of it I think. It might be worth while meditating on The Love of God in your prayers.

I highly recommend reading that book (and also his book, "Happiness and Contemplation"), for at the very least, if you are going to attempt to overcome this deadly tendency, one should at least have a thorough understanding of it, and I think reading that book, despite the title, may give you some answers.

Jonah · « **Reply #10 on:** January 24, 2013, 01:18:13 AM »

Fasting is a traditional remedy for those who struggle with sins of the flesh. The idea is that by depriving yourself of licit pleasures, you get prepared to reject what is illicit with the help of the grace of God. The early fathers of the Church taught that those who fall into the sins of the flesh had fallen before into gastrimargia (inordinate affection for things pleasing to the palate) and so they recommended fasting as a remedy.

As Lybus pointed out, sloth is much more complex than laziness. In the language of the early fathers, they used the term acedia. Cassian defined acedia as "tedium or anxiety of the heart", and Evagrius defined it as "a slackness (atonia) of the soul, namely a limpness of the soul, which does not possess what is appropriate to its nature."

According to Evagrius, "acedia is simultaneous, long-lasting movement of anger and desire, whereby the former is angry with what is at hand, while the latter yearns for what is not present." Since both the irrational powers of the soul have to be healed, he recommends first and foremost: be patient, sheer persevering. Also, fasting and the practice of counter-statements against the seductive insinuations and in this regard the prayer of the psalms is particularly helpful. Finally, he recommends meditation on death.

The recommendations above come from the writings of Evagrius on acedia and they have been compiled and discussed in the book "Despondency" by Gabriel Bunge (which I can lend to anyone in need):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0881413941/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0881413941&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwchanco-20

Renzo · « **Reply #11 on:** January 24, 2013, 02:32:02 AM »

Like Jonah, I've read and experienced that fasting helps with sloth. What I read was the recommendation of a 3 day fast, while contemplating the consequences of sloth (detailed throughout proverbs) and the benefits of the contrary virtue of diligence (also detailed throughout proverbs).

It would probably be a good exercise for you to go through proverbs and pick out all the verses on sloth and diligence.

Also, as Jonah said, thinking about death and the limited amount of time God has given to us, the impossibility to get one second of it back and the ingratitude we show, when we waste it.

And of course, prayer.

Lybus · « **Reply #12 on:** January 24, 2013, 06:09:35 AM »

Quote from: Jonah

Fasting is a traditional remedy for those who struggle with sins of the flesh. The idea is that by depriving yourself of licit pleasures, you get prepared to reject what is illicit with the help of the grace of God. The early fathers of the Church taught that those who fall into the sins of the flesh had fallen before into gastrimargia (inordinate affection for things pleasing to the palate) and so they recommended fasting as a remedy.

As Lybus pointed out, sloth is much more complex than laziness. In the language of the early fathers, they used the term acedia. Cassian defined acedia as "tedium or anxiety of the heart", and Evagrius defined it as "a slackness (atonia) of the soul, namely a limpness of the soul, which does not possess what is appropriate to its nature."

According to Evagrius, "acedia is simultaneous, long-lasting movement of anger and desire, whereby the former is angry with what is at hand, while the latter yearns for what is not present." Since both the irrational powers of the soul have to be healed, he recommends first and foremost: be patient, sheer persevering. Also, fasting and the practice of counter-statements against the seductive insinuations and in this regard the prayer of the psalms is particularly helpful. Finally, he recommends meditation on death.

The recommendations above come from the writings of Evagrius on acedia and they have been compiled and discussed in the book "Despondency" by Gabriel Bunge (which I can lend to anyone in need):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0881413941/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0881413941&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwchanco-20

Jonah says more thoroughly what I was trying to say. I would also have to say that what he is saying about fasting makes sense, at least from a biological perspective. During a hardcore fast (with water as your only nutrient) of several days or more, your abilities for logical thinking, AKA ratio begins to wane and becomes extremely difficult to perform due to a lack of incoming nutrients and a lower supply of ready glucose to the brain. Because of this, you are FORCED into intellectus, in which you have no choice but to be in a receptive state for truth, which is supplied by God. In fasts that last as long as 21 days your body thoroughly cleans your bloodstream (as well as much of your other body tissues) and so your brain is receiving superior blood flow, which in turn means it will have greater powers for meditation (via intellectus as well as ratio at the end of the fast). Greater meditation means more graces, and thus an eventual end to sloth.

Also, you will find that at the beginning of a fast, bottled up emotions come forward and so you are forced to deal with them, during which times it would be wise to pray the rosary. At the end of a fast, one should have a clarity of mind and an inner peace that they did not have before.

Of course, if you are in school or job that requires that you have your brain at a high level of intellectual activity, this isn't something that is recommended. Maybe fast on the weekends or on days that aren't particularly demanding.

songbird · « **Reply #13 on:** January 24, 2013, 10:13:09 AM »

You need the Precious Blood that is in all the sacraments. Are you in the area of a Trad. Priest? There is also a paperback book on Lukewarmness of Satan. Very good reading. Never let your prayer life stop. Even if you have a disgust or lazy feeling about it. All the saints had dryness. I also read in the Secret of the Rosary, more graces are received than mortification, what you speak of. First be in Grace, confession and keep up the sacraments and prayer life.

vinceaglieri · « **Reply #14 on:** January 24, 2013, 11:51:43 AM »

Quote

You need the Precious Blood that is in all the sacraments. Are you in the area of a Trad. Priest? There is also a paperback book on Lukewarmness of Satan. Very good reading. Never let your prayer life stop. Even if you have a disgust or lazy feeling about it. All the saints had dryness. I also read in the Secret of the Rosary, more graces are received than mortification, what you speak of. First be in Grace, confession and keep up the sacraments and prayer life.

Yes I'm very fortunate to be in the area of an sspx chapel with a priory.

Thank you everyone for your kind responses. I'll start fasting on the weekends while meditating on those verses in proverbs.

I'll also order the despondency book. You're right, Lybus, about thinking of the beauty of the created universe and of the reality of God. I tend to focus only on the negative, and despair. I should focus on the wonder and beauty of the universe, and the awesome sacrifice of pure Love which God made of himself to restore our souls to the beauty they once possesed. Just reading your post enlightened me.

Thank you so much all of you! Its time to go to battle!!! :boxer: