Sinking into the Slough of Despond?

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Prodigal1984

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This miry Slough is such a place as cannot be mended; it is the descent whither the scum and filth that attends conviction for sin doth continually run, and therefore is it called the Slough of Despond: for still as the sinner is awakened about his lost condition, there ariseth in his soul many fears, and doubts, and discouraging apprehensions, which all of them get together, and settle in this place; and this is the reason of the badness of this ground.

Okay, this is from The Pilgrims Progress, but when reading it I felt like I always feel this way. Is this a sign I am to hard on myself?
 
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Despond/despondency - to me this equates with spiritual despondency or discouragement. When one realizes the depth of their wretchedness - the many sins including any mortal sins they’ve committed over their lifetime, and how hard the struggle can be to change even with the firm intention to do so (due to human fraility/weakness/concupiscence to sin), when the struggles seems to be too hard or the effort seems to be ongoing with no real progress in the spiritual life, it is then easy to fall prey to discouragement and give in to the temptation to give up.

That is the time to pray to God to lift you up, to strengthen you, to continue the fight and to persevere.

Feelings are not indicative of our spiritual progress.

(Hope I’m understanding your post correctly, apologies if I haven’t)
 
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The Slough of Despond by Fr. Dwight Longenecker 2014. I think he explains this passage and its meaning well. He does state:- “We must be careful to distinguish between the sin of sloth and the illness of depression.”

This is different to feeling discouragement in our progress in the spiritual life.

Only you know if you are feeling discouraged, are too hard on yourself, suffer depression or are slothful.

I also just found this commentary on this book you quoted from - meaning and origin of ‘the Slough of Despond’ states that John Bunyan was an English writer and Baptist preacher. He would write from this perspective.

You are Catholic - read the writings of Catholic Saints e.g. St. Teresa of Ávila Interior Castle wherein she covers the stages or rooms a soul goes through as they progress through the spiritual life.
 
The suggestion to read St Teresa is always good advice. It’s also worth taking a peek at her friend, John of the Cross; in several of his works he discusses the heights and valleys of the spiritual life - for despondency you might especially want to look at The Dark Night of the Soul.
 
I think we all have felt that way.
I think what Bunyan meant by the Slough of Despond was falling into the sin of sloth.
 
Is your life on Earth so physically challenging? If not, I would suggest that perhaps you are thinking too much about spirituality and religion and you might be better off getting more involved in physical and mental activity here on Earth. In other words, if you want to find G-d and ease your spiritual tensions, “Chop wood, carry water” as the Zen proverb goes, or “Il faut cultiver notre jardin” (“We have to cultivate our garden”) according to Voltaire’s Candide. Don’t think so much, but instead do something productive such as work, exercise, finding a good hobby, helping others, creating, accomplishing chores left undone.
 
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Well that’s the thing.
I suffer with sin and no matter how hard I try I always seem to fail. It is so discouraging. Like they say confession is supposed to give me grace and the Eucharist but I still have these temptations.
 
Prodigal1984 said:
I suffer with sin
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We all do - while we live and breathe that is.
Prodigal1984 said:
no matter how hard I try I always seem to fail.
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As we do when we rely on ourselves. I suggest you persevere in asking God for the grace to overcome each sin, as soon as one is committed with firstly making an act of contrition. Perhaps you could ask God to bring to light to you what your predominant sin is, if you’re not sure, and also pick just one - and work on overcoming it with the help of Gods’ grace. We will always fail if we rely solely on ourselves, as we can do nothing without God’s grace.
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It is so discouraging.
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Yes, it can be. But that is the time to get up and try again. It is not how many times we fall, but how often we get up again. We are blessed to have the sacrament of confession when we fall, and the Eucharist to strengthen us.
Prodigal1984 said:
Like they say confession is supposed to give me grace and the Eucharist but I still have these temptations.
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They do give you grace to resist temptations. It is up to us to use our wills to co-operate with the grace God gives us in overcoming these sins.

Temptations we will always have with us. If we do overcome one particular sin, and through Gods’ grace are able to resist the temptations to commit that sin, then the devil seeing you are no longer vulnerable to that particular sin, will apply his temptations to other areas.

How to Prevent a Temptation from Becoming a Sin

What Is Temptation, Why Does God Permit It, and What Are Its Sources? by Msgr Charles Pope
 
It is a very reformation-like view. Psychologists can explain it, but the Christian faith opposes it. God does not create only to destroy; He does not hate what He creates. He allows mankind the freedom to hate itself, but that is disordered.
 
Yah it’s tough. I think anyone who takes their faith seriously may feel like this at times… I have. I would suggest getting a spiritual advisor.
 
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