“Eh, I’ll do it tomorrow.” That’s a statement that most of us have probably thought to ourselves hundreds of times. I’m busy with other things, I just want to relax, why should I worry about it right now? Sometimes we have a good excuse. Most of the time, we know we don’t.
Procrastination is something that most people deal with, and many struggle seriously. As of 2024, 20% of adults consider themselves chronic procrastinators, and 25% of adults consider procrastination to be a defining part of their personality. I would suspect that many more also struggle with procrastination and either don’t want to admit it or don’t think it affects them. Since it’s important to be honest with ourselves, I’ll admit I have personally struggled with procrastination for as long as I can remember — it’s one of the greatest personal struggles I’ve faced in life. Moreover, while procrastination may appear to be just another bad habit, it can have serious spiritual consequences.
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Procrastination can be a manifestation of the sin of acedia, more commonly known as sloth. There are different interpretations of what exactly this sin means and the moral gravity it can have, but for our purposes, we can consider acedia to be a form of despair where we intentionally put off a good act because of the effort that is needed to complete it. Incidentally, the definition of procrastination is to intentionally put off something that ought to be done. Therefore, procrastinating, especially on something important, can evolve into a sin. As with any sin, however, our faith tells us that heaven can come to our aid to fight against it. The Church provides us with one helper: St. Expeditus, the patron saint against procrastination.
I was first introduced to St. Expeditus through a close friend, prone to procrastination, who was searching for confirmation saints. The saint’s story and patronage resonated with him, and he now calls upon him whenever he has issues with deadlines. Given that he’s preparing to enter medical school, you can imagine the amount of work he has on his plate! When I asked him about his devotion to St. Expeditus, he told me that while he still struggles with procrastination, he finds that after saying a prayer for this saint’s intercession, he seems to finish his work just in time. For my own part, when I’ve called upon St. Expeditus’s intercession, I’ve found that I become more focused and “in the zone” while doing my work, which tends to be the biggest hurdle I face that leads me to procrastinate. So, just who is this saint?
St. Expeditus was a Roman centurion from Armenia. His name, Expeditus, is sometimes referred to as Expedite, although it is likely not his true name. Expeditus is a Latin word referring to a soldier traveling without his pack, which made him lighter and faster on his feet. There are numerous legends and scholarly controversies surrounding him, largely surrounding the origins of his name and whether he properly existed in the first place beyond the stories told about him. Yet, devotion to him persists to this day.
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The legend St. Expeditus is most well-known for is that of his conversion. It is said that when he learned of the faith and sought baptism, the devil appeared to him in the guise of a crow, who told him to put off his conversion until tomorrow. The saint proceeded to declare, “I’ll become a Christian today!” and killed the crow. He was later martyred for refusing to renounce his faith under the Roman Emperor Diocletian during the darkest days of Roman persecution of Christianity.
What can all of this teach us? Well, we must certainly work on our own vices and bad habits. God will not force us to get better. He will, however, intervene, with help from his saints, if we genuinely strive for that perfection we are called to. God only needs a willing soul — he can handle the rest. So, in this fight against procrastination, let us turn to God and seek the powerful intercession of the saint who chose to be a Christian now.
St. Expeditus, pray for us!
