St. Simon Stylites (5 January): Butler's Lives of the Saints

About this sermon

St. Simeon Stylites is one of the most astonishing figures in Christian history. Revered across the Roman Empire and even among Persians, Armenians, Ethiopians, and Arab nations, this 5th-century saint lived 37 years atop pillars, dedicating his life entirely to prayer, penance, humility, and union with God. Taken from Fr. Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints (January 5), this reading recounts the extraordinary austerities of St. Simeon—his fasting, vigils, mortifications, miracles, and the profound humility that made him one of the most venerated saints of East and West. ⚠️ Butler reminds us that while St. Simeon’s external actions are not meant to be imitated, they serve as powerful spiritual instruction, calling us to deeper repentance, humility, prayer, and love of the Cross. “The foundation of Christian perfection is a sincere spirit of humility.” This life challenges modern comfort, lukewarm faith, and spiritual indifference—calling souls back to serious devotion, repentance, and submission to the Divine Will. 00:00 Introduction – Universal veneration of St. Simeon 01:13 Childhood & calling through the Beatitudes 02:20 Vision of the deep foundation 03:00 Early monastic life & radical obedience 04:26 Hidden mortifications revealed 05:14 Forty-day fasts without food or drink 07:13 Solitary enclosure & iron chain 08:15 The first pillar (423 AD) 08:43 Trial of obedience by bishops 09:21 Daily prayer, prostrations, and preaching 10:24 Conversions of pagan nations 11:08 Death of the saint (459 AD) 12:21 Spiritual lessons on humility & pride 13:26 The Cross as the path to perfection https://sensusfidelium.com/the-lives-of-the-fathers-martyrs-and-other-principal-saints/january/st-simon-stylites/ Get Butler's Lives of the Saints here: https://loretopublications.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=102&url=1 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 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.com 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 🔴 Truth Social - @SensusFidelium ▶ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #StSimeonStylites #LivesOfTheSaints #CatholicSaints #TraditionalCatholic #CatholicSpirituality #ChurchHistory #DesertFathers #Asceticism #CatholicAudio #SaintsBiography