10 More Skills Every Catholic Man Should Master

The Practical Foundation of Masculine Authority (Part 2)

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This is the second installment of this series. Read the first part here.

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Given how well received the first part of this series was, I think it’s only right to continue writing about the practical foundation of masculine authority, in an attempt to take all those somewhat abstract ideas about how a man should act, and bring them down to the real world, to describe real, practical skills that enable a man to be the leader and provider that God needs us all to be.

For us Catholics, it’s even more important to be competent in leadership and authority, as we understand and fully accept the weight of the role that God’s tasked us with as those in charge of our families and communities. Additionally, these skills are becoming more and more uncommon, making it even more critical for us to learn them:

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10. Fast Properly

Fasting is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal to grow in self-control. The “muscles” that we exercise by fasting are the same muscles that will help us control all appetites, like lust and other desires of the flesh.

When you voluntarily give up eating for a while and learn to live with the hunger, you’ll also strengthen your will power to exercise self-denial in every other area of your life.

How to learn this skill: Do small fasts once per week and longer ones once every other month. Start with 16 hours and then move on to 24, 36, and 48 hours. Make sure you drink enough water and electrolytes (especially for longer fasts). This is a good, in-depth breakdown of proper fasting from my friends over at The Catholic Gentleman: https://catholicgentleman.com/2014/04/spiritual-weapons-fasting/

9. Read People and Assess Threats

It’s very interesting to see how naive the average man has become, so convinced in the protection and surveillance of modern society that he forgets that we still live in a fallen world in which there are still many threats.

The truth is that evil is real, and while I do believe that most people are generally good, none of us are exempt of encountering one of the many souls who have been completely consumed by evil, rage, resentment and outright insanity. Because of that undeniable fact, it’s important to be vigilant, and to learn how to assess threats and read the intentions of those that you encounter.

How to learn this skill: Build situational awareness whenever you’re outside the safety of your home. Learn pattern recognition, pay attention to people, learn the basics of body language and be unapologetic in identifying and moving away from threats.

8. Drive Manual Transmission

I remember how embarrassed I was the last time I had to drive stick, after years and years of exclusively using automatic cars. It was back in college, and all my friends had been drinking. As I was the only sober one, the responsibility fell on me to get all of us home safely. I had learnt how to drive stick when I got my license, but I had basically never practiced after that.

But even though I got us home safely after a bumpy, slow ride, I realized this was a skill that I could not afford to forget. You never know when you’ll need to rely on your stick-driving skills in an emergency situation.

How to learn this skill: Be intentional about practicing this skill. If any of your friends or family members has a car with a manual transmission, ask them if you can drive it over short distances with them. The only way to learn this is by doing it often.

7. Public Speaking Without Notes

This is possibly one of the most important skills on this list. There is no career or profession in which being good at public speaking won’t help. If we are to play our role properly and spread the good news of the Gospel, we need to be eloquent and able to speak firmly, clearly, and with authority.

This goes beyond just progressing in our careers, it is a fundamental skill for all Christians, and thus we should become comfortable at letting the Holy Spirit guide us through our speeches when we don’t have time or the opportunity to prepare beforehand.

How to learn this skill: Practice by leading group prayers, and learn the basics of public speaking so you don’t require a script to do so. This is a good book for that purpose.