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St. Josemaria Escriva was a natural leader. In the world of business or politics, he could have been what the world would consider a “great man.” Instead, he became a priest and dedicated his considerable talents to the advancement of the Kingdom of God, pouring his heart and soul into raising up an army of apostles who sanctify the world from the inside out.

Through the course of his priestly ministry, St. Josemaria left many letters of advice and spiritual direction, many excerpts of which are contained in the three books, The Way, Furrow, and The Forge. Here are 15 pieces of leadership advice from St. Josemaria’s writings for those who seek to sanctify their work and be leaders in the Church and in the world.

1. Don’t compromise your principles

‘One must compromise.’ Compromise is a word found only in the vocabulary of those who have no will to fight — the lazy, the cunning, the cowardly — for they consider themselves defeated before they start. (The Way No. 54)

2. Don’t waste time

Don’t let your life be barren. Be useful. Make yourself felt. Shine forth with the torch of your faith and your love.

With your apostolic life, wipe out the trail of filth and slime left by the corrupt sowers of hatred. And set aflame all the ways of the earth with the fire of Christ that you bear in your heart. (The Way No. 1)

3. Pay attention to the little things

Will-power. A very important quality. Don’t despise little things, for by the continual practice of denying yourself again and again in such things — which are never futile or trivial — with God’s grace you will add strength and resilience to your character. In that way you will first become master of yourself, and then a guide, a chief, a leader: to compel and to urge and to inspire others, with your word, with your example, with your knowledge and with your power. (The Way 19)

4. Embrace sacrifice

The Lord’s calling — vocation — always presents itself like this: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Yes: a vocation demands self-denial, sacrifice. But how pleasant that sacrifice turns out to be — gaudium cum pace, joy and peace — if that self-giving is complete! (Furrow No. 8)

5. Pray boldly

Be daring in your prayer, and the Lord will turn you from a pessimist into an optimist; from being timid, to being daring, from being feeble-spirited to being a man of faith, an apostle! (Furrow No. 118)

6. Care for others

I think it is very good that you should try daily to increase the depth of your concern for those under you. For to feel surrounded and protected by the affectionate understanding of the one in charge, can be the effective help which is needed by the people you have to serve by means of your governance. (Furrow No. 395)

7. Accept obstacles

Is the burden heavy? No, a thousand times no! Those obligations which you freely accepted are wings that raise you high above the vile mud of your passions.

Do the birds feel the weight of their wings? If you were to cut them off and put them on the scales you would see that they are heavy. But can a bird fly if they are taken away from it? It needs those wings and it does not notice their weight, for they lift it up above other creatures.

—Your “wings” are heavy too! But if you did not have them you would fall into the filthiest mire. (Furrow No. 414)

8. Finish the task

Sanctity is made up of heroic acts. Therefore, in our work we are asked for the heroism of finishing properly the tasks committed to us, day after day, even though they are the same tasks. If we don’t, then we do not want to be saints! (Furrow No. 529)

9. Persevere

As the flames of your first enthusiasm die down, it becomes difficult to advance in the dark. —But that progress is all the more reliable for being hard. And then, when you least expect it, the darkness vanishes, and the enthusiasm and light return. Persevere! (Furrow No. 789)

10. Be at peace

As soon as you truly abandon yourself in the Lord, you will know how to be content with whatever happens. You will not lose your peace if your undertakings do not turn out the way you hoped, even if you have put everything into them, and used all the means necessary. For they will have “turned out” the way God wants them to. (Furrow No. 860)

11. Call on Mary

Holy Mary is the Queen of peace, and thus the Church invokes her. So when your soul or your family are troubled, or things go wrong at work, in society or between nations, cry out to her without ceasing. Call to her by this title: Regina pacis, ora pro nobis — Queen of peace, pray for us. Have you at least tried it when you have lost your calm?… —You will be surprised at its immediate effect. (Furrow No. 874)

12. Surround yourself with wise counselors

Mediocre men, mediocre in mind and in Christian spirit, surround themselves by foolish people when they are in power. They are falsely persuaded by their vanity that in this way they will never lose control.

Sensible men, however, surround themselves with learned people who live a clean life as well as possessing knowledge, and become, through their help, men who can really govern. They are not in this matter deceived by their humility, for in making others great they themselves are made great. (Furrow No. 968)

13. Please God, not men

You are in a position of authority and you go by what people say? You are a doddering old man! —First of all you should worry about what God will say; then, very much in the second place, and sometimes not at all, you may consider what others might think. “Whoever acknowledges me before men”, says the Lord, “I too will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father who is in heaven.” (Furrow No. 970)

14. Delegate

A fundamental rule for good management is to give responsibility to others without this becoming for you a way of seeking anonymity or comfort. I repeat, delegate responsibility and ask each person to give an account of how his job is going, so that you can “render an account” to God; and to souls, if necessary. (Furrow No. 972)

15. Always stay humble

For all your learning, for all your fame, your eloquence and power, if you are not humble, you are worth nothing. Cut out, root out that self-complacency which dominates you so completely. — God will help you — and then you will be able to begin working for Christ, in the lowest place in his army of apostles. (The Way No. 602)

What are your favorite St. Josemaria quotes? Leave them in the comments!

