Course Description
The spiritual affliction known as acedia has been called “a divisive and debilitating force” which can undermine the lives of the most committed pastors (Pope Francis) and “the deepest crisis in the Church today” (Cdl. Schönborn). But what is the difference between this ‘acedia’ and similar experiences like desolation, depression, or a mid-life crisis? This seminar will allow students to better grasp the nature, causes, and remedies of a few common and often related spiritual trials. Research in classic and contemporary sources will enable students to understand such trials and to serve others with greater competence and sensitivity.
Bibliography
JEAN-CHARLES NAULT, The Noonday Devil: Acedia, the Unnamed Evil of Our Times, trans. Michael Miller. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2015.
KONYNDYK DEYOUNG, REBECCA. Resistance to the Demands of Love: Aquinas on the Vice of Acedia. The Thomist 68, 2004: 173-204.
TETLOW, JOSEPH. Spiritual Desolation; The Meaning of Desolation. In Making Choices in Christ: The Foundations of Ignatian Spirituality, 89-94. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2008.
DURÀ-VILÀ, GLORIA, Sadness, Depression, and the Dark Night of the Soul. London: Jessica Kingsley, 2017.
CARFAGNA, ROSEMARIE. Contemplation and Mid-Life Crisis: Examples from Classical and Contemporary Spirituality. Paulist Press, 2008.