Community in Mission

I will be on the Catholic Answers radio show today (Monday, March 23) at 6:00 PM Eastern Time. The topic will be temptation, what it is and how to avoid and overcome it.  I’ve assembled some notes in preparation and I’ll present them (in two parts) in the blog. Today’s post focuses on what temptation is, why God allows it, and what its sources are. Tomorrow I’ll present the second half of the notes, which center on how to avoid and overcome temptation.

What is Temptation? A seminary teacher of mine once defined temptation quite plainly and succinctly: “Temptation is the work of the devil to drag you to Hell!” Indeed, that is quite plain. Of course he went on to give us more academic definitions, but he didn’t want us to miss the fact that when battling temptation we are in a war, a war with an enemy who wants to destroy us. He wants this because he is envious of our excellence from God.

In a more academic sense, temptation is defined as

an attraction, either from outside oneself or from within, to act contrary to right reason and the commandments of God. Jesus himself during his life on earth was tempted, put to the test, to manifest both the opposition between himself and the devil and the triumph of his saving work over Satan (cf Catechism # 538).

In the Bible, the words used for temptation are nasah (Hebrew) and peirazō (Greek). Both words carry a wide range of meaning that can be translated as either “temptation” or “testing.” In the first sense, the word points to an enticement to do evil. But in the second sense, the connotation is of something that proves our character and shows the depth or integrity of our commitment to God.

The English word “temptation” comes from the Latin temptare, which means more literally “to feel, or try out.” Thus the Latin root emphasizes the notion that temptation is not merely a bad thing, but also serves both as a kind of test of the depth and strength of our faith, and as an opportunity to hone our skills and deepen and purify our faith by God’s grace.

Why does God permit temptation? In one sense temptation is the “necessary” result of freedom. As free persons who are invited to love God and to say yes to his will, we must be permitted to say no. There must be real alternatives to what God offers. If God could force our yes, then we would not be free and our yes would have no real meaning. Further, if God were not to permit any alternatives, or if He did not allow us to know of these alternatives, again our yes would lose most of its meaning. So on one level, temptation is the result of freedom and our call to love.

But why doesn’t God limit temptation so that we have more of a chance? In fact God does limit temptation to some extent. He also provides other holy sources of influence for us. He limits temptation by the simple fact that not everything is possible for us. We experience physical limits, intellectual limits, economic limits, and so forth. Neither can we have every choice available to us at all times; choosing one thing often excludes others.

Further, God send us good influences. His voice echoes in our conscience. He has given us intellect and reason so that we are able to decipher the Natural Law. He has given us an attraction to goodness, beauty, and truth. He offers us the grace of faith and every other grace necessary to endure. He has given us direct revelation in his Scripture so that we can access by faith. He has sent prophets and even His own Son. And His Son continues His Ministry of teaching salvation and reconciliation through His Body, the Church. So God does limit temptation and He gives us other good influences to balance what temptations remain.

Scripture says, No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Cor 10:13).

What are the sources of temptation? Briefly stated, they are the world, the flesh, and the devil. I will describe each of these more specifically below.

We can begin by noting that God is not a source of temptation despite what many conclude from the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, lead us not into temptation (Matt 6: 6:13; Lk 11:4). This phrase is a petition asking God not to permit us to be subject to a test or temptation beyond our capacity to endure, and asking Him to give us grace to withstand what does. That God himself is not a source of temptation is attested to elsewhere in Scripture:

• When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death (James 1:13-14).
• For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world (1 John 2:16).

Temptation that comes from the world – The word “world” here does not mean “that which God created,” which is good. Rather, “world,” when used in this sense in the Scriptures, refers to the powers, opinions, priorities, and “values” that are arrayed against God and what He has revealed. It is that which is hostile, rebellious, and opposed to God and is therefore under the power of “the prince of this world” (e.g., John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11 ), “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2), and the “god of this world (or age)” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Jesus says, If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you (Jn 15:19).

