Ascending the Heights Escaping from Boredom.

Step 13 1) Beware the Tedium of the Spirit: i) Tedium is a paralysis of soul, a slackness of the mind, a neglect of religious exercises, a hostility to vows taken. It is an approval of worldly things. 2) St. John: i) When dinner is ready, he(the Christian) jumps out of his bed. But now when the time for prayers comes, his body begins to languish once more again. He begins his prayers, but the tedium makes him sleep and the verses of the psalms are snatched from his mouth by untimely yawns. 3) The word for despondency in the Greek Language is akidia it indicates listlessness or torpor. In English: distraction or boredom. 4) Despondency often can begin with a loss of purpose and it ends in despair and spiritual death. 5) Learning keeps a mind active. An Active mind is a healthy mind. i) This is not only true in education but also in Faith. 6) A spiritual active mind seeks God. 7) Tedium can be a demon which tells us that our prayer is in vain. 8) Tedium, if allowed, tells us that we dont need work toward salvation and that we shouldnt take it so seriously. 9) This demon confuses our thoughts : i) It tells us that we dont need a spiritual life. 10) How do we battle this demon?: i) By reminding ourselves of the course we have set out. (a) We were Baptized. We put on Christ (b) We recite the Nicene Creed. (c) We partake of the Sacraments.- We believe that Gods Grace is imparted to us through the Sacraments. ii) By cooperating with others who are struggling. (a) Church is a community. 11) St. John states that Tedium is rebuffed by community Living. i) We need to remind ourselves of the struggle of the Saints. (1) Read the life of the Saints