Fortitude (audio podcast)

St. Josemaria Escriva tells us that “a task which presents no difficulties lacks human appeal – and supernatural appeal too. If you find no resistance when hammering a nail into a wall, what can you expect to hang on it?” (The Forge, no. 245)

The virtue of fortitude is essential for the spiritual life and human development. Msgr. Dolan explains the reality of deferred gratification, which is putting off what we want and taking care of what we should do. He explains further that deferred gratification goes hand in hand with gumption, which is the ability to decide what is best in any particular situation and go straight into action. The danger in the spiritual life is abandoning the struggle and simply giving up. We can either view challenges with fear and stress, or we can choose to view them with excitement.

This podcast originally appeared on www.stjosemaria.org. Republished with permission. Copyright © St. Josemaria Institute.