Moving Away from God → Darkening of the Soul → Spiritual Age -1
What happens in the soul?
The soul has not rejected God nor necessarily fallen into serious sins. Something much simpler and easier to go unnoticed begins: laziness and spiritual lukewarmness. Little by little the desire to meet the Good Lord weakens. Spiritual life begins to lose the place it once had and the person may become accustomed to this situation until they consider it normal.
How do you live?
Small oversights begin. It is more difficult to pray, fervor decreases and it becomes increasingly easier to distance ourselves from the Eucharist and the life of the Church. The person continues with the person’s or the person’s ordinary life and can continue to consider himself a believer. What the person previously looked for with interest begins to feel heavy; distractions increase and worldly interests take up more space.
The prayer
The prayer still exists, but it begins to feel heavy or mechanical. It becomes more difficult to spontaneously seek the Good Lord and the taste for His Word diminishes.
The great danger
The most dangerous thing is not yet the seriousness of the sins, but getting used to lukewarmness. As the inner light of living faith weakens, it also begins to lose clarity in distinguishing between truth and error.
Signs that may accompany this age
• Spiritual laziness or heartburn
• Lukewarmness and lack of fervor
• Decreased desire to pray
• Heavy or mechanical prayer
• Progressive loss of taste for the Word of God
• Distance from the Eucharist and the life of the Church
• Increased distractions and worldly interests
• Growing spiritual confusion
• Begin to consider one’s own warmth as normal
A phrase to remember
“Laziness and spiritual apathy gradually distance us from God.”
Where does it lead
If the soul do not recognize this warmth and continue to move away, the loss of inner light becomes greater and the Middle Darkening begins.