--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The vacancy left by absence of worship is…" description: "\"“The vacancy left by absence of worship is filled by mere killing of time and by boredom, which is directly related to inability to enjoy leisure; for ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/josef-pieper-11414_boredom_the-vacancy-left-by-absence-of-worship-i_84388.jpg" --- # The vacancy left by absence of worship is filled by mere… ![“The vacancy left by absence of worship is filled by mere killing of time and by boredom, which is directly related to inability to enjoy leisure; for one can only be bored if the spiritual power to be leisurely has been lost. There is an entry in Baudelaire... "One must work, if not from taste…” quote by Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/josef-pieper-11414_boredom_the-vacancy-left-by-absence-of-worship-i_84388.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/josef-pieper-11414_boredom_the-vacancy-left-by-absence-of-worship-i_84388.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/josef-pieper-11414_boredom_the-vacancy-left-by-absence-of-worship-i_84388.jpg) > ““The vacancy left by absence of worship is filled by mere killing of time and by boredom, which is directly related to inability to enjoy leisure; for one can only be bored if the spiritual power to be leisurely has been lost. There is an entry in Baudelaire... "One must work, if not from taste then at least from despair. For, to reduce everything to a single truth: work is less boring than pleasure.”” [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that without a sense of the sacred, people turn to idle activities and boredom, because they lack the spiritual capacity to truly enjoy leisure; work becomes a refuge from emptiness. **In simple terms:** Loss of sacred leads to boredom; work fills the void. Key Takeaway Spiritual emptiness drives idle boredom; work offers purpose. Themes meaning of leisure boredom work spirituality existential Mood reflective melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - when feeling empty after loss of faith - in a culture of constant distraction - during periods of unemployment - in a society that glorifies productivity - when seeking meaning beyond pleasure Key Concepts sacred vs secular leisure as spiritual practice work as antidote boredom as symptom Practical Applications - designing meaningful work environments - cultivating spiritual practices to enrich leisure Questions to Reflect On - How does one's sense of the sacred shape daily activities? - Can work truly replace the need for spiritual fulfillment? A Different Perspective Some argue that leisure can be inherently fulfilling without spiritual framing, suggesting that boredom is not inevitable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence-worship-1064180/) [Bored Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored-spiritual-1064181/) [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Boredom Directly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom-directly-1064182/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Leisure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leisure/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Spiritual power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-power/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Vacancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vacancy/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) ## Related quotes > [The essence of leisure is not to assure that we may function smoothly but rather to assure that we, embedded in our social function,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/the-essence-of-leisure-is-not-to-assure-that-we-may-function-smoothly/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [Repose, leisure, peace, belong among the elements of happiness. If we have not escaped from harried rush, from mad pursuit, from unrest, from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/repose-leisure-peace-belong-among-the-elements-of-happiness-if-we/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [Now the code of life of the High Middle Ages said something entirely opposite to this: that it was precisely lack of leisure, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/now-the-code-of-life-of-the-high-middle-ages-said-something-entirely/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [Unless we regain the art of silence and insight, the ability for nonactivity, unless we substitute true leisure for our hectic amusements, we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/unless-we-regain-the-art-of-silence-and-insight-the-ability-for/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [“The first thing, of course, is to find a vacancy, a place where a teacher is wanted, and the second thing is to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-e-sanders/the-first-thing-of-course-is-to-find-a-vacancy-a-place-where-a/) [Thomas E. Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-e-sanders/) > [“The vacancy in your heart doesn't connotes that nobody is seeking for the job of servicing your feelings, but because the employee must first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-vacancy-in-your-heart-doesn-t-connotes-that-nobody-is-seeking-for/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Redd Towers Apartments, whose advertising slogan, 'If you lived here, you'd be home by now,' did little to fill vacancies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-beddor/redd-towers-apartments-whose-advertising-slogan-if-you-lived-here-you/) [Frank Beddor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-beddor/) > [A proud man is one who waits for a vacancy in the Trinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-proud-man-is-one-who-waits-for-a-vacancy-in-the-trinity/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Art as an aesthetic principle was supported by thousands of years of discernment and psychic rewards, but art as a commodity was held up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/art-as-an-aesthetic-principle-was-supported-by-thousands-of-years-of/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The closer you get to Number 10 the more you see what a back-breaking job that is, the pressure is absolutely constant and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lidington/the-closer-you-get-to-number-10-the-more-you-see-what-a-back-breaking/) [David Lidington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lidington/) > [Action is transitory, a step, a blow, The motion of a muscle, this way or that, 'Tis done--And in the after-vacancy, We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/action-is-transitory-a-step-a-blow-the-motion-of-a-muscle-this-way-or/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [It infuriated him to think that there were still people in the state who believed in a loving and merciful God. There are