What do you do when prayer feels difficult, enthusiasm fades, and you begin asking, “What’s the point?” This Catholic homily reflects on spiritual dryness, perseverance, and the faithfulness that sustains our life with Christ.

Drawing on St. Paul’s words in Galatians—“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”—the sermon considers how the initial joy of a vocation can give way to struggle. Whether in marriage, monastic life, priesthood, or our daily Christian duties, we cannot always depend on feelings of enthusiasm.

The answer offered is fidelity: remaining faithful to prayer, confession, the Holy Eucharist, and the responsibilities of our state in life. St. Benedict’s exhortation to prefer nothing to Christ gives us a clear direction when following Our Lord feels costly.

The homily also draws on Bishop Erik Varden’s Desert Fathers in a Year podcast, episode 35, “On Hunting Dogs,” and concludes with Christ’s example in Gethsemane: “Not my will, but your will be done.”

If you are discouraged in prayer or struggling to persevere, bring that difficulty to Our Lord. Ask Him for the grace to take the next faithful step.

00:00 Opening: Glory to Jesus Christ
00:21 A household chore and a podcast reflection
00:39 “On Hunting Dogs” and the Desert Fathers
01:00 Galatians: “Christ lives in me”
01:29 The initial joy of a vocation
02:05 When enthusiasm fades
02:33 Christianity and the search for comfort
02:49 When the Christian life feels like a cross
03:14 Baptism: dying and rising with Christ
03:31 How do we persevere through discouragement?
03:45 The importance of faithfulness
04:10 St. Benedict: Prefer nothing to Christ
04:37 Fidelity when following Christ is difficult
04:52 Faithfulness to prayer and the holy mysteries
05:00 Persevering in your state of life
05:21 Living by faith in the Son of God
05:38 Christ’s fidelity in Gethsemane
05:57 Liturgical singing
06:03 St. Michael comics and Sensus Fidelium app messages

MENTIONED IN THIS HOMILY
Galatians 2:20
St. Benedict’s teaching on preferring nothing to Christ
Bishop Erik Varden, Desert Fathers in a Year, episode 35: “On Hunting Dogs”

For more please visit https://www.youtube.com/@steliasbrampton & say 3 Hail Marys for the priest

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