Two words I added to my vocabulary bank this year.

Ennui (pronounced On-Wee) is a new emotion of the main character Riley in the movie “Inside Out 2” and Ennui appears in the film performing actions on her handphone from her couch, and exhibits a ‘whatever’ attitude toward life (oh, how I hate that word ‘whatever’). Ennui is the French word for tiredness and boredom.

Then I came across the word ‘Acedia’ in a recent gospel commentary and was curious as to what it meant. It’s a bit more than ennui; it’s a kind of spiritual weariness that numbs your soul.


The Dreary Trio

So ennui, acedia and Spiritual sloth, these three are related. Spiritual sloth is one of the seven deadly sins. For just a moment, close an eye to the cute and lovable slow-moving sloth in cartoons. Spiritual sloth is a resistance to the demands of love—avoiding prayer, good works, and a deep relationship with God because they seem, well, too much effort.

Wrestling with what Spiritual sloth looks like? Check out Proverbs 6:9-11.

“How long will you lie there, O lazybones?
When will you rise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest
and poverty will come on you like a robber,
and want, like an armed warrior.”

Too archaic for you? How about these examples:

* I have not read the Scriptures today but let me finish this episode on Netflix first.
And down the rabbit hole you go. 30 minutes turns into two hours.

* I should spend some time with God in the Adoration room.
“I’ll go next week,” you say. For the fifth week in a row.

Spiritual sloth also reminds me of Fr Sam’s recent homily on how we pray so hard for Jesus to come into our lives that when he does come, we find it very difficult to be a good host. In the end, we want to tell Jesus, we have no time for you.

So if you recognise you have a problem with Spiritual sloth, you can do something about it.


Beat Sloth, Begin Slow (I mean Small)

  1. Set Holy Habits. Routine helps combat laziness. For example, write your own daily prayer for the month, one that you can say when you get out of bed, or a prayer before you hit the sack.
  2. Accountability. Fr Terence mentioned this at a retreat. So I pledged then to come for at least one EC on a weekday and committed to this with the help of a friend. I know for some of you that’s not much. To me, it is a start.
  3. Seek the rewards. Matthew 11:29-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” True rest comes from engaging with God, not avoiding Him.

 

So the next time someone asks you how was the retreat you attended, let us not be like Ennui/Riley in the movie answering nonchalantly ‘Fine’ but share what Jesus wanted you and others to hear.

It is time to get off the couch.

 

Shared by Karen R-Fong, a wannabe tai-tai who desires to retire in a library of books and to read with our Lord to her last days.

 

References:

https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-sin-of-sloth

Article was with the help of Generative AI.