"The Heroic Minute": St. Josemaría Escrivá's Secret for a Strong & Successful Day

Have you heard of St. Josemaría Escrivá’s “heroic minute”?

Are you someone who wakes up at the first alarm clock or do you curl up in bed until it’s too late? If you have trouble waking up in the morning, this advice from Saint Josemaría Escrivá can help you.

The Heroic Minute: Saint Josemaría Escrivá’s Secret for a Strong & Successful Day

Saint Josemaría Escrivá, a Spanish priest and founder of Opus Dei, was a great spiritual guide, and his writings contain precious advice on the most diverse topics of Christian life.

He really enjoyed discussing finding Jesus in every day life, and his “Heroic Minute” will help you do it!

Specifically referring to waking up in the morning, he says:

“Conquer yourself each day from the very first moment, getting up on the dot, at a fixed time, without yielding a single minute to laziness. If, with God’s help, you conquer yourself, you will be well ahead for the rest of the day.” (“The Way,” 191).

This little exercise, as he says, is the first little battle we face for the day. The feeling of overcoming comfort and self-indulgence will make us stronger to fight valiantly against sin throughout the day!

He considers this moment so important that he even gave it a name: “The Heroic Minute”.

“The heroic minute. It is the time fixed for getting up. Without hesitation: a supernatural reflection and…up! The heroic minute: here you have a mortification that strengthens your will and does no harm to your body.” (“The Way”, 206)

This attitude of doing (or not doing) certain things to strengthen the will is known as asceticism. Christianity greatly encourages this practice, because it helps us overcome passions and grow in spiritual maturity.

But asceticism is not merely for great sacrifices, nor is it only for priests or religious. It’s something close and accessible! All Catholics must strive to be better every day, and small mortifications can go a long way.

This is what the Christian life is. It’s made up of small heroic minutes that, throughout life, help us choose God.