--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Searching for a better description of…" description: "\"Searching for a better description of this rotting sadness, I came upon the concept of acedia. In Christian theology, it’s an antecedent to sloth, the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e29/mishka-97951_care_searching-for-a-better-description-of-th_2945792.jpg" --- # Searching for a better description of this rotting… ![“Searching for a better description of this rotting sadness, I came upon the concept of acedia. In Christian theology, it’s an antecedent to sloth, the least sexy of the seven deadly sins. Thomas Aquinas winnowed it down for me: acedia is sorrow so complete that the flesh prevails completely over…” quote by Mishka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e29/mishka-97951_care_searching-for-a-better-description-of-th_2945792.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e29/mishka-97951_care_searching-for-a-better-description-of-th_2945792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e29/mishka-97951_care_searching-for-a-better-description-of-th_2945792.jpg) > “Searching for a better description of this rotting sadness, I came upon the concept of acedia. In Christian theology, it’s an antecedent to sloth, the least sexy of the seven deadly sins. Thomas Aquinas winnowed it down for me: acedia is sorrow so complete that the flesh prevails completely over the spirit. You don’t just turn your back on the world, you turn your back on God. You don’t care, and you don’t care that you don’t care.” [Mishka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mishka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acedia is a profound sorrow that overwhelms spirit, leading to indifference toward world and God, akin to sloth. **In simple terms:** Acedia is spiritual despair causing apathy. Key Takeaway Recognize and address deep spiritual fatigue. Themes spiritual despair apathy sloth theology psychology sin sorrow faith human condition Mood somber introspective concerned Type Care:1 Christian:1 Christian theology:1 Concepts:0 Deadly sins:1 Description:0 Don-t-care:1 Flesh:0 Grief:0 Rotting:0 Sadness:1 Seven:0 Seven deadly sins:0 Seven sins:0 Sexy:0 Sin:0 Sloth:1 Sorrow:1 Spirit:0 Theology:0 Turns:0 World:0 Thomas Aquinas:0 Acedia:1 Acedia Sorrow:0 Acedia Christian:0 Concept Acedia:0 When to use this quote - pastoral care - personal reflection - mental health counseling Key Concepts religious studies existential psychology Questions to Reflect On - What fuels your spiritual emptiness? - How can you revive purpose? A Different Perspective Acedia may be misdiagnosed as laziness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acedia-1246950/) [Acedia Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acedia-christian-4414123/) [Acedia Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acedia-sorrow-4414122/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christian theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-theology/) [Concept Acedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concept-acedia-4414124/) [Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) [Deadly sins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deadly-sins/) [Description](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/description/) [Don-t-care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-t-care/) [Flesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flesh/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Rotting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rotting/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Seven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven/) [Seven deadly sins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven-deadly-sins/) [Seven sins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven-sins-167887/) [Sexy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexy/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Sloth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sloth/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thomas-aquinas/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Acedia is sorrow so complete that the flesh pervails completely over the spirit. 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