Every time I make a resolution to pause from my social media use, parcel delivery trucks visit my home more often. It turns out that when I delete a social app from my phone, my attention migrates to another distraction, like online shopping. It’s all too easy to rationalize – I’m not mindlessly scrolling through feeds; I am deliberately looking for an item I need, which would work better if I get the recommended starter pack… and well, this other thing is on sale, so really it’s cheaper in the long run… 

It’s easy to rationalize away the little things; but little things eventually become big things.

Limits that I initially think are virtuous just take the form of another vice. It’s a slippery slope, and once I start sliding down, I can’t muster up the strength to hit the brakes and stop my descent.

I was recently introduced to the notion of ‘acedia’, nicknamed ‘the noonday devil’. Think about it as the sluggishness that you feel after a heavy mid-day meal, and you lose momentum over the rest of your afternoon. Acedia is latin for sloth – a mind picture that aptly encapsulates the term. I learned about it from Tsh Oxenreider’s Lenten devotional called “Bitter & Sweet: A Journey into Easter”. 

According to Tsh, acedia, in simple terms, is like a “sadness that good things are hard, or a sorrow for spiritual good”. We can be filled with the best intentions; but when the rubber meets the road, difficulties or perceived suffering prevent us from focusing on doing the right thing. 

In our spiritual lives, the problem with acedia is that we start to allow blinders to impede our moral acuity. With this absence of care, we become lenient about beliefs we hold and boundaries we set. We become masters of rationalization, making allowances for decisions that we would have otherwise not made. 

With poorly-drawn boundary lines, vices start to take residence in our daily lives, masquerading as “non-harmful” little behaviors that are slowly eroding our souls. 

This kind of life is diametrically opposite to the abundant life that Jesus offers:

“A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” - John 10:10

“For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” - Galatians 5:1

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” - 2 Corinthians 3:17 

We are meant to live in freedom, not enslaved to vices that hold our hearts and minds captive. The way to claim this God-given freedom is to repeatedly ask the Holy Spirit for steadfastness to be spiritually diligent and to fight moral apathy.

These are ways in which I’ve tried to recognize it in myself:

Recognizing My Greed

The vice of greed is easy to spot in my life, because I love to shop! I am thrilled by the lure of a good bargain. When something is on sale (or even better: second hand), it’s all too easy to explain why buying more than I need makes good sense.

After thrifting a pair of branded shoes that do not fit me or anyone else in my family, I came to realize that I am taking away the thrill of a good find from someone else who can actually use the item. I’ve prided myself with spotting a treasure, but in reality, I am overcome by a greedy desire to hoard things I do not need.  

If you feel greed creeping in: Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand the need you are trying to fill. Is it happiness? Status? Sit with these thoughts before taking action.

Recognizing How I Give Into Lust

In Bitter & Sweet, Tsh points out that: “lust is nothing more and nothing less than a disordered desire for pleasure. When we plug our ears to its siren song, lust tries to shame us into believing we’re debased for craving intimacy in the first place; yet our creator tells us that desire was hardwired in us from the beginning. (...) these desires, rightly ordered, are very good indeed and that our bodies aren’t destined to wreck on the rocks where the sirens croon. The truest, best pleasure, rests within the boundaries of life.”

I believe that the devil finds a glorious playground in the wild world that is Natural Family Planning. Couples lament on the difficulty of this commitment. There are too many corners and crevices that the devil whispers half-truths and boldfaced lies about sexuality and pleasure. Even in the absence of physical actions, our unguarded thoughts and fantasies can easily lead us astray. And while it’s simple to see the beauty and truth of NFP, it is surely an area where it is easy to have a slothful attitude towards the virtue of chastity. 

If you feel lust creeping in: Ask the Holy Spirit to protect you! When lustful thoughts fill your mind, say a Hail Mary, then change what you are doing (i.e., turn off the show, go for a walk, etc.) 

Recognizing My Own Gluttony

Similarly, the vice of gluttony is an easy one to slip into given our North American abundance. We can order food on our phones and have it show up on our doorstep a few minutes later. We buy in bulk to save money, but end up consuming more than we are able to. 

The other day, I was visiting a little shop famous for their pies, and within my first few bites, I started to plan how many more slices to order for take-out and when I can drive out again to visit the same bakery. 

If you feel gluttony creeping in: Slow down. Often I find that it’s easier to want ‘more’ when we’re in a hurry to get to the next thing. Savor what is in front of you instead of planning how to get more.

The list can go on and on. There is no shortage of these “harmless little acts” that I mindlessly partake in multiple times a day. 

I’m less diligent about my spiritual health because… well, it’s not that bad, is it? I’m just enjoying my life; “you do you!” as the cultural rally cry says. But if I’m being honest with myself, is that truly a way to enjoy life? 

St. Paul tells Timothy: “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:19)

How do we take hold of *that* which is truly life? 

I don’t have the answers, but I think a good place to start is to take an honest look at what we are already holding on to. 

Are we lulled by cultural influence, getting by with the bare minimum? What is the life that we are missing out on because we are hanging on too tightly to what we currently have? 

The problem with seemingly harmless actions is that they do not happen overnight. They slip under the radar, happen in small increments repeatedly over time, until they become a habit. The result is that we can become slack and complacent because we have gotten too used to a way of life. 

The good news is that baby steps can go both ways. The same principle that turns small acts of vices into habits can be applied to small virtuous decisions that make a lifestyle. 

I started to ask the Holy Spirit to shine a light under the rug where I’ve chosen to sweep things in. Here are a few simple acts of obedience that are easy to implement: 

Examine.

The first step is to ask where I’ve been blind or more apathetic. A daily examen is always helpful. Setting aside 5-10 minutes at the end of the day to honestly confront moments where vices got the best of me can help me make resolutions for the next morning. Small positive habits to combat negative ones.

Practice Virtues.

One way we do this in our house is every time my kids get mad at one another and point fingers, we offset it with naming virtues about the other sibling. My husband and I practice it too!

Slow down. 

When we listen to culture telling us to “do more of what makes you happy!”, we may miss opportunities to “do more of what makes you holy!”. Holiness and happiness are not on opposite sides of the coin, but happiness as a goal clouds our judgment and ability to “seek first the Kingdom of God”. 

Vices like greed, gluttony and lust can come fast and furious and we often partake of it absent-mindedly. It’s important to remember that slowing down makes room for temperance.

One caveat is that the antidote to vice isn’t just about putting up rules like a rigid fence. After all, adult generations today are still facing the harmful consequences of purity culture that was prevalent decades prior. 

The Antidote to Vices

The key to it all is the same thing that Peter needed when he started to sink while walking on water: we need to keep our eyes on Jesus. Keeping our eyes on Him allows us to pause and ask, “What is truly life? What am I seeking to satisfy here while I _________________ (fill my shopping cart, watch this show, eat another serving, etc.)”

And an even more important question: How can I let Jesus fill this need? What am I holding on to that is preventing me from letting Jesus meet my needs?

Fight acedia; let us not be sad that good things are hard! 

Seek the Holy Spirit for the perseverance to be spiritually diligent. And in the words of Fr. Mark Mary, “Remember, we’re pilgrims on this earth. Poco a poco, vamos a llegar.” (Little by little, we will arrive!)