St Paul says, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom 12:2).

And yet the world does tempt us; it mesmerizes us with its beauties and trinkets, its comforts and priorities, which are essentially physical and passing. We see its glories and easily forget the more glorious One who made it; we seek its gifts and so quickly forget the Giver of those gifts; we delight in creation but so often not in its Creator.

Jesus warns how easily the world distracts us from that which is more necessary: And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of its wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful (Matt 13:22).

Some examples of worldly temptations surround money and power. Here, Scripture warns of money:

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs (1 Timothy 6:9–10).

And here are scriptural warnings about power:

Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth; that he may confirm his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as at this day (Deuteronomy 8:17–18).

But when King Uzziah was strong he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was false to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense (2 Chronicles 26:16).

It is also clear that temptation from the world is rather heavily weighted toward temptation from other people. St. Peter colorfully warns,

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping … These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved … (2 Peter 2:1-5, 17-19).

Temptation arising from the flesh – Here, “flesh” (sarx) does not refer to the physical body per se but to our many sinful drives. The flesh is that part of us that is rebellious, that does not like being told what to do, that resists the truth and bristles at being less than God and at being dependent upon Him.

In traditional teachings, the seven most basic sinful drives are Pride, Greed, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth. Of these I have written elsewhere. Click on the individual words to read more.

Other sinful drives of the flesh include fear, hatred, vengefulness, unbelief, and worldliness. These serve as deep sources of temptation and explain why evil tempts us, why it is hard to resist, and why we are often sitting ducks who are easily overwhelmed by the devil and the world.

Of these drives Scripture says,

Jesus said, “But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them” (Matt 15:18-20).

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend it on your flesh. Adulterers! (James 4:1-4)

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts (Eph 2:1-3).

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing (Rom 7:18-19).

Temptation from Satan – Some temptation comes directly from Satan and demons, who suggest evil thoughts to us and point to wicked things, ways, and solutions. Satan is also able to manipulate the world (since he is the prince of this world) and our flesh since we give him lots of “buttons to push.”

Of  Satan and his tempting influence Scripture says,

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Gen 3:1)

Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel (1 Chron 21:1).

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Mat 4:1).

The seed sown beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved (Lk 8:12).

The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus … As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him (John 13:2, 27).

Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control (1 Cor 7:5).

Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus (Rev 12:17).

And there we have the meaning and sources of temptation. Tomorrow’s post considers that temptation is a battle that can be won and looks to biblical and practical advice in laying hold of the victory that Christ has won for us.

During Lent, a gift to seek is greater serenity. The word comes from the Latin serenus, meaning clear or unclouded (skies). By extension it thus means calm, without storm.

Serenity has become more used in modern times with the advent of many 12-Step programs, which use the Serenity Prayer as an important help to their work.

Perhaps the closest Greek word to serenity is γαλήνη (galene=calm) and it is used most specifically to describe the incident when Jesus stood in the boat and rebuked the storm, bringing about a great calm, a serenity (cf Matt 8:26). In this sense we can see how true serenity must come as a gift from God. For the storms of life can overwhelm and overpower us. So we need to seek serenity from God and receive it from Him.

My own personal experience with serenity is that it is a calm, confident, peaceful joy; a feeling that everything is all right, that everything is in God’s hands. It is a feeling that I know what is mine to do and what belongs to God.

I would like to examine four sayings that are related to serenity. I’m not exactly sure where I first got them, but I recently discovered them in a collection of old clippings I have from years ago. These sayings describe serenity itself (often without using the word) as well as its sources. Let’s look at them one by one (with a little commentary by yours truly). The sayings take the form of the stories of the desert Fathers but I am quite sure that they are actually modern reflections put into the older form.

1. The disciples ask the master, “Are there ways for gauging one’s spiritual strength?” “Many,” said the master. “Give us one,” beseeched the disciples. And the master responded, “Find out how often you become disturbed in the course of a single day.”

