The effects of acedia are devastating.
All of the Christian life is fueled by a consuming desire for the beautiful.
St. Nicholas Cabasilas writes that to encounter Christ is to be pierced with longing for his beauty, which then inspires us to imitate the beauty that we have seen.
The one suffering from acedia, however, is no longer inflamed to do the beautiful thing.
The Church Fathers associate acedia with sloth because the person suffering from acedia is lazy when it comes to doing beautiful deeds out of love for God.
To say the person is slothful does not mean that he is doing nothing.
Indeed, the person suffering from acedia may be very active.
Evagrius of Pontus, a teacher of the desert fathers, describes the man afflicted with acedia as a man constantly checking the time, seeking to be distracted by visitors, busying himself with a multitude of concerns and activities, and even imagining going out to be a great evangelist or servant to the poor.
There may be a kind of frenzied activity about the person as he hurries from one task to another.
Unfortunately, the man suffering from acedia is inactive where it matters most.
His busyness is an excuse to avoid prayer. The tasks he focuses on are not the ones that he is obliged to as a husband or father; in fact, they take him away from those duties.
This man considers his disobedience to superiors and laws as justified because of the great good that he imagines himself doing, even as he neglects the duties that are set immediately before him.
A man may obsess over washing his car or trimming his lawn while he neglects whatever help his wife asks for.
He may spend hours reading about important social problems on the internet and may talk constantly about the crises in the news, but he will not give attention to the crisis of faith he is struggling with in his heart.
When asked to do the concrete works he actually needs to do, like attending church on Sunday, helping with the kids, or meeting with his fraternity, the man may even get angry and resentful.
Acedia can lead to a frantic changeability.
We can find ourselves chasing the perfect church or spiritual program in pursuit of that fervor we once had.
The lie of acedia is that the problem is with something external; we tell ourselves, “I’ll pray better once I find the right place.
The people around me are the problem.
My brotherhood/family/pastor is holding me back.”
In reality, the problems lie within our own hearts.
Ultimately, such actions can even turn a man from any attempt to pursue the spiritual life, and he will look for satisfaction and pleasure in worldly delights.
For instance, he might obsess over food and drink, whether in the form of diets or partying, neglect chastity, or focus intently on work and money.
Of course, these will not satisfy him.
Such frantic motion leaves the poor man exhausted in soul and body even while the man slacks in the performance of his real duties.
Take a few moments to rest in the Holy Spirit’s love.
Ask him to help you see the distractions that have filled your life.
Then, put those distractions aside and re-focus on the one who truly matters, Jesus Christ.