mystics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/it-infuriated-him-to-think-that-there-were-still-people-in-the-state/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [The infinity of this vacancy, the pervasive pain, the longing for some spirit, some lightness, some joy - that's all that is left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-manning/the-infinity-of-this-vacancy-the-pervasive-pain-the-longing-for-some/) [Martha Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-manning/) > [I felt I had to take the Celtic opportunity. You quickly learn that any managerial vacancy attracts up to 60 or 70 applicants, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-felt-i-had-to-take-the-celtic-opportunity-you-quickly-learn-that/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [“This…hole in the world, man-shaped. Me-shaped. A vacancy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasinda-wilder/this-hole-in-the-world-man-shaped-me-shaped-a-vacancy/) [Jasinda Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasinda-wilder/) ## More by Josef Pieper > [The delight we take in our senses is an implicit desire to know the ultimate reason for things, the highest cause. The desire for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/the-delight-we-take-in-our-senses-is-an-implicit-desire-to-know-the/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [“Patience is not the indiscriminate acceptance of any sort of evil: "It is not the one who does not flee from evil who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/patience-is-not-the-indiscriminate-acceptance-of-any-sort-of-evil-it/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [Contemplation does not ignore the 'historical Gethsemane', does not ignore the mystery of evil, guilt and its bloody atonement. The happiness of contemplation is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/contemplation-does-not-ignore-the-historical-gethsemane-does-not/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [Justice is a habit (habitus), whereby a man renders to each one his due with constant and perpetual will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/justice-is-a-habit-habitus-whereby-a-man-renders-to-each-one-his-due/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [The happy life does not mean loving what we possess, but possessing what we love." Possession of the beloved, St. Thomas holds, takes place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/the-happy-life-does-not-mean-loving-what-we-possess-but-possessing/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [The brave man uses wrath for his own act, above all in attack, 'for it is peculiar to wrath to pounce upon evil. Thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/the-brave-man-uses-wrath-for-his-own-act-above-all-in-attack-for-it/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [What distinguishes - in both senses of that word - contemplation is rather this: it is a knowing which is inspired by love. "Without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/what-distinguishes-in-both-senses-of-that-word-contemplation-is/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [Beauty, however, must here be understood in its original meaning: as the glow of the true and the good irradiating from every ordered state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/beauty-however-must-here-be-understood-in-its-original-meaning-as-the/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [Unless we regain the art of silence and insight, the ability for nonactivity, unless we substitute true leisure for our hectic amusements, we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/unless-we-regain-the-art-of-silence-and-insight-the-ability-for/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [To be conscious of gratitude is to acknowledge a gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/to-be-conscious-of-gratitude-is-to-acknowledge-a-gift/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [If God really became incarnate, and if His Incarnation can with justice compel man to change his life,then we have no alternative but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/if-god-really-became-incarnate-and-if-his-incarnation-can-with/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [Surrender to sensuality paralyzes the powers of the moral person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/surrender-to-sensuality-paralyzes-the-powers-of-the-moral-person/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [Only those are called liberal or free which are concerned with knowledge; those which are concerned with utilitarian ends... are called servile...The question is...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/only-those-are-called-liberal-or-free-which-are-concerned-with/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [To celebrate a festival means: to live out, for some special occasion and in an uncommon manner, the universal assent to the world as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/to-celebrate-a-festival-means-to-live-out-for-some-special-occasion/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [“Since we nowadays think that all a man needs for acquisition of truth is to exert his brain more or less vigorously, and since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/since-we-nowadays-think-that-all-a-man-needs-for-acquisition-of-truth/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) [Explore all 60 Josef Pieper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) ## More Boredom quotes > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think anyone wants to do the same thing over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bachmann/i-don-t-think-anyone-wants-to-do-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again/) [Eric Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bachmann/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/we-shop-out-of-boredom-for-release-for-excitement-for-a-sense-of/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The worst sin, the ultimate sin for me, in anything, is to be bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/the-worst-sin-the-ultimate-sin-for-me-in-anything-is-to-be-bored/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Listen deeply. Meditate on that which is arising. Even if it's boredom or difficulty or maybe a feeling of being stuck, that in itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/listen-deeply-meditate-on-that-which-is-arising-even-if-it-s-boredom/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) [Browse all 1,505 Boredom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The vacancy left by absence of worship is filled by mere killing of time and by boredom, which is directly related to inability to enjoy leisure; for one can only be bored if the spiritual power to be leisurely has been lost. 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