Mode of Dress

By Right Said Red in Building Cathedrals.

One comment on my previous post, "Bikini Builders," asked me to explain the following statement:

"Overall, my appearance is important to me, as I believe a put-together and at least somewhat stylish mode of dress is an important part of my witness as a Christian wife and mother."

I realize that there are a number of Christians who do not agree with me. The prominence of the one-size-fits-all jean jumper and floral print prairie dress in church circles are evidence of this fact. If you don't know what I am talking about, just attend a homeschool conference and you will see the wide gamut of interesting dress choices among Catholic mothers and their young daughters.

Dressing without concern for modern style or beauty greatly diminishes our ability to impact the world for Christ. Unlike a nun, who wears a habit to separate herself from the world, we are called to live in the world. We are called to be an example of holy, Christian living and our family is called to be an example of a holy, Christian family. Our bodies speak a language to others, and the way we dress ourselves and our children is our first statement to the world. In many instances, it may be the only statement we can make.

St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, makes this point in a far more eloquent manner--

I believe You should dress in accordance with the demands of your social standing, your family background, your work... as your companions do, but to please God: eager to present a genuine and attractive image of true Christian living. Do everything with naturalness, without being extravagant. I can assure you that in this matter it is better to err on the side of excess than to fall short. How do you think Our Lord dressed? Haven't you pictured to yourself the dignity with which he wore his seamless cloak which had probably been woven for him by Our Lady? Don't you remember how, in Simon's house, he was grieved because he had not been offered water to wash his hands before taking his place at the table? No doubt he drew attention to this example of bad manners to underline his teaching that love is shown in little details. But he also wants to make it clear that he stands by the social customs of his time, and therefore you and I must make an effort to be detached from the goods and comforts of the world, but without doing anything that looks odd or peculiar. (emphasis mine)


As Christian mothers, we must strike the difficult balance of detachment from worldly goods and yet presenting ourselves in a manner that is appropriate for our state in life. At a very basic level this means you should shower and make your hair presentable before leaving the house! Most of us will also need to own some formal dresses and jewelry. When we have a playdate with a friend or run to the grocery store, we should dress in manner that is appropriate for a casual gathering (for example modern slacks/jeans/fitted tops). Wearing a floor length floral print dress to the supermarket or a playdate at a local friends house would strike most as odd or peculiar. In general, our goal should be to dress in a manner that respects our femininity and beauty, but at the same time does not draw attention to our appearance. Dressing like we live in the Victorian era, not making time to shower, and/or pulling our unkempt hair up in an 80's style banana clip, are not likely to inspire others to follow Christ. We live in a secular world. If you want your faith and your values to be listened to, respected, and taken seriously, it helps significantly to dress the part.

In addition to our duty to present Christ to the world, we have an additional duty to take care of our appearance for our husband. St. Josemaria Escriva, in advising married couples, reminds wives of the following:

Another important thing is personal appearance. And I would say that any priest who says the contrary is a bad adviser. As years go by a woman who lives in the world has to take more care not only of her interior life, but also of her looks. Her interior life itself requires her to be careful about her personal appearance; naturally this should always be in keeping with her age and circumstances. I often say jokingly that older facades need more restoration. It is the advice of a priest. An old Spanish saying goes: 'A well-groomed woman keeps her husband away from other doors.'

I realize this may sound very harsh but there is great wisdom and truth in St. Josemaria Escriva's words. I can think of countless women, myself included, who neglect their appearance and think little of how this affects their husbands. Whether it be through excessive weight gain, not taking the time to shower, or regularly wearing sweatpants, many of us neglect our appearance and forget that this has an effect on our marriage. When we love someone, we should want to look nice for them, do our hair, wear a little make-up, and dress in an attractive manner. Love is in the details. It is amazing how a little attention to detail can go a long way toward growing a happy and joy filled marriage.

The Real Opus Dei

By Peter Bancroft in Jesus Decoded

Conspiracy buffs intrigued by The Da Vinci Code version of Opus Dei may find the real deal a bit bland. No monks, no murders, no masochism, no misogyny. But for ordinary Catholics trying to live out their faith in the secular world, the real Opus Dei can be quite interesting.