The normal Christian life is to be increasingly free from anger, anxiety, and disturbance. This results from the increasing trust that faith begets. The closer our walk with God and the more we experience His love for us, the more inconsequential to us is the hatred of the world, the insensitivity of others. We are increasingly untroubled when we are not praised or promoted because more and more, God’s love is enough for us, we experience it as real. We are less obsessed with what others think of us. Our fears give way to a powerful experience of God’s loving providence and His capacity to make a way out of no way.

Anger and inner turmoil abates as we leave vengeance to God and are less prone to anger in the first place. This is because most anger is rooted in fear, and as fear gives way to trust, the cause of much of our anger is gone. Gratitude for the graces we have received makes jealousy and envy less possible. Disturbances diminish overall.

Yes, serenity is a true indicator of spiritual progress. The increasing lack of disturbances in our day is a sign of God’s work in our soul. Here is a gift to be sought.

2. Sometimes there would be a rush of noisy visitors and the silence of the monastery would be shattered. This would upset the disciples; not the Master, who seemed just as content with the noise as with the silence. To his protesting disciples he said one day, “Silence is not the absence of sound, but the absence of self.”

It often happens that even when pray in physical silence, our minds are still filled with many concerns. The deepest prayer is to be caught up in God, to be gifted with contemplative silence. This silence is within and cannot easily be disrupted by the physical noises of the world. It is a deep, inner, spiritual serenity that envelops the soul. It is a peace that the world did not give and thus cannot take away. Here, too, is a gift to seek from God: deep, inner serenity. It is a silence focused on God and absent from ourselves and our egocentric concerns.

3. To a disciple who was forever complaining about others the Master said, “If it is peace you want, seek to change yourself, not other people. It is easier to wear slippers, than to carpet the whole of the earth.”

There is an old saying, “If I get better, others get better too.” The reform and transformation of the whole world begins with me. There is great serenity to be found in staying in our own lane and working our own issues.

Much anger is abated in a marriage when an aggrieved spouse thinks, “My marriage is not perfect because I am in it.” Perfect marriages, perfect churches, perfect families, perfect workplaces … they do not exist because there are no perfect people to populate them. And the imperfection begins with me. There is serenity in realizing and accepting this.

Unrealistic expectations (e.g., that others should be perfect) are premeditated resentments. And resentments rob us of serenity.

It is true that we must engage in properly ordered fraternal correction. But fraternal correction has little effect without humility and the serenity that defuses the difficulty of the actual moment of correction.

4. “How can I be a great man like you?” “Why be a great man?” said the Master. “Being a man is a great enough achievement.”

We often become imbued with unrealistic dreams for ourselves. It is not wrong to have dreams, but we must also accept that it is God who ultimately assigns each of us our place in His kingdom.

One of the great secrets of serenity is to gradually discover the man or woman God has created us to be. Simply becoming what we were made to be and respecting what God is doing is a great source of serenity. God alone can give us this knowledge of His plan for us.

Scripture says, LORD, my heart is not proud; nor are my eyes haughty. I do not busy myself with great matters, with things too sublime for me. Rather, I have stilled my soul, hushed it like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap, so is my soul within me (Psalm 131:1-2).

There is a story about Rabbi Eliezer, who said, “I have often said to myself, ‘Eliezer, why are you not more like Moses? Moses was a great man!’ But then it occurs to me that if I do that, God will one day say to me, ‘Eliezer, why were you not Eliezer?'”

Yes, there is serenity in not trying to be someone else.

These are just a few thoughts on serenity. In the Scriptures, Jesus brought serenity that night in the boat by calming the storm.

Here’s an interesting thought: Did you notice that Jesus slept right through most of the storm that night and had to be awakened by the frightened disciples? Who was right, Jesus to be calm, or the disciples to be panicked? You decide.

