Episode 3203: The Noonday Devil: Desert Fathers on Acedia and Our Modern Crisis

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Book Recommendation of the Day
You know I love to teach and I love to reach back and learn the great writing of the desert fathers and early fathers of the church. They wrote such great works and so much of what they wrote is very relevant today even though our modern church wants to forget them I won’t.
As a matter of fact my Father wants to do his podcast debut by covering certain writing on scripture. I can’t remember exactly what he said the name of the book was but we have that to look forward to. But I went out did some research and found “Patristic Commentaries on New Testament” and I uploaded it to my website for you to use to further your education and study.

So to cover the amount of material I found would probably take us a couple years to cover but I think Sharon can get it done. Don’t love how I delegate?
Now you may ask why they refer to them as the Patristic Fathers?
The phrase “Patristic Fathers” (more properly just “the Fathers of the Church”) comes from the Latin word pater, meaning “father.”
The Church called them “Fathers” because they were the early teachers and defenders of the Faith spiritual fathers who handed down the truth of Christ and nourished the Church with their teaching.

Why They’re Called Fathers
The early Church saw these men (and occasionally women in a broader sense, like St. Macrina or St. Monica) as guardians of apostolic teaching.
• They were “Fathers” because they generated, nourished, and protected the faith of their spiritual children the early Christian communities.
• St. Paul himself used paternal language: “For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:15).
• The Fathers continued that apostolic fatherhood by passing on sound doctrine.
The Marks of a “Father of the Church”
Traditionally, the Church identifies someone as a “Father” if they have four characteristics:
1. Antiquity – lived in the early centuries (roughly 1st–8th century).
2. Holiness of Life – recognized for sanctity.
3. Orthodoxy of Doctrine – taught in harmony with the Catholic faith.
4. Approval by the Church – their teaching is received as authoritative.
Why It Matters
Calling them “Fathers” emphasizes that:
• The Faith is not invented but handed down (Tradition).
• Doctrine is received from the Fathers and safeguarded, not created by modern theologians.
• They are the link between the Apostles and us today.
As Pope Benedict XVI explained:
“The Fathers are witnesses of the transmission of the Faith, the first theologians, and above all, the Fathers of the Church, because they were truly fathers of the Christian people.”
So in that spirit I wanted to cover a topic that the desert fathers often wrote about.
“The Noonday Devil: Desert Fathers on Acedia and Our Modern Crisis”
The Forgotten Battle
Few Catholics today have even heard the word acedia, yet it was one of the most pressing spiritual struggles faced by the Desert Fathers. St. John Cassian, in The Institutes, calls it taedium cordis—weariness of heart—and ties it directly to Psalm 90:6, which names “the noonday devil.”
“In the morning it flourishes and grows up: in the evening it shall fall, grow dry, and wither.”
Cassian writes:
“It is especially dangerous for monks. It makes them horrified at their place, disgusted with their cell, and scornful of their brethren.” (Institutes X.2)
But this struggle is not just for monks. It is for all who seek holiness. In our day, where restlessness and distraction rule, acedia may be more deadly than ever.
What is Acedia?
Evagrius Ponticus gives one of the clearest descriptions in his Praktikos:
“The demon of acedia also called the noonday demon is the most oppressive of all the demons. It attacks the monk about the fourth hour and besieges the soul until about the eighth hour. First of all it makes the sun seem to slow down or stop, so that the day appears to be fifty hours long. Then it forces the monk to look constantly out the window, to walk outside his cell, to gaze at the sun, to see if it is near the ninth hour, to look this way and that, to sigh that no one is coming to see him.” (Praktikos §12)
Notice the detail: boredom, restlessness, endless looking for something “new.” This is not mere laziness. This is a demon of despair, making the spiritual life feel unbearable.
Cassian describes the afflicted monk:
“He thinks that he will never be well while he stays in the same place. He complains that he has made no progress, that he is useless, and that he will never succeed in anything.” (Institutes X.1)
Does this sound familiar? For us, acedia whispers: “Prayer is useless. Mass is boring. You should give up. You would be happier somewhere else.”
Why Acedia Is More Dangerous Now
In the desert, monks fought acedia in solitude. But in our day, modern culture reinforces it.
• Distraction as Escape: Social media, television, and constant entertainment provide endless ways to flee the silence where God speaks.
• Novelty as Addiction: The temptation to always seek the “next thing” mirrors Cassian’s restless monk who wants to leave his monastery for another.
• Indifference to Prayer: Many Catholics excuse dryness in prayer as “normal” and simply stop praying. The Desert Fathers warned that this is precisely how the noonday devil wins.
Cassian warned:
“The soul infected by acedia is listless and sluggish for any spiritual work; it shrinks from manual labor as if it were a heavy burden, and does not stay in the monastery without being forced.” (Institutes X.2)
Apply this today: how many Catholics abandon their vocations, parish duties, or daily prayer, not out of malice, but because of a slow erosion of zeal?
The Desert Fathers’ Remedies
1. Perseverance in Prayer
Evagrius teaches:
“Set yourself to pray with great constancy. Hold fast to prayer even when your heart is dry. For the demons particularly attack those who pray.” (Praktikos §60)