One of the central teachings of the Second Vatican Council was the “universal call to holiness.” God calls all people – priests, religious and the laity – to seek spiritual union with Jesus Christ and to participate in the evangelizing mission of the Church. Opus Dei is Catholic institution whose mission is to help people fulfill this call.

Opus Dei’s name is Latin for “Work of God.” It was founded in 1928 by St. Josemaría Escrivá, and approved by the Holy See in 1947. Since 1982, Opus Dei has been a personal prelature. The Church establishes personal prelatures to carry out specific pastoral missions: in Opus Dei’s case, to spread the ideal of holiness in the middle of the world. As Pope John Paul II put it, Opus Dei “has as its aim the sanctification of one's life, while remaining within the world at one's place of work and profession: to live the Gospel in the world.”

Opus Dei’s main activities are classes, retreats, and spiritual direction. One need not be a member to receive this spiritual formation; in fact, most that do so are not. The focus is on finding practical ways to grow in holiness. How can I develop my spiritual life, even though I am very busy? What do I need to do to carry out my work and other daily activities with a more Christian spirit? What bearing does the Catholic faith have on my family life, friendships and social activities? Opus Dei’s formation helps people find practical answers to these questions, so that they can better integrate their faith with the rest of their life. Other key points Opus Dei emphasizes in its formation are prayer, charity, and awareness that one is a son or daughter of God.

Teachings of St. Josemaria in an African context

An article by noted Kenyan author Margaret Ogola on the relevance of St. Josemaria´s teachings to Africa.

Published originally on www.stjosemariaescriva.info

Love is perennial and youthful. So is this continent, 60% of whose population are under the age of twenty-five. The momentum of the youthfulness of the peoples of Africa will necessarily carry this continent beyond it's current woes and upheavals to the realization of a truly African dream where people will take responsibility for their homeland and cease to expect help from where none is forthcoming.

There are many things which move me deeply in the teachings of Saint Josemaría Escrivá, but perhaps the one that has had the greatest impact on my life, my outlook, my hopes, is the concept that every baptized person is expected to take full responsibility for the attainment of full Christian and social maturity. There are no second-class citizens in the world-view of the founder of Opus Dei. All are called to struggle for sanctity right where they are — sanctity being walking in friendship with God in the highways and alleyways of this world wherever his children are to be found — working, suffering, living.

“Heroism, sanctity, daring, require a constant spiritual preparation. You can only give to others what you already have. And in order to give God to them, you yourself need to get to know him, to live his Life, to serve him.” (The Forge, no. 78). This ringing call is not for a few specially gifted or set apart people, but amazingly enough it is for all. I truly found it amazing that anyone could take the lay faithful so seriously. This attitude does cut dependency at the knees. One has no choice but to stand up and be counted.

Africans too, and in particular, are not second-class citizens of the world doomed to be dependent on others for all manner of handouts. Help yes, as one brother gives to another who happens to have fallen into difficulties — culpable or otherwise — looking him straight in the eye, as a brother who stands on an equal but firmer footing, should. In this regard, I have great doubts regarding the form of aid now being doled out to Africa by the monetary institutions and governments of the west and in particular through the state. There is something disturbingly pernicious about a type of aid that leaves an entire continent not only inescapably indebted, but also totally dependent. But help yes — as one brother gives to another.

One tends to forget, perhaps because of the rapid adaptability of Africans, that only barely one hundred years ago, this continent was in the early iron-age. Within this short period of time we have had to adopt systems of thought and governance that others have had hundreds or even thousands of years to experiment with. What's more, we have had to do it in their languages. Thereby we have gained and lost at the same time. In having no choice but to learn and be facile in other languages we have had the great benefit of looking into the minds of others and into the minds of their great thinkers and have greatly benefited. But often these others have felt no great need to learn our languages and thus be in a position to look into our souls to truly understand why we laugh when we laugh and why we weep when we weep. This is diminishing, for in every language is coded generation upon generation of human aspiration and endeavour. No wonder some great attempts to assist have foundered.