And a final thought: Most people have heard the Serenity Prayer. But the part most people know is actually only the first few lines of a longer prayer. The author of the prayer is disputed, but the full prayer is here:

• GOD, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
• the courage to change the things I can,
• and the wisdom to know the difference.
• Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time;
• Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
• Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.
• Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
• That I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
• Amen

This song says, “When peace like a river attendeth by way, when sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, “It is well, it is well with my soul.”

I have mentioned here before that my mentor and teacher, Fr. Francis Martin, once asked, “Do you know what is the biggest obstacle for us in understanding the Word of God?” I was expecting him to answer his own question by saying something like, “We don’t know enough Greek,” or “We haven’t studied the historical critical method carefully enough.” But he looked around the room and then said, “The biggest obstacle we have to understanding the Word of God is our sin.”

He went on to encourage us in the discipline of study but warned that all the study in the world could not be of great help, indeed could be of harm, if we did not have a clean heart. I have respected him ever since and listened (on tape) to probably two dozen other priest conferences and courses he preached and taught. Though I was never formally enrolled in one of his classes, he became one of my principal teachers through his tape ministry. He now has a great YouTube ministry here: Fr. Francis Martin Ministries.

Scholars, academicians, and even some unbelievers can tell you to some extent what a particular biblical text is talking about, but only the holy, the saints, can tell you what it means. Toward the end of his life, Fulton Sheen commented that in modern times we have tried seemingly every possible way to build up the Church: committees, study groups, task forces, seminars, and advanced degrees in every sort of religious study; the only thing that we have not tried is holiness. He went on to recommend that every priest make a daily Holy Hour.

There is a passage in the Breviary that also shows the correlation between holiness and seeing:

If you say, “Show me your God,” I will say to you, “Show me what kind of person you are, and I will show you my God.” … God is seen by those who have the capacity to see him, provided that they keep the eyes of their mind open. All have eyes, but some have eyes that are shrouded in darkness, unable to see the light of the sun. Because the blind cannot see it, it does not follow that the sun does not shine. The blind must trace the cause back to themselves and their eyes. In the same way, you have eyes in your mind that are shrouded in darkness because of your sins and evil deeds. A person’s soul should be clean, like a mirror reflecting light. If there is rust on the mirror his face cannot be seen in it. In the same way, no one who has sin within him can see God. But if you will you can be healed. Hand yourself over to the doctor, and he will open the eyes of your mind and heart. Who is to be the doctor? It is God, who heals and gives life through his Word and wisdom … If you understand this, and live in purity and holiness and justice, you may see God. But, before all, faith and the fear of God must take the first place in your heart, and then you will understand all this. When you have laid aside mortality and been clothed in immortality, then you will see God according to your merits (From the book addressed to Autolycus by Saint Theophilus of Antioch, bishop).

So there it is; holiness together with a fear of the Lord is really the only way to see at all.

There is also the great gospel of the man born blind. At a pivotal moment, Jesus smears the man’s eyelids with clay and sends him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man returns able to see. When asked how he came to see, he replies, in effect, “I went, I washed, and now I see.” This is baptismal theology even if in seminal form. We cannot see until we are washed. In the end it is baptism, confession, and a holy life by God’s grace that give the greatest light. One of the great theologians and Fathers of the Church, St. Cyprian, experienced the vision that baptism and holiness bring:

And I myself was bound fast, held by so many errors of my past life, from which I did not believe I could extricate myself. I was disposed therefore to yield to my clinging vices; and, despairing of better ways, I indulged my sins … But afterwards, when the stain of my past life had been washed away by means of the waters of rebirth, a light from above poured itself upon my chastened and now pure heart; afterwards, through the Spirit which is breathed from heaven, a second birth made of me a new man. And then in marvelous manner, doubts immediately clarified themselves, the closed opened … and what had been thought impossible was able to be done (Letter to Donatus, 4).

Only after baptism did some things make sense and seem possible for Cyprian.

