The demon of acedia -- also called the noonday demon -- is the one that causes the most serious trouble of all. . . . He makes it seem that the sun barely moves, if at all, and . . . he instills in the heart of the monk a hatred for the place, a hatred for his very life itself.

The very nature of marriage means saying yes before you know what it will cost. Though you may say the “I do” of the wedding ritual in all sincerity, it is the testing of that vow over time that makes you married.

I sense that striving for wholeness is, increasingly, a countercultural goal, as fragmented people make for better consumers.

Acedia is a danger to anyone whose work requires great concentration and discipline yet is considered by many to be of little practical value. The world doesn't care if I write another word, and if I am to care, I have to summon all my interior motivation and strength.

I am learning to see loneliness as a seed that, when planted deep enough, can grow into writing that goes back out into the world.

I was taught that I had to 'master' subjects. But who can 'master' beauty, or peace, or joy?

They are fruit and transport: ripening melons, prairie schooners journeying under full sail.