In any case the African loves to learn and this longing finds powerful echo in the words of Bl. Josemaría. “Study. Study in earnest. If you are to be salt and light, you need knowledge and capability. Or do you imagine that an idle and lazy life will entitle you to receive infused knowledge?” (The Way, no. 340). Indeed Josemaría Escrivá urges all his children to strive to have the doctrine of theologians and the piety of little children. In short, he does not encourage the kind of easy formulae for rapid salvation that some look for — a formalistic or pietistic religion where attendance without commitment or emotions without thought is the order of the day. Rather he urges a deep interior transformation with a sportsmanlike approach to the interior life — never remaining down after a fall. “Another fall... and what a fall! Despair? No! Humble yourself and through Mary, your Mother, have recourse to the merciful love of Jesus. A miserere — "have mercy on me" — and lift up your heart! And now, begin again.” (The Way, no. 711). Also “Tackling serious matters with a sporting spirit gives very good results. Perhaps I have lost several games? Very well, but — if I persevere — in the end I shall win. ”( Furrow, no. 169). And Africans are nothing if not sportsmen and women.

The family is central to the being of the peoples of Africa. It is not only a social safety net for almost everyone, it is also a source of deep identity — a revelation of who one really is. The loss of family values harms every group of people, but it has been catastrophic for Africans. Indeed it is this loss that has opened doors to the Aids pandemic, which in Africa seems to acquire an increase in virulence and ferocity not seen elsewhere. Josemaría Escrivá stands out because of his single-minded defense of the family, of the sanctity of marriage and of the dignity of fruitful love. “Do you laugh because I tell you that you have a "vocation to marriage"? Well, you have just that — a vocation. Commend yourself to St. Raphael that he may keep you pure, as he did Tobias, until the end of the way.” (The Way, no. 27). Also: “In national life there are two things which are really essential: the laws concerning marriage and the laws to do with education. In these areas God's sons have to stand firm and fight with toughness and fairness, for the sake of all mankind.” (The Forge, no. 104).

Finally, the African woman carries heavy burdens both figuratively and actually, but her dependability is phenomenal. In the midst the swirling chaos of day-to-day living she holds the family together with nothing more substantial than the strength of her love. And to her the new saint has this to say: “Woman is stronger than man and more faithful in the hour of trial: Mary Magdalene and Mary Cleophas and Salome. With a group of valiant women like these, closely united to our sorrowful Mother, what work for souls could be done in the world!” (The Way, no. 982).

The teachings of Josemaría Escrivá resonate with the perennial youthfulness of love, to which Africa, amidst the crises and problems besetting her, responds. “These world crises -the founder of Opus Dei states quite calmly- are crises of saints.” (The Way, no. 301)

Margaret Ogola, M.D. is Medical Director of the Family Life Association of Kenya and for the Cottolenga Hospice for HIV-positive orphans. She and her husband, George, have four children. She is also an award winning author of The River and the Source (a novel) and Education in Human Love.

The teaching we should follow

26 June 2009
An editorial of the Manila Times, the oldest existing newspaper in the Philippines, founded in 1898.

The vast majority of Filipinos are Christians. But most of them are, like most of the Christians India’s revered “Father of the Nation” Mahatma Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had met, “so unlike Christ.”

Mahatma Gandhi read the Bible attentively. He was particularly impressed with the Sermon on the Mount and often recommended it to his audiences. Asked by a Christian missionary why he often quoted the words of Jesus Christ and yet had not become a Christian, Mahatma Gandhi replied: “Oh, I don’t reject Christ. I love Christ. It’s just that so many of you Christians are so unlike Christ.” He added, “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.”

Josemaria Escriva, ‘the saint of the ordinary’

Today, is the feast day of Saint Josemaria Escriva, “the saint of the ordinary.” His teachings makes it possible for a Christian to be more like Jesus Christ in the ordinary circumstances of his (or her) life.

This “ordinariness” should make Saint Josemaria’s teachings perfectly apt for us today’s Christian Filipinos.