I, too, have come to understand some things only after many years of prayer and growth. Daily Holy Hour, daily Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, weekly confession … only then do some things become clear, only then does that which had been in darkness come to light. To be sure, study has had its place in my life, but only the path to holiness (combined with study) can ever really bring light.

We’ve tried everything else, how about holiness? …Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matt 5:8).

Here’s a video I put together on the beauty of prayer, especially before the Blessed Sacrament. It is set to the words of a beautiful Eucharistic Hymn, “Jesus My Lord, My God, My All,” directed by the late Richard Proulx.

Some years ago, the Church gave wider permission for cremation and also lifted traditional restrictions on having cremated remains present in the church for funeral Masses. All of this is pastorally understandable. Very few if any people these days choose cremation for the reasons it had traditionally been forbidden, namely as a denial of the resurrection of the body. Generally the reasons chosen are economic, due to the increasingly high cost of traditional burial and the difficulty, especially in urban areas, of finding room for large cemeteries. The basic norms from the church regarding cremation are these:

The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the dead be observed; it does not, however, forbid cremation unless it has been chosen for reasons which are contrary to Christian teaching (Code of Canon Law No. 1176, 3).

Although cremation is now permitted by the Church, it does not enjoy the same value as burial of the body. The Church clearly prefers and urges that the body of the deceased be present for the funeral rites, since the presence of the human body better expresses the values which the Church affirms in those rites (Order of Christian Funerals no. 413).

The cremated remains of a body should be treated with the same respect given to the human body from which they come. This includes the use of a worthy vessel to contain the ashes, the manner in which they are carried, and the care and attention to appropriate placement and transport, and the final disposition. The cremated remains should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. The practice of scattering cremated remains on the sea, from the air, or on the ground, or keeping cremated remains in the home of a relative or friend of the deceased are not the reverent disposition that the Church requires (cf Order of Christian Funerals # 417).

From a pastoral point of view, these norms are  clear and understandable. However, as a pastor, I must say that I have growing concerns over practices that are appearing with the more widespread use of cremation.

The norms clearly indicate that cremated remains are not to be scattered, divided, or retained in the homes of the faithful on fireplace mantles, on shelves, or in other places. But these norms are somewhat difficult to enforce.

The problem emerges essentially from the detachment of the funeral Mass from interment. When cremation is chosen, it is common for the funeral Mass to be celebrated quickly but the burial to be scheduled at some “later date” when arrangements can be more conveniently made. Frequently clergy are told that the family will “call back” at some point in the future. But often these calls never come and burials are put off indefinitely.

Issues such as money, logistics, and family disputes are often factors in the delay. Priests, too, are  often busy and do not have time to follow up to see if “Uncle Joe” is ready for burial now.  As such, many deceased remain unburied for weeks, months, or years, or perhaps never even buried at all.

I was shocked a couple of years ago to discover that a certain Catholic family still had the cremated remains of an uncle on the top shelf of their closet. The delay centered around who in the family was going to pay for the burial lot and debates about whether burial was even necessary at all. Perhaps the ashes could just be scattered out in the woods.

Without the urgency to bury the dead, the burial is often given little regard.

Another concern came to my attention during recent funeral preparations. There was a tense debate going on among the assembled family members as to who would get to keep the ashes and who would not. The crematorium had offered to dispense ashes to different family members in sealed boxes or urns (for a price of course) and the debate seemed to center on whether certain family members were “qualified” to get some of “Mom” or not. Yikes! And when I instructed them that no division of the remains should take place at all, but rather that burial had to be arranged, I was greeted with puzzled stares and eventual “assurances” that such burial would be arranged “in due time,” once the family could work out their differences.

But things have gotten even worse.

Many funeral homes are now offering “jewelry” made from the cremated remains of loved ones or with the remains sealed within the jewelry. If you don’t believe me, click HERE, HERE, or HERE. The ghoulishness and bad taste are surpassed only by the shock of how suddenly such bizarre practices have been introduced. One can imagine the following awful dialogue: “Hey, that’s pretty new jewelry! Was that your Mom’s?”  “Well, actually it is Mom!” Double yikes!

