I find acedia crops up for me when I fall into a habitually incorrect world view, which for me has its roots in the cultural materialistic Newtonian paradigm I grew up within.
I would have gotten a minor in evolutionary theory and anthropology had my college offered them as I earnestly took all those classes. I was all in regarding Darwinism at that stage of my life, and it lead directly to a period of intellectual atheism.
I suppose, unless we are very great saints, we are, all of us,spiritually retarded in one way or another. As it says in the Book of Sirach , 'The Just man falls several times a day'. The flow of grace reminds me of the tide and sandcastles. When the tide of grace comes in far enough the sandcastles of sin fall. Sometimes we have to wait in patience. Perhaps for most of a lifetime.
This is very true. I read a lot of self help books when I was in my thirties. That was before God showed me that He was the only one who could help me. And it has always been on His timetable, not mine.
Saint Teresa of Avila one time wrote that God could make us a Saint in the space of one, 'Hail Mary', said well. It sounds incredible, but I think it is true.
St Therese of Liseaux was a neurotic wreck as a child after the death of her mother. She said she tried for years to get better. Then she said after all that effort, God healed her in an instant. I don't suppose it much matters if we do not become saints our whole lives if, after all we become saints in the last minutes of our lives, in our last agony. I strongly suspect that this is what often happens.
I don't doubt that the Good God thinks very differently of ourselves than we do. But perhaps He will be kinder in His judgements that we expect. In either case we have Our Mother Mary to argue our case. She at least will have some good things to say.
I wasn't wealthy enough to go to university so I dodged that bullet. But still grew up in the cultural mileux of it. Observing "cause and effect" is the main issue for me, it is easy to assume that effects have their roots in observational causes. But when I look at effects from the point of view where humanity has a collective aggregate of sin, that has built up over the centuries and is over-flowing, the daily news begins to make a lot more sense. The apparitions of Our Lady also make a lot more sense too, in that she asks us only to pray and be devoted ("fasting and prayer stops wars"). The real realm of "cause and effect" clearly isn't limited to what we can see, so it makes no sense to judge what we see strictly from the realm of observational cause and effect. I have heard many definitions of Acedia, and I think my favorite is flightiness. An interior urge of wanting something other than what we have. So on a personal level, I do what I can physically to get those apparent urgent needs met. However those needs change, based on how much time is allocated to devotion on a given day. There is this OFM document from 2017 which is interesting. https://ofm.org/en/ite-nuntiate-lin...ssione-nell-ordine-dei-frati-minori-2017.html If I recall correctly, in the friaries that performed well the average friar had 3 hours minimum of devotion to God daily. The friaries that performed worst, had minimal devotion. As a side note, St. Francis prayed/meditated and fasted 200+ days each year.
I wanted to be a surgeon since second grade. My family couldn't afford it either, so I worked in a paper factory and doing construction work during the summers, and on weekends as a night club bouncer and doing many other interesting jobs during college. It made me appreciate an education. That's my entire life. One has to wonder whether some diagnoses of ADD are simply acedia.
I was either too lazy or not motivated enough to go this route, but good on you for doing it. This is my life too, when I finally got the things I wanted they often weren't enough for me. I guess finite things like careers, vacations, and spouses aren't enough to fill up that hole inside, so we try to medicate the symptoms.
Sts. Peter, James & John may be the greatest helpers for this problem. It appears they went thru it at a crucial moment, but Our Good Lord was very understanding..... 14:33 And he taketh Peter and James and John with him: and he began to fear and to be heavy. 14:34 And he saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death. Stay you here and watch. 14:35 And when he was gone forward a little, he fell flat on the ground: and he prayed that, if it might be, the hour might pass from him. 14:36 And he saith: Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee: remove this chalice from me; but not what I will, but what thou wilt. 14:37 And he cometh and findeth them sleeping. And he saith to Peter: Simon, sleepest thou? Couldst thou not watch one hour? 14:38 Watch ye: and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 14:39 And going away again, he prayed, saying the same words. 14:40 And when he returned, he found them again asleep (for their eyes were heavy): and they knew not what to answer him. 14:41 And he cometh the third time and saith to them: Sleep ye now and take your rest. It is enough. The hour is come: behold the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. 14:42 Rise up: let us go. Behold, he that will betray me is at hand.
