We have had many occasions to say it in these pages: the chief remedy for acedia is found in the joy of the gift. A gift that precedes us, which is the gift of God himself who has come to be united with his creature, to share his weakness and poverty, so as to lead him to the ultimate goal of his existence: sharing in the very life of God.

—Jean-Charles Nault, O.S.B.

from his book, The Noonday Devil: Acedia, the Unnamed Evil of Our Times

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REDISCOVER JOY

The noonday devil is the demon of acedia, the vice also known as sloth. However, acedia is not laziness; in fact it can manifest as busyness or activism. Rather, acedia is a gloomy combination of weariness, sadness, and a lack of purposefulness. Abbot Nault says that acedia is the most oppressive of demons. He shows how acedia afflicts persons in all states of life and details not only the symptoms and effects of acedia, but also remedies for it.

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