By Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph
About a month ago, I celebrated a Mass at one of our parish churches marking the feast of a modern day saint, Josemaria Escriva, who is perhaps best known as the founder of a Catholic group called Opus Dei. I thought I would take this space today to talk about this Spanish diocesan priest who was canonized by Pope John Paul II on Oct. 6, 2002, and whose feast day is observed in the Church throughout the world on June 26.
Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer was born in Barbastro, Spain, on Jan. 9, 1902, and died in Rome on June 26, 1975. As a child he was sickly, and at one point he was near death. His health rallied when his parents took him to a Marian shrine in Spain. As a child he witnessed the deaths of his three sisters, the collapse of the family business and his father's early death, all of which seemed to only strengthen his reliance on God.
As a teen, Josemaria noticed one day the footprints left by a Carmelite priest walking barefoot in the snow, and felt God was calling him to a greater generosity. He was ordained a priest in March 1925 and often asked God, in prayer, to help him "see" His plan for him.
On Oct. 2, 1928, the feast of the Guardian Angels, he "saw" by a kind of divine inspiration a plan for holiness and evangelization in the world, a way of living that would help people be holy in the very concrete and everyday responsibilities of their life. Initially, he understood this as an association for lay men; later he realized it was also something that was to be extended to lay women.
He eventually also established the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross for diocesan priests, when he saw what poor spiritual formation they often had. While the priests remain completely attached to their local bishop and diocese, the Society provides them with support and sound spiritual direction.
Lay men and women constitute 95% (or more) of the membership of Opus Dei. Some of these are unmarried men or women who live in centers of "the Work." There are separate centers for men and women. They have daily jobs as engineers, business men or women, lawyers, doctors, etc., and have meals and prayer in common. They do some kind of apostolate or work that involves promoting a holy life in the midst of the world. They often might teach Catholic catechism and give spiritual direction.
Although he had great respect and love for consecrated men and women, St. Josemaria was insistent that what he "saw" was not a religious order. It was a vocation to find holiness in the world, by doing our daily work with great love.
He wanted to remind Christians that "sanctity is not something for the privileged few." Rather, "all paths of the earth can be divine."
Curiously this sense of the Universal Call to Holiness for every person is often associated with the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
Father Josemaria promoted it in a concrete way nearly 40 years before the Council! Father Josemaria and his first associates had to live their faith somewhat "underground" during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), when many priests and Religious were killed for their faith.
Father Josemaria was a charismatic and fatherly personality who had great humility and a strong compassion for the sick. During the Council he was highly regarded and many bishops from all over the world visited him in Rome to ask his advice about the early documents and discussions of the Council, particularly about the role of the laity in the Church.
By the time of his death, Father Josemaria's Work had spread to 80 countries. The most recent center was established in Russia in the last months. To learn more about St. Josemaria Escriva, go to www.stjosemaria.org.
O God, through the mediation of Mary our Mother, you granted your priest Saint Josemaria countless graces, choosing him as a most faithful instrument to found Opus Dei, a way of sanctification in daily work and in the fulfillment of the Christian's ordinary duties. Grant that I, too, may learn to turn all the circumstances and events of my life into occasions of loving you and serving the Church, the Pope and all souls with joy and simplicity, lighting up the pathways of this earth with faith and love. Deign to grant me through the intercession of Saint Josemaria, the favor of . (make request).. Amen.
Taken from: Fergal O'Neill at In Manus Tuas
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