Book Review: Time and Despondency
Nicole M. Roccas. Time and Despondency: Regaining the Present in Faith and Life. Chesterton, IN: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2017. 194 pp.
[I]n the light of Christ, who has lovingly filled all things…despondency is little more than a hardened scale, a scab we perpetually manufacture to numb the risk of encountering and being encountered by the risen Son of God.
Nicole M. Roccas, Time and Despondency, 175
Orthodox speaker and teacher Dr. Nicole Roccas knew when she set out to write a book about time and despondency that the subject might seem a bit of a downer. However, she felt driven to address a spiritual condition that is rampant in today’s modern world. Her book, Time and Despondency: Regaining the Present in Faith and Life, is the result of her careful research and prayerful reflection on an age-old condition of the human soul—and on how to combat it in our walk with Christ.
Sponsored
What is Despondency?
According to Roccas, Time and Despondency is meant to be
a synthesis of historical wisdom, contemporary connections, and personal reflections to shed light on how time affects our experience of both despondency and healing.
Time and Despondency, 15
After a brief acknowledgments section, a poignant introduction illustrates the spiritual discomfort that comes in the form of despondency. Since it isn’t a term that gets a lot of use in familiar conversation, Roccas devotes Part One, the first four chapters, to defining despondency and exploring how it affects our spiritual lives and our experience of time.
Despondency is the author’s preferred term to translate the Greek acedia (ακηδία), which was coined by the fourth-century Desert Father Evagrius. The hallmarks of despondency include apathy, distraction, and despair, but it can also have “an infinite array of disguises and symptoms” which point to an “inner restlessness” (26). By the way, Roccas is careful to delineate between the spiritual condition of despondency and the medical diagnosis of depression, although she recognizes the nuances and overlaps that can occur between them.
After painting a picture of despondency and its many manifestations, Roccas turns to the Eastern Orthodox approach to cosmology, Christology, and spiritual practice to explore more deeply how we live within the constraints of time.
Finding Our Way Out in Christ
In Part Two, Roccas shows the way out of despondency, beginning with a discussion on prayer that spans two chapters. She then rounds out the book with a slew of concrete “stepping stones back to the present” for anyone hoping to combat their own despondency. These are thoughtful, practical, and wide-ranging ways to return to faithfulness in the present moment. Some are as easy as cultivating a practice of gratitude (give thanks for three things each night), and some are as unconventional as learning to basketweave, in honor of the early monastic practice.
In her conclusion, Roccas reflects on the power of Christ’s resurrection to transcend and transform time, enabling us, by his grace, to encounter him in every present moment.
Applications to Anglican Ministry
In many ways, although coming from an Orthodox perspective, Roccas’ book has valuable application to ministry in an Anglican context.
- Roccas explores the topic accessibly, in a humble, relatable voice. But the work is also deep, thoughtful, well-researched, and biblical. I personally found it to be both convicting and comforting as I examined my own experience with despondency. This work supports personal growth as well as ministry.
- Roccas is writing to fellow Christians from the theological and doxological traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy. Her explanations of Orthodox spirituality are therefore done without either assuming familiarity or dumbing down important concepts. She draws on ancient Christian voices, such as the Cappadocian Fathers and the Desert Fathers, as well as modern Orthodox voices, such as Father Alexander Schmemann. For Anglicans, this book can be a valuable window into some distinctly Orthodox approaches that harmonize and enrich understanding of the faith once delivered.
- This book is a helpful tool for giving language to experiences that commonly arise in ministry settings. It provides a name for that inner restlessness that plagues people across all walks of life and delves into reflections on time, mindfulness, and living in the present moment from a faithful Christian standpoint.
- Roccass’s discussion is not merely conceptual. Her list of “stepping stones” is immediate and practical. Also included at the back of the book is a discussion guide to facilitate deep engagement in a small-group environment.
This book provides an important discussion of despondency, time, and the ordering of our lives in faithful service to the Gospel, bringing our hearts ever closer to Christ. I wholeheartedly recommend this book for personal devotion and use in ministry.
Image: Time and Despondency, © 2018 Ancient Faith Publishing.
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