The meetings draw an eclectic group of men

By Scalia in Spero Forum

I am not a member but probably will be at some time in the future. Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Church founded by a Spanish Priest in 1928. Opus Dei is 100% orthodox. This Pope [John Paul II] loves and respects Opus Dei, which irks liberal Catholics.

The premise of Opus Dei is very simple: lay Catholics must lead their lives in a priestly manner, although they are not priests. You can join the group in various fashions: some unmarried lay people take vows of celibacy, while others are married and enjoy a full married life. Their faith is white hot and unapologetic. They possess a missionary zeal unfamiliar to many Catholics.

I have attended numerous "evenings of recollections" held by an Opus Dei priest in a Baltimore suburb (only once did they ask for money and that was even a soft sell!). The evenings of recollections are held at a large home donated by a member, which has been converted to a chapel. The meetings draw an eclectic group of men from many races and nationalities. These members tend to be highly educated or extremely devout. A typical group of forty men, from my experience, will include: 5-6 medical doctors, 5-6 lawyers, 2-3 PhD's from the applied physics lab of Johns Hopkins, computer geeks, 3-4 graduates from service academies and blue collar folks. My roommate from the Naval Academy is thinking about joining right now. Opus Dei wants to evangelize all walks of life, including the highest realms of society. The current priest who heads the group is a former Wall St. wonder boy who punched out to serve the Lord.

An interesting side note. Scott Hahn talked to 5-6 priests about converting to the Church. All the priests either tried to dissuade him or were ambivalent about his conversion. Then he met an Opus Dei priest who welcomed him with open arms. Opus Dei is big on conversion.

The group obviously isn't for everyone but you may want to check them out. Here is their site. http://www.opusdei.org/