Human Development
Spiritual sloth
Description:
The beginner on the road to the human deeps finds that most spiritual things are tedious and do not give any tangible pleasure and thus fall into spiritual sloth by passing them up. They feel that all spiritual things should be delightful and so quickly become bored with things which give them no pleasure. If contemplation, prayer or meditation give no pleasure then they give them up. They avoid the road to perfection, i.e. the way of saying no to their own will and pleasure for God's sake. They seek the road of pleasure and the satisfaction of their own wills. Rather than bring their own will into line with the will of God they attempt to bring God's will into line with their will. They are like those brought up in luxury and who run from the thought of any thing hard. They are offended by spirit and physical suffering. They in their sloth are too weak to face the trials of the spirit.Context:
This is an imperfection of beginners in the Dark Night by St John of the Cross.< Broader:
Beginner in spiritual life