Relating with God without miracles

By Javier Morales, a communications entrepreneur in Mumbai in What I read


[The book El Hombre de Villa Tevere] makes you pray telling about the deep interior life of St. Josemaria, his relationship with God without the miracles.

A deep interior life based on the practice of a few pious actions during the day, the Norms of piety any member of Opus Dei does, such as daily Holy Mass, Mental Prayer, spiritual reading, etc.

His interior life would lead him to live in the presence of God at all times, doing everything for Him and in Him. everything would lead him to think of god, and he would make use of everything to go towards God, even for instance, of songs which talked about human love, directing those words towards God or towards the Virgin Mary.

But that wouldn't take him out of the world, on the contrary, thanks to that presence of God he would be very attentive of other people's needs or likings. For example, once, while leaving a farm house at which he had been resting and working in the summer of 1967, Father Javier Echevarria found in the house a snake. Skillfully he managed to kill it, and when triumphantly announced it, St. Josemaria asked him if he had removed it so that the people who would clean, wouldn't get scared finding it there (instead of just thinking of the adventure).

His love for the Virgin Mary was not theoretical but shown in deeds. When an image (a statue) was 'rescued' from Switzerland (it had been disposed) and arrived to Villa Tevere, he immediately went to welcome her, kissed her hand and told her beautiful praises and many words of love.

He also praised, loved, prayed and learn many things from various saints, without making of his devotion a full catalogue of practices or rituals.

His love for the Mass was intense, clear, intellectual, theological, and again very down to earth, shown in material ways. Preparing his Mass, not allowing distractions such as photographers getting very close to the altar. Usually, he would celebrate Mass at mid-day and prepare 15-minutes prior to that. One day, because of heavy work, they forgot to tell him 15 minutes in advance and they told him only when it was already time. At first he was upset, but then, he was so much in love with the Mass and God in the Eucharist that he was able to concentrate very well, in spite of not having been able to stop, take a break to focus on it prior to the appointed time.

He also had a great devotion to the guardian angels.... he saw a lady of the Work on the street and next day he told her he had prayed to her Guardian Angel.

He needs to be praying, like the beating of the heart, that's why, he said, he can never loose his temper for more than a couple of minutes.

He is so immersed in prayer that even when in danger of dying (the car was slipping uncontrollably towards a cliff) he didn't stop praying or got out of control.

This presence of God cannot be improvised, it comes from being well rooted in God through the practice of the other Norms. Prayer cannot be anonymous, he said, it has to be an intimate relationship with God, one to one. Heaven is guaranteed for those who do the Norms well.