This article first appeared in Our Sunday Visitor magazine. Subscribe to receive the monthly magazine here.
The book I most frequently recommend for spiritual reading is “The Noonday Devil: Acedia, The Unnamed Evil of Our Times” by the Benedictine abbot Jean-Charles Nault, particularly because it keenly addresses the pervasive spiritual malaise of this age. This has long been a tactic of the Evil One — to distract souls seeking perfection not with obvious temptation but with spiritual sloth, which so often can lead to despair. In all areas of our life, not just what is obviously spiritual, a feeling of purposelessness can make us feel adrift and unsure. It is then that temptation becomes especially difficult to avoid.
What we often lack in these moments is perspective, that is, the capacity to see beyond the here and now. When we feel the weight of our obligations and responsibilities, it can become overwhelming. If you have ever had so many things to do — errands to run, chores to complete, emails to answer — that you simply sit down and do nothing, then you know how crippling this experience can be. Perspective is important so that we can see beyond what is merely immediate or temporary.
And so, when we say we need perspective, what we really need is wisdom. The virtue of wisdom, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, is the capacity to see things as God does; not only knowing good from evil but being able to view all things in light of salvation. Joyful perseverance in the midst of even the smallest temptation to despair is imperative. St. Benedict provides wise counsel to his novices here, noting that faithfulness in small things is the best means of encountering God in the present.
The devil wants nothing more than to draw us into a self-hating review of our past or a panic-stricken concern for our future, but God does not wait for us in the past or future; God waits for us in the here and now. When we feel ourselves without purpose, it is important to apply one of my favorite axioms: Age quod agis (“do what you are doing”). Simply put, be about what you are about. If you are a spouse and parent, be a spouse and parent; if you are a student, be a student, etc. By giving attention even in the smallest circumstances, we not only can find the Lord who waits for us daily, but with his help and grace, we can move joyfully beyond that moment of despair into the light of his calming presence.
