Spiritual Joy vs. Carnal Joy

By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo

St. Thomas Aquinas divides the vice of sloth into two: laziness and disdain for spiritual things.  One is called physical sloth and the other spiritual sloth.  Let’s focus on spiritual sloth because it leads to many other vices and to greater misery. St. Thomas specifically defines spiritual sloth as sorrow in the presence of spiritual good.  “Sorrow” here does not necessarily mean sorrow about some specific object, like the death of a loved one, but simply lack of joy even when a spiritual good is offered or is present.  Spiritual sloth is not a sin of commission (doing something evil) but of omission (failing to do what is good).  It is not responding to the invitations of God and thus obtain spiritual joy.  God who “wants all men to saved and come to the knowledge of truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4), is constantly inviting us to an intimate relationship with Him, for God is a lover.

We usually respond to sorrow in two ways:  anger and sadness.  When sorrow arises from the positive presence of pain, like a wound, it arouses anger and hatred of the pain.  And if a person becomes an obstacle to what we want, we get angry with that person or if that person causes us trouble or gives us pain, we likewise get angry with that person and often times we resort to striking back.  On the other hand, when we respond to sorrow or difficulties in life with sadness, we seek some form of diversion from that sadness.  This diversion would be in the form of carnal (bodily) joy or pleasures which we nowadays call addictions.

St. Thomas said, no one can live without joy, if he can’t find joy in the spiritual, he will look for it from the carnal.  This is what the spiritually sloth people would do, resort to addiction.  Addiction is not only with drugs but anything that gives us pleasure such as alcohol, gambling, sex, food, etc.  A sign of addiction is increasing dosage and repeated use of that thing that gives pleasure.  Addiction itself tells us something about our human desires: that we long for constant and endless joy.  Endless joy, that’s why there’s that longing in us to live forever and that’s why no one wants to die, not even animals, for the first instinct of any living creature is to live or to survive.

Increasing joy and everlasting joy is what everybody wants.  This is exactly the definition of heaven.  But many are looking for it on earth which is not heaven.  Heaven begins here on earth when we live that life of intimacy with God. Earth is the spiritual seed, heaven is the full grown plant.  That’s why the remedy to carnal addiction is another addiction, addiction of God, true passion for Him.  St. Augustine (who himself was addicted to sex) said that to counter a strong impulse for pleasure, you need a greater impulse or passion, and that passion can only be spiritual, the passion for God.  The saints were not addicted to bodily pleasures because they knew something even more passionate, even more exciting: knowing and loving God.