We are being systematically de-Christianized under the influence of the dominant permissive, morally neutral culture. That culture has allowed personal, professional and official corruption to dominate our society. It has made the Christian Filipinos’ practice of their religion schizophrenic—dramatic outward religiosity that mimics but does not have the soul of the Spanish passion and corruption in the lax and unprincipled management of family, government, professional, business, and political duties and responsibilities. It is, in the words of the late John Paul II, the “culture of death.”

Saint Josemaria Escriva crystallized his teaching in the institution he set up, following God’s instructions, 71 years ago, the Prelature of Opus Dei (Work of God). Saint Josemaria, from the very first time he referred to Opus Dei, always said it was the Lord who had founded it. In an instruction in 1934 to the early Opus Dei members, Josemaria wrote: “Opus Dei is not a human invention . . . Years ago God inspired it in a clumsy and deaf instrument [he was referring to himself], who saw it for the first time on the feast of the Guardian Angels, 2 October 1928.”

The future canonized saint wrote about that October day, that while saying Holy Mass, “the mangy donkey” (that’s what he often called himself in relation to God whom he always wished to serve unquestioningly) “came to see the beautiful yet heavy burden that God, in his unfathomable goodness, had laid on his [the mangy donkey’s back]. On that day the Lord founded his Work: from then on I began to have contact with souls of laymen, students and others, but all of them young people. I also began to bring groups together. I began to pray and get others to pray. And I began to suffer . . .”

What God founded, using Saint Josemaria Escriva, became a pastoral phenomenon in the Church. But it has always been imbedded in the Church, not anything outside of it.

It was found to be outstanding by popes and thousands of bishops because the mission of Saint Josemaria, his and Opus Dei’s mission, is precisely what will change the Filipino and other Christians if they take it to heart.

What Josemaria Escriva received during that Mass on October 2, 1928 was not merely God’s general instruction to tell the world that people were all children of God and therefore were dutybound to love God and other human beings. It was not to sound forth “a general call to holiness” that the Lord was asking his priest Josemaria to do.

The marching orders, if we may use that term so often used in our country, he received was to remind baptized Christians (like most of us Filipinos) that they had to exercise the holiness (the Godliness) they received at their baptism not in the cloister, not only when they were threatened with martyrdom, but in the middle of the world and in the ordinary circumstances of their lives.

Saint Josemaria’s mission therefore, which is the mission of the Prelature of Opus Dei, is to call people to be other Christs because that is what they should be for being baptized Christians.

The mission is also to call each man and woman and child personally, individually, one by one—not as the general public of, say, the attendance at a Sunday Mass. This means reminding the individual Christian of God’s words in scriptures: “I have called you by your name” and “God knows every hair on your head.”

And, finally, that the call is to be holy in ordinary life, at home—in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the bedroom, in the place of work, in the jeep, bus or car, during vacations as well as in the thick of doing hard and sometimes unrewarding labor.

A saint to heal our country

Many pastoral letters of individual bishops and of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) have been calling on us Filipinos to strive for personal holiness if we want to rescue our country from its grave problems of poverty, social injustice, abusive people in power and excessive graft and corruption.

The teachings of Saint Josemaria Escriva give concrete ways for us Filipinos—people of this age—to carry out what the CBCP and the popes have been urging Christians to do.

Saint of the Ordinary

By aldrich in Her Loyal Son

Today, June 26, the Church celebrates the 34th death anniversary of St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei and one of the most revered saints of the contemporary world. St. Josemaria founded Opus Dei in Madrid in 1928, and by his death 47 years later, the lay prelature had reached over 60 countries around the world, including right here in the Philippines. Nearly five centuries after Catholicism was brought to these islands by Magellan and his crew, two Harvard graduates introduced God’s Work to their fellow Filipinos in 1964. Today there are more than 3,000 members in the Philippines.

Although not as visible as the Knights of Columbus (whose logo marks many public parks and churches), it’s common to see Fr. Escriva’s portrait hanging in churches in the Philippines, in between saints of earlier centuries. That’s an incredible feat, considering many people here tell me all they know about Opus Dei is it “made news long ago.” It was probably news report of some goon babbling about Mary Magdalene did this and that.