For us: never abandon the Rosary, daily Mass, or morning/evening prayers even when dry. Fidelity conquers acedia.
2. Manual Labor
Cassian records how the monks in Egypt fought acedia by weaving baskets:
“So that they might banish the spirit of acedia, they used to weave palm baskets and mats with tireless diligence.” (Institutes X.24)
For us: daily duties, housework, and honest physical tasks sanctify and steady the soul.
3. Scripture & Psalmody
The monks chanted psalms as their weapon. Cassian tells us:
“The repetition of psalms, said with fervor, drives away the noonday demon.” (Institutes X.10)
For us: pray the Psalms, cling to verses like Psalm 42: “Why art thou sad, O my soul? Hope thou in God.”
4. Spiritual Companionship
The Fathers insisted on confessing temptations to an elder:
“The best remedy for acedia is to lay open the thoughts of the heart to a spiritual elder. For the devil is defeated by the light.” (Conferences V.23)
For us: regular confession, spiritual direction, or faithful Catholic friendship is essential.
5. Humility & Patience
Cassian admits:
“It is impossible to avoid acedia altogether, but with patience it may be turned to our profit, for it reveals to us our weakness and trains us in humility.” (Institutes X.4)
Application for Today
• Guard Silence: Turn off the phone, carve out daily time with God. Silence is no longer optional it is survival.
• Embrace Duty: Acedia tempts us to flee. Resist by doing your state-in-life duties with love. As St. Josemaría Escrivá echoed later: “Sanctify your ordinary work.”
• Sacraments as Weapons: Confession cuts through despair. The Eucharist strengthens the weary. Frequent sacramental life is essential armor.
• Traditional Spiritual Reading: Read the Fathers, the Lives of the Saints, St. Alphonsus, the Baltimore Catechism. Truth fuels zeal.
• The Rosary as Psalmody: As psalmody defended the Desert Fathers, so the Rosary is our chain of protection. Bl. Bartolo Longo called it “the weapon of these times.”
Conclusion: Hope in the Desert
Evagrius, Cassian, and the Desert Fathers remind us that acedia is not new it is ancient. But so are its remedies.
When you feel weary, tempted to distraction, restless in prayer do not flee. Stay at your post. That is the victory.
St. John Cassian concludes beautifully:
“The monk who perseveres in his cell will see the glory of God. By patience he overcomes the noonday devil.” (Institutes X.7)
And St. Paul strengthens us:
“Be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Epistle – 2 Corinthians 3:4–9
"And such confidence we have, through Christ, towards God. Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves: but our sufficiency is from God. Who also hath made us fit ministers of the new testament: not in the letter, but in the spirit. For the letter killeth, but the spirit quickeneth... For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more the ministration of justice aboundeth in glory."
Reflection on the Epistle
St. Paul reminds us that the law of Moses, holy as it was, could not bring life on its own. It revealed sin but could not heal it. The New Covenant, however, is written not on stone but on hearts, through the grace of the Holy Spirit. This grace brings life, transforming the soul from within.
This reading is a powerful reminder against the temptation to live a “formal” religion keeping rules externally without true interior conversion. True Catholic life is not mere legalism but grace-imbued transformation. The sacraments, prayer, and fidelity to Tradition are not empty rituals; they are the channels of the Spirit who gives life.
St. Rosalia understood this. She rejected worldly honors, not out of disdain for creation, but out of love for the Creator. She sought the Spirit who gives life, praying in solitude so that her soul might become a living tabernacle of God. Her life teaches us that fidelity to grace leads to holiness, and holiness prepares us to pour out mercy.
Gospel – Luke 10:23–37
"But he willing to justify himself, said to Jesus: And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering, said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers... And a certain Samaritan, being on his journey, came near him; and seeing him, was moved with compassion. And going up to him, bound up his wounds... And the next day he took out two pence and gave to the host, and said: Take care of him; and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay thee."
Reflection on the Gospel
The parable of the Good Samaritan reveals the heart of Christian charity. The priest and Levite, representatives of the Old Covenant, pass by the wounded man. The Samaritan, despised by the Jews, becomes the true neighbor by showing mercy.
This parable teaches us that holiness is not abstract. It is not enough to know the law we must live it in mercy. True Catholic life unites contemplation and action: we must both pray and serve. The Spirit who gives life in the Epistle now calls us to live mercy in the Gospel.
In a traditional Catholic perspective, we see in the Samaritan a figure of Christ Himself: He comes to us, wounded by sin, binds our wounds with grace, carries us to the inn of the Church, and pays the price of our healing with His Precious Blood. To imitate Christ, then, is to pour out mercy on those in need, even when it costs us comfort or security.
Feast of St. Rosalia
St. Rosalia (1130–1166), born into nobility in Palermo, withdrew from the world to live as a hermit in prayer and penance. Her life was hidden from the world, but centuries later, during a plague in Sicily, her relics were carried in procession and the plague ended marking her as a powerful intercessor.
Her life reflects the Epistle: detached from worldly honors, alive in the Spirit, she gave herself wholly to God. Her intercession reflects the Gospel: though hidden in solitude, her holiness overflowed into mercy for her people, saving them in their time of trial.
Application for Today
• Live by the Spirit, not by the letter: Seek deeper conversion, not just external observance. Let grace transform your heart.
• Practice mercy concretely: Serve those in need—whether through corporal works (feeding, visiting, caring) or spiritual works (teaching, correcting, forgiving).
• Unite prayer and action: Like St. Rosalia, cultivate interior holiness; like the Good Samaritan, express it in love of neighbor.
• Be vigilant: The Spirit who fills us with grace calls us to readiness, that our lamps may always burn brightly when the Master comes.
Conclusionary Prayer
O God, who didst teach us through Thy Son that the true neighbor is the one who shows mercy, grant us the grace to live by Thy Spirit and not by the flesh. Through the intercession of St. Rosalia, may we despise vanity, embrace holiness, and pour out charity on all who are wounded and in need. May we be transformed by Thy grace, so that when Thou dost return, we may be found faithful, ready to enter into Thy eternal kingdom.
St. Rosalia, pray for us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, intercede for us.