Cremation is certainly here to stay. And I do not doubt there are sound pastoral reasons for its use. However, the norms of the Church insist that cremated remains be treated with the same respect as the body. And just as we would not scatter body parts in the woods, or divide up limbs and torsos to distribute to family members, or put fingers into resin and wear them as earrings, neither should we do this with cremated remains. These ARE the remains of a human being and they are to be buried or placed in a mausoleum with the same respect due the uncremated body.

I think pastors are going to have to teach more explicitly on this matter and that  bishops may need to issues norms that will help to prevent problems. One helpful norm might be to refuse to celebrate a funeral Mass until proper burial is scheduled. I am unclear if a pastor alone can do this, but surely a diocese must also have an increasingly firm and clear policy of which people are widely informed.

Simply permitting cremation without well-thought-out policies has proven to be a mistake. I pray that a post like this may provoke thought from all of us in the Church as to how to deal pastorally with a situation that is degrading quickly. We must do some teaching, but we also must not cooperate with bad practices.

The website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has proposed a possible solution for Catholic cemeteries to offer to families who are financially unable to bury the cremated remains of loved ones:

For some families, the choice of cremation is based on financial hardship, so this choice often means also that there is no plan for committal or burial of the cremated remains. As a means of providing pastoral support and an acceptable respectful solution to the problem of uninterred cremated remains, one diocese offered on All Souls’ Day in 2011 an opportunity for any family who desired it the interment of cremated remains. The diocese offered a Mass and committal service at one of its Catholic cemeteries and provided, free of charge, a common vault in a mausoleum for the interment of the cremated remains. The names of the deceased interred there were kept on file, though in this case they were not individually inscribed on the vault. [1]

I am interested in your thoughts and experiences and hope to share them with my bishop and my fellow clergy

 

One of the more misunderstood of the cardinal sins is sloth. This is because most see it merely as laziness. But there is more to sloth than that. Let’s take a moment and consider some aspects of the cardinal sin we call sloth.

The Greek word we translate as sloth is ἀκηδία akedia (a = absence + kedos = care), meaning indifference or negligence. St. Thomas speaks of sloth as sorrow for spiritual good. By it, we shun spiritual good as too toilsome (cf ST II-II 35,2).

Some modern commentators speak of sloth as a “don’t care” feeling. Some even say it is a kind of falling out of love with God and the things of God (cf Rev 2:4). On account of  sloth, the idea of right living and the gift of a transformed humanity inspires not joy, but aversion or even disgust because it is seen as too laborious or as requiring setting aside currently enjoyed or sinful pleasures. By sloth, many experience sorrow rather than joy or zeal in following God and receiving a transformed human life. They are distressed at the prospect of what might have to occur should they embrace the faith more deeply.

Sloth also tends to dismiss the power of grace, focusing on the “trouble” or effort attached to walking in the Christian way, rather than understanding grace as a work of God.

As said above, many people today equate sloth with laziness. But sloth is not merely laziness; it is more properly understood as sorrow or indifference. While sloth may sometimes look like boredom and a casual laziness toward attaining spiritual good, it can also be manifested by a frantic “busyness” with worldly things so as to avoid spiritual questions or living a reflective life.

Consider, for example, a man who is a workaholic. Now suppose that this man has a wife and children. A man in this position has some very significant gifts and duties beyond his career. He is a husband, a father, and the spiritual leader of his home. He is also a disciple, one whom the Lord has summoned to a new life, to the great discovery of God, and to the deepest meaning and realities of his life. He also has the awesome dignity to announce these truths to his wife and children.