Last Thurday, Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist, Belinda Olivares-Cunanan, announced the masses for today’s feast in the Philippines:

Masses for his 34th death anniversary on June 26 will be said all over the world. Here’s the schedule of Masses in the Philippines: June 26, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Manila in Intramuros, 6 p.m., with Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales as lead celebrant; at Stella Orientis Chapel, Ortigas Center, 12 noon; at Mt. Carmel Shrine in New Manila, 7 a.m. with Father Chito Reyes as celebrant; at the Holy Spirit Parish, Mariso Subdivision, Angeles City, 6:30 a.m.; and at the Holy Rosary Parish in Angeles City, 5:30 p.m. to be officiated by San Fernando Archbishop Paciano Aniceto and Auxiliary Bishops Roberto C. Mallari and Virgilio S. David. On Saturday, June 27, at 7:15 a.m. there will also be a Mass at Sanctuario de San Jose, Greenhills, to be celebrated by Father Noel B. Magtaas, OSJ. The public is cordially invited.

Fun fact for my fellow philatelists:

For his 100th birthday in 2002, the Philippine Post Office issued a stamp commemorating then-Blessed Josemaria Escriva. According to the Postmaster General,Philippines_Stamp

“The inspiration brought by Escriva has contributed to educational, cultural and religious development as well as to empowerment of the poor in our country,” said Rodriguez. “It is therefore fitting for the Philippines to honor him in his centennial.”

Referring to the stamp’s caption, “Magpakabanal sa Gawain” (Tagalog for “Holiness through one’s work”), Rodriguez said that this message needed to spread. “Indeed, this is what the Philpost wants to achieve with this commemorative stamp, as our contribution to celebrate the centennial of a great man of God, Josemaria Escriva.”

Rodriguez reported that the stamp, which had been issued several days prior to the launching ceremony, was already sold out. “No other commemorative stamp issued to any individual, institution or province has sold as briskly as the birth centennial commemorative stamp that we have issued as part of the year-long celebration of Father Escriva’s 100th birthday. In fact, not even the stamps issued to commemorate the centennial of the Republic of the Philippines sold as well and as fast.”

That’s right. Fr. Escriva’s centennial stamp sold out sooner than the country’s own centennial stamp. Not good for my 1998 centennial first day release.

A family that works together to the glory of God

By Stratiotes Doxha Theon "2 Thes 2:15" of Richmond, Missouri in Amazon Book Review of Scott Hahn's book on Opus Dei. Stratiotes is a top 500 Reviewer of Amazon. He has been studying unconventional warfare history for 30 years. A longtime Reformed Protestant, he is Roman Catholic convert. A blues music enthusiast and software engineer.

There has been a lot of talk, even in Protestant circles, about "friendship evangelism." Prof. Hahn reveals it in Opus Dei.

Another focus has been placed on scripture and Prof. Hahn tells us about that same focus in Opus Dei.

Other groups, like Promise Keepers, have tried to stress the importance of spiritual males who live their faith in our culture. Opus Dei has been stressing the same from the beginning.

Others have tried to reinstill the dignity of work in the life of Christians. Again, Opus Dei was already doing that too.

Then there is the family of God focus in some groups and, again, Opus Dei beat them to the punch.

Prof. Hahn exposes the "sinister" secrets of Opus Dei and shows us what we all have been seeking all along - a family that works together to the glory of God. To counter fear of the unknown, Prof. Hahn, with his always strong focus on the Scriptures, gives us inside knowledge to dispel the myths and fears.

Would that all Christians take up the vocation of Opus Dei and stop fighting amongst ourselves.

The warmth is wonderful

By Joan M answering a question in Catholic Answers Forum

How often do you meet with other members and what do you do? Answer - I attend a "circle" three times a month. Circles are a group of members (probably about 10 - 15). One of the Numerary members (one of the members who lives in a Center and are not married) leads the circle. The purpose of the circle is for formation - at each circle we will hear a talk on one of our norms (the different devotions we follow, as part of a plan of life). There will also be other talks.

Once per year we are urged to do a retreat - usually a 3 day one. These are silent retreats and are very spiritually uplifting.

