Overcoming Spiritual Sloth: St. Andrew, Prayer, and the Nativity Fast

About this sermon

In this inspiring homily for November 30th—the Feast of St. Andrew, the First-Called Apostle—we are invited to embrace the Nativity Fast with renewed commitment to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This sermon explores the spiritual struggle of acedia (the "noonday devil"), the challenges of maintaining a consistent prayer life, and how saints like St. Andrew and St. Anthony the Great show us the path to salvation, peace, and daily perseverance. Whether you’re preparing for Christmas, seeking to deepen your spiritual life, or fighting restlessness, distraction, and anxiety, this message offers practical steps for daily prayer, insights from the Desert Fathers, and encouragement rooted in Scripture—especially St. Paul’s reminder: "Have no anxiety at all…" (Phil. 4:6–7) ✨ Discover how simple, intentional rhythms of prayer can transform your day, your Advent journey, and your relationship with God. 🙏 Christ is in our midst. He is and always will be. ⏱️ Timestamps & Chapter Titles 0:00 – Opening Prayer 0:20 – Feast of St. Andrew the First-Called 0:50 – Entering the Nativity Fast 1:07 – Joyful Expectation vs. Holiday Stress 1:22 – The Purpose of the Nativity Fast 1:37 – Basics of Christian Life: Prayer, Fasting & Almsgiving 1:51 – Focus on Prayer 2:02 – Why Prayer Is Difficult 2:23 – What Is Acedia? The Noonday Devil 2:37 – How Spiritual Sloth Attacks Us 3:06 – The Story of St. Anthony the Great 4:05 – The Rich Young Man in Today’s Gospel 4:45 – What Jesus Says We Must Not Let Stand in the Way 5:24 – Acedia as a Barrier to Following Christ 5:48 – Recognizing Spiritual Attack in Restlessness 6:26 – Being “Too Busy” to Pray 7:08 – The Choice: Sadness or Joy 7:21 – Integrating Prayer Into Daily Life 7:44 – Morning Prayer Practices 8:44 – Prayer Throughout the Day 9:00 – Evening & Bedtime Prayer 9:19 – Scripture Reading & Spiritual Reading 9:31 – Church Services During the Nativity Fast 10:00 – The Lord Calling Us Daily 10:26 – St. Paul’s Words: Have No Anxiety at All 11:04 – How Prayer Overcomes Fear and Sloth 11:12 – Saved Daily from Troubles 11:32 – Closing Doxology & Amen For more please visit https://www.youtube.com/@stjohnmelkite & say 3 Hail Marys for the priest 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶️ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶️ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.us for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶️ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 SpiritusTV - https://spiritustv.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 LBRY.tv --- https://lbry.tv/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 Brighteon - https://www.brighteon.com/channels/sensusfidelium ▶️ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ ▶️ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 Please "Like" our videos so that Youtube shares it to others by clicking the "Like" thumbs-up under the video = 👍🏻 ▶️ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. ▶️ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 SP3RN: https://www.sp3rn.com/community/pages/14-sensus-fidelium 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Bastyon: https://bastyon.com/sensusfidelium 🔴 GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/sensus_fidelium 🔴 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sensusfidelium/ 🔴 Telegram: https//t.me/RealSensusFidelium ▶️ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #StAndrew #NativityFast #ByzantineCatholic #Acedia #NoondayDevil #ChristianPrayer #SpiritualLife #StAnthonyTheGreat #RichYoungMan #AdventPreparation #CatholicHomily #EasternChristianity #PrayerAndFasting #OvercomingAnxiety #DailyPrayer

Topics

• Prayer
• Christmas
• Overcoming Obstacles