But all of the duties and glories of his vocation overwhelm and even scare him. It all seems so irksome and the task too open-ended. Frankly, he doesn’t want to reflect too much because it might summon him to ponder things he would like to avoid considering: moral questions or priorities, whether he is spending enough time with his wife and children, whether his life is focused on the things that matter most. No, it’s all just too irksome, too ridden with uncertainty to enter more deeply into the spiritual life. Work is easier, and at work they call him “Sir” and do what he says.

So he buries himself in his work. And this helps him to avoid prayer and reflection. Of course there’s “no time” for Mass or for praying with his wife and children. There’s no time for scripture, retreats, and the like.

This man is not lazy but he is slothful. In the end his workaholism is sloth, for it is sorrow and aversion to the gift that the Lord offers him: to come out into the deeper waters and lower his net for a catch. In this case, his sorrow for spiritual good is manifested in avoidance rooted in fear. By sloth, he is not joyful at the invitation of the Lord or the Church. Instead he is sorrowful and averse to what he sees as toilsome and possibly raising uncomfortable things he would rather not think about. He does not hate God or the faith, but it is all just too much.

That said, sloth does often manifest itself as a kind of lethargy, a boredom that can’t seem to muster any interest, energy, joy, or enthusiasm for spiritual gifts. Such people may be enthusiastic about many things, but God and the faith are not among them.

Boredom seems to have increased in modern times and this fuels sloth. In effect, we are hyperstimulated in the modern world. The frantic pace, the endless interruptions, the abundance of entertainment, fast-paced movies, and video games all overstimulate us. From the time we awaken until we fall into bed at the end of the day, there is almost never a moment of silence or a time when we are not being bombarded by images, often flickering and quickly changing.

This hyperstimulation means that when we come upon things like quiet prayer or adoration, or are asked to listen for an extended period, or when the imagery is not changing quickly enough, we are easily bored.

And boredom feeds right into sloth. The “still, small voice of God,” the quiet of prayer, the simple reading of Scripture and the pondering of its message, the unfolding of spiritual meaning through reflection, the slower joys of normal human conversation in communal prayer and fellowship … none of these appeal to the many who are overstimulated and used to a breakneck pace. Sunday, once the highlight of the week for many (due to the beauty of the liturgy, the music, the hearing of the sermon, the joy of fellowship, and the quiet of Holy Communion), is now considered boring and about as appealing as going to the dentist, a necessary evil at best.  Thus, sloth is fueled by the boredom our culture feels at anything going less than 90 miles and hour.

Peter Kreeft says,

Sloth is a cold sin, not a hot one. But that makes it even deadlier. [For] rebellion against God is closer to him than indifference … God can more easily cool our wrath than fire our frozenness, though he can do both.  Sloth is a sin of omission not commission. That too makes it deadlier, for a similar reason. To commit evil is at least to be playing the game … Sloth simply does not play God’s game, either with him or against him … It sits on the sidelines bored … Better to be hot or cold than lukewarm [Back to Virtue, P. 154].

Sloth, of course, gives rise to many sins: we do not pray, attend Mass, go to confession, or read Scripture. We do not grow in our spiritual life and thus we fail to become the man or woman God made us to be. In some sense every sin contains an element of sloth, for when we sin we show a kind of aversion to the perfecting graces that God offers us. Rather than seeing the moral law of God as a great summons to freedom, we reject that call as “too much trouble.”

Socially, too, there are many manifestations of sloth. Two that are common in the modern world are secularism and relativism.

1. Secularism – By secularism, I am referring to a preoccupation with worldly things (rather than the more current meaning of hostility to religious faith). It is amazing how passionate we can get about worldly things. Perhaps it is football, or politics, or the newest electronic device. Perhaps it is our career, or the stock market, or something in the news. Yes, we are passionate people, and even the most reserved of us have strong interests occupying our mind.

And yet many of those who rejoiced at the basketball game that ended so thrillingly, or were passionately engaged at the political rally, or were so excited about the latest twist on their favorite television show, many of these same passionate, joyful people can muster no interest whatsoever in prayer, Mass, or Bible study. And if they do get to Mass they look like they’re in agony until it’s over.