Jesus has set his heart on his passion and death in Jerusalem with a single minded determination. He knows the pain and sorrow that await him when he enters the gates of the Holy City. With a heavy heart, he warns his disciples what is coming:

“Now, we are going up to Jerusalem; and there the Son of Man will be given up into the hands of the chief priests and scribes, who will condemn him to death; and these will give him up into the hands of the Gentiles, who will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; but on the third day he will rise again.”¹

His disciples were no doubt bewildered by such language. Their vision for Christ’s entry into Jerusalem was one of triumph and conquest. In their understanding, he would overthrow the oppressive Roman government and usher in a glorious earthly kingdom—a kingdom in which they believed they would have a very high place.

False Ambition

It is fascinating to note that immediately after Jesus sorrowfully tells them his coming fate, the disciples begin to bicker. About what? About who will be the greatest in the kingdom that Jesus was about to usher in. They completely missed the point. They were so proud and ambitious that they dismissed Jesus’ words of warning and immediately thought not of him, but of themselves.

The disciples had a false vision of true leadership. They understood it to be power and control, and they wanted as much of both as they could get. They want to climb the ladder of worldly influence until they were looking down on everyone else.

True Leadership

Jesus, ever patient with his bumbling disciples, uses the opportunity to teach them an important lesson on the nature of true leadership:

“You know that, among the Gentiles, those who claim to bear rule lord it over them, and those who are great among them make the most of the power they have. With you it must be otherwise; whoever has a mind to be great among you, must be your servant, and whoever has a mind to be first among you, must be your slave. So it is that the Son of Man did not come to have service done him; he came to serve others, and to give his life as a ransom for the lives of many.”²

In short, Jesus turns their definition of leadership on its head, saying that true leadership is not power and control, but suffering service. It is a leadership characterized by humility, concern for the good of others, self-emptying, sacrifice, and ultimately, love. This true leadership is hard because it costs us everything— just as it cost Christ his life.

Living Selfless Service

Jesus’ definition of true leadership requires us to serve and to seek the good of others before our own. Let’s look at some ways we can apply this kind of leadership in our lives.

1. Family life – I love being a husband and father; it is incredibly joyful. But at the same time, being the head of a family brings a constant struggle against selfishness and the wrong kind of leadership. When I want something a certain way, even an insignificant thing, there is always a temptation to control— to force my way on my wife or children.

Children especially can be very willful. My oldest boy is almost two, and like all two year olds, he is exerting his will very forcefully. It is interesting to note that the more forcefully I ask him to do something, the more he resists. His resistance leads me to want to force his obedience even more, and things inevitably escalate. But if I lead him gently and patiently, he is much more likely to obey willingly.

2. The workplace – In the business world, ambition drives almost everyone. The desire for a bigger paycheck and more influence consumes some people until it is all they can think about. “Look out for number one,” is their motto, and they will use others to achieve their ends without a moments hesitation.

But as Catholics, we should be servant leaders. Instead of seeking to advance our career by trampling on others, we should serve them humbly and seek their good above our own. “How can I help you succeed,” should be our motto, rather than seeking our own advancement. And believe me, an employee with this attitude will be noticed by those in management.

3. Every other relationship – Our lives are made up of a series of relationships. In each one, we are tempted by selfishness and a desire for others to serve us. It is this lust for control that breeds 99% of arguments and quarrels in our lives (see James 4:1-2). We must invert this desire and seek to serve others rather than control them. Yes, it will be hard, but it is what we must do if we would follow Jesus Christ.

Embracing the Cross

If there is anything we can learn from Jesus’ life, it is that true leadership always involves the cross. “The Son of Man did not come to have service done him; he came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” If we are to be true leaders, we must die to ourselves and pursue the good of others— no matter what the cost.

This kind of leadership will require a great deal of humility, and it may bring with it sorrow and pain, but it will be worth it. A life of selfless service will not be without its reward. “But many will be first that were last, and last that were first.”³

It is this laying down of one’s life that it is that heart of Christianity. If we miss this, we miss everything. Jesus wants you to be a man, and a leader, after his own heart. And that is why he is calling you to, “take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow me.”

¹ Mark 10:33-34
² Mark 10:42-45
³ Mark 10:31

15 Leadership Lessons from St. Josemaria Escriva