574. What are the difficulties in prayer? (part 2 continuation)
(Comp 574 repetition) Distraction is a
habitual difficulty in our prayer. It takes our attention away from God and can
also reveal what we are attached to. Our heart therefore must humbly turn to
the Lord. Prayer is often affected by dryness. Overcoming this difficulty
allows us to cling to the Lord in faith, even without any feeling of
consolation. Acedia is a form of spiritual laziness due to relaxed vigilance
and a lack of custody of the heart.
“In brief”
(CCC 2755) Two frequent temptations threaten prayer: lack of
faith and acedia - a form of depression stemming from lax ascetical practice
that leads to discouragement.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 2732) The most common yet most hidden temptation is our
lack of faith. It expresses itself
less by declared incredulity than by our actual preferences. When we begin to
pray, a thousand labors or cares thought to be urgent vie for priority; once
again, it is the moment of truth for the heart: what is its real love?
Sometimes we turn to the Lord as a last resort, but do we really believe he is?
Sometimes we enlist the Lord as an ally, but our heart remains presumptuous. In
each case, our lack of faith reveals that we do not yet share in the disposition
of a humble heart: "Apart from me, you can do nothing" (Jn 15:5).
Reflection
(CCC 2733) Another temptation, to which presumption opens
the gate, is acedia. The spiritual
writers understand by this a form of depression due to lax ascetical practice,
decreasing vigilance, carelessness of heart. "The spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mt 26:41). The greater the height, the
harder the fall. Painful as discouragement is, it is the reverse of
presumption. The humble are not surprised by their distress; it leads them to
trust more, to hold fast in constancy. [END]
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