This is secularism and it is a form of sloth. We have time and passion for everything but God. It is a very deep drive. We are mesmerized by many things of the world, but bored and sorrowful (and thus slothful) over the things of the spiritual life. Where is the joy? Where is the zeal? Where is the hunger for completion in God?

This is sloth. It is not merely depression or boredom; it is sloth. It is a sorrow toward the spiritual gifts of God. It is a deep drive of the flesh and it has to go. But only God and openness to His grace can ultimately save us and bring us more alive from this death-directed drive.

2. Relativism – Many today indulge a notion that there is no such thing as absolute or unchanging truth to which we are summoned and must ultimately conform. This is relativism. And many who practice it actually congratulate themselves for their “tolerance” and “open-mindedness.” They think of their relativism as a virtue. But more often than not, relativism is simply sloth masquerading as tolerance. The fact is, if there is such a thing as truth (and there is), then I should joyfully seek it and base my life on its demands and promises.

Many indulge in relativism because it is an easy way out. If there is no truth then I am not obliged to seek it nor base my life upon it. Frankly, many are averse to and sorrowful toward the truth because they find its demands irksome. This is sloth. Their sorrow is directed toward a very precious spiritual gift of God: the gift of truth. Instead of joyfully seeking the truth, the relativist is sorrowful and avoids the gift, couching his sloth in words such as “open-mindedness” and “tolerance.”

To be sure, there is a place for tolerance. But the true virtue of tolerance is usually misunderstood today and is often equated with approval. The proper understanding of tolerance is “the conditional acceptance of or non-interference with beliefs, actions, or practices that one considers to be wrong but still ‘tolerable,’ such that they should not be prohibited or unreasonably constrained.” The key point that is often lost today is that the tolerated beliefs or practices are considered to be objectionable, wrong, or bad. If this objection component is missing, we are not speaking any longer of “toleration” but of “indifference” or “affirmation.”

Hence, relativists who dismiss that there is truth to be found cannot rightly call their position “tolerance.” It is in fact indifference and is a form of sloth.

For all of our modern claims to be tolerant and open-minded, the more usual fact is that we are just plain lazy and slothful when it comes to seeking the truth. We (collectively speaking) do not love the truth but shun it, sorrowfully regarding its possible claims on us. Jesus said rightly, This is the judgement: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God (Jn 3:19-21).

A few reflections, then, on sloth.

Coming to recognize sloth for what it is, calling it by name, and learning its moves, are the first steps on the road to healing. Sloth is, of course, one of those drives that is so deep that ultimately we must fall to our knees and beg deliverance from the Lord, who alone can heal us.

The gift that the Lord offers us is promised in this beatitude: Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt 5:6).

We must also ask for and seek the fruits of the Holy Spirit, especially love, joy, and peace. These gifts kindle a fire of love in our hearts for God and for the gifts He offers.

Because sloth is such a deep drive, we must throw ourselves to the care of God with great humility, recognizing our poverty and seeking His miraculous grace to give us grateful, loving, and passionate hearts.

Finally, since sloth can also be caused by the feeling of being overwhelmed at the perfection of our call, we do well to consider two points:

1. We ought to meditate carefully on what our specific call is. Since we cannot do and be everything, we need to come to an understanding of our own particular gifts and how God expects us to use them. Having done this, we do well to “stay in our lane.”
2. We must understand that spiritual progress grows in stages and by many steps, not in one giant leap. Hence we need not be so sorrowful or averse to the good things God offers us. As a loving Father, He leads us and forms us most often in gentle ways as one spiritual victory leads to another.

Pray for zeal, joy, hope, confidence, and a hunger for holy things. The Christian journey is meant to be a thrilling one as we experience how God is utterly transforming us.

I don’t know, something tells me that after a heavy post like this it’s time to play the Bach Gigue Fugue. Since sloth is sorrow, Joy is an essential solution. Here is Joy in G Major!