PODCAST | Be Ready!: The Virtue of Temperance
[ Transcript ]
To conclude our Advent series: In this week’s podcast, Fr. Javier reflects on the last of the cardinal virtues: temperance. The holiday season, in particular, is a good time to reflect on this virtue as we battle the temptations of partaking in so many pleasurable things and activities all around us! Temperance, the “virtue which allows us to regulate those things that give us pleasure here and now”, helps us “to use them, but not abuse them—to use them temperately insofar as they lead us to our ultimate end.”
From his humble birth to later in life, Jesus Christ lived a spirit of temperance which allowed him to use the created world in order to save souls and bring them closer to God. As Fr. Javier explains: “For Jesus, the world is good— we have to know that. In fact, everything is created in the Word, everything is created in Him, and unto Him, and for Him. And so, there are no bad things that exist. But all those good things that exist need to be thought about very carefully, because the way we use those things in the world that are good, could lead us closer to God or could lead us away from God.“
This last week of Advent, as we prepare to welcome Jesus, we ask ourselves: What am I looking for? Am I looking for safety and security in material things? How can I let go of those things that pass away?
Download the companion to the series to go deeper and enrich your prayer throughout the week:
Rev. Javier del Castillo
Fr. Javier del Castillo is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei and currently serves as President of the St. Josemaria Institute. He earned a degree in electronic engineering and moved to Rome to complete his ecclesiastical studies, where he was ordained a priest in 2005 and earned a doctorate in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in 2007. He worked as a chaplain in high schools in the Washington, D.C. and Chicago areas for several years, offering spiritual accompaniment to students, parents, and teachers. From 2015 on, he served as the vicar of Opus Dei in the midwest; he was appointed regional vicar of the United States in 2022. He became vicar of the United States and Canada in 2024, following the restructuring of the regions, until his appointment as Vicar General in April 2025.
