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The Sin of Sloth; It's deadly!
Topic Started: Tuesday, 27. March 2012, 21:23 (206 Views)
Rose of York
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On the thread Let's use this place to start discussions

Deacon Robert gave us a link to an article on the website of the Archdiocese of Washington.

Title What Is Sloth? It’s a bit more subtle than laziness
By: Msgr. Charles Pope

http://blog.adw.org/2012/03/what-is-sloth-its-a-bit-more-subtle-than-laziness/

I could see nothing subtle about sloth, it IS laziness, or so I understood. If with no good cause beyong my control I fail to perform anything that it is my duty to do, I am being lazy i.e. slothful. I sat here thinking "Why is sloth a deadly sin? I can't think which commandment it comes under. It's nothing to do with stealing, lying, adultery, fighting, the usual sort of stuff that most people consider to be wicked, they all involve making an effort therefore have no connection with being slothful (ie bone idle).

Having looked at the article I now realise that although I work my guts out, in various aspects of my life, there are times when that is slothful.

Read all about it, it's fascinating. and well worth discussing.

http://blog.adw.org/2012/03/what-is-sloth-its-a-bit-more-subtle-than-laziness/
Keep the Faith!

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Derekap
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It is certainly sinful to busy oneself to the extent that one neglects one's Spiritual Life. But...I find it difficult to call it sloth.
Derekap
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paul

my lawn needs mowing again but I cannot summon up enough enthusiasm to tackle it. Is this sloth?
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PJD

Aquinas seems to supply some sort of answer. I have not set below all he said; but just the gist of the matter which you may well find sufficient:-


OF SLOTH (FOUR ARTICLES)

We must now consider the vices opposed to the joy of charity. This joy is either about the Divine good, and then its contrary is sloth, or about our neighbor's good, and then its contrary is envy.

.......since sloth seeks undue rest in so far as it spurns the Divine good.


PJD
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Rose of York
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Food for thought. There is danger in being frantically busy doing the things we want to do, and not leaving ourselves enough freedom to do other things we should do.

Quote:
 
ome modern commentators speak of sloth as a don’t-care feeling, some even as 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 laborious, or as involving the setting aside currently enjoyed or sinful pleasures. By sloth many experience sorrow, not joy or zeal, in following God and receiving a transformed human life. Rather 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 since it focuses on the “trouble” or effort attached to walking in the Christian way, rather than to understand it 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 it is true, sloth may sometimes look like boredom and and a casual laziness toward attaining spiritual good, it is also true that sloth can also be manifested by a frantic busyness about worldly things, so as to avoid spiritual questions or live a reflective life.

Consider, for example a man who is a workaholic. Now suppose too 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, whom the Lord has summoned to new life, to the great discovery of God, and the deepest meanings 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, such as moral questions, or priorities, or whether he is really spending enough time with his wife and children, or whether his life is really focused on things that matter most. No, its 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 is “no time” for mass or for praying with his wife and children. There is 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 at the gift that the Lord offers him to come out into the deeper waters and lower his net for a catch. His sorrow for spiritual goods, in this case, is manifest by a kind of 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 as raising uncomfortable things he would rather not look at. He does not hate God or the faith, but it is all just too much.


http://blog.adw.org/2012/03/what-is-sloth-its-a-bit-more-subtle-than-laziness/
Keep the Faith!

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James
James
I usually find it easier to identify the positive opposite - if the topic is negative - and go from there.
The opposite to sloath is diligence.
Two types.
Spiritual and worldly.
Neither should be neglected .

Sloath then, to me, is not the main focus.

James
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OsullivanB

According to wikipedia, as originally understood "sloth" meant something akin to what we would now recognise as depression, a kind of listless apathy. This seems to fit well with Aquinas's view relayed by PJD that it is the opposite of joy. I thought of looking into it further but couldn't be bothered. Will do so when even more joyous. Mea culpa.
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer
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James
James
OsullivanB
Thursday, 29. March 2012, 13:53
"sloth" meant something akin to what we would now recognise as depression, a kind of listless apathy.
I know what you mean Bernard.
I got the exact same feeling in the town last week when I lost the shopping list that the wife spent twenty minutes preparing.

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OsullivanB

Tesco is akin to the Slough of Despond for many.
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer
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Derekap
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Do you (OsB) really mean: Despond is the Tesco of Slough?
Derekap
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OsullivanB

In the Book of Life every little counts.
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer
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James
James
Ah ! a new cost with leading evidence is, no doubt, in store for us all.
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James
James
Cryptic crosswords Bernard and Derek.
Thought you would pick it up or perhaps you prefer to "hang around for the flower in the end"

Way off topic now.
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