We are also expected to attend a monthly recollection - a morning or evening, with the rosary, a meditation given by a priest (in the Oratory), listen to an examination of conscience based on the meditation, and a talk by one of the members (in one of the reception rooms of the center).

Members also do a one week workshop annually - this is usually a Theological workshop, but other subjects are also covered. I did this year's workshop in Venezuela last month.

The OP questions why her husband was not allowed to join the retreat that the members he was with had. Well, the answer is simply because he was not a member. Retreats for members go deeper into spirituality and doctrine than retreats that are open to anyone (although these are good, too).

The formation of members is quite deep and continues for life. Someone who is not a member, and, particularly, someone who was, at that time, preparing to become a Catholic, might be out of their depth.

If God is calling you to Opus Dei, He will let you know, but the best thing is to start going to monthly recollections (you to a women's center and your husband to a men's center) and see where it goes from there.

I started going to recollections in 1998, became a cooperator in 1999 and asked to become a member in 2000.

About the average age on members - I live in Trinidad, West Indies and I am 66 years old. In my circle, I believe I am the oldest member. There are at least 2 others in their 60's; about 3 in their 50's; perhaps 5 or 6 in their 40's; 4 or 5 in their 30's.

Another circle that is held at the same time and day or the week as ours, and sometimes both circles meet as one (when one or the other leader is away, or something). That circle has mostly members in their 20's; 30's and 40's.

Opus Dei is a worldwide family and the warmth, in the center that I frequent and outside, is wonderful.

Schedules of members of Opus Dei

By Margaret answering a question at Catholic Answers Forum

While we do keep a very demanding plan of life-- prayer, Mass, rosary, etc., the actual scheduling of it is determined by the individual.

There are no "rules" about what time the rosary or spiritual reading or whatever must be done at. Obviously, we are dependent on the schedule in the parish for Mass, and there are only a couple of day and time options for my circle each week, but those are the only truly fixed points on the calendar. Beyond that, we are each encouraged to tailor the plan of life so that it fits our lives and circumstances. A schedule that works really well for a surgeon, keeping a doctor's timeframe, would not work for a housewife like myself with a large family, and vice versa...

It makes me very happy

By Oli in her profile at Superduper.

Like Mafalda, the cartoon character, I am young, idealistic, possibly not always immensely realistic... But as she said "It turns out that if you don't hurry up and change the world, it ends up changing you!"

I joined Opus Dei 5 years ago and whilst there is no denying that being so unfashionable is not always easy, it is my vocation and it makes me very happy :-)

Ex-member: Life can become very hard if you don't pray

By John Allen, Jr. in Opus Dei

Ignacio G. Andreu, forty-one, is a Spanish ex-numerary who teaches phi­losophy at a public university in Barcelona. He first met Opus Dei in a small Spanish town when he was still in high school, where he grew up in a devout Catholic family, although no one in his immediate family belonged to Opus Dei. Like McCormack and Falk Sather, Andreu went on the UNIV trip to Rome when he was seventeen. He decided to join shortly thereafter. The attraction, he said, was “the spirituality ... and the freedom.” Also, like many members of Opus Dei, Andreu said the idea of sanctification of work was a powerful draw. “I was impressed by the possibility of offering my study, and then afterward, my work to God.”

After entering Opus Dei, Andreu briefly studied in Madrid and then came to Barcelona to study philosophy. He remained in and around Barcelona the rest of the time he was in Opus Dei, from the age of sev­enteen to thirty-five. At a certain stage, he said, he was assigned to work with a group of Opus Dei members in a small town outside Barcelona, where most of the members were older and, he said tactfully, “a little dif­ficult.” It was a stressful time, Andreu said, and he began to “drop his guard,” letting his prayer life slide.

“In Opus Dei life is usually very easy, but it can become very hard if you don’t pray,” Andreu said. “When you are down, maybe temptations come more easily.” That temptation, Andreu said, came in the form of a young woman. At a moment of low self-esteem and spiritual emptiness, he said, not to mention exhaustion from overwork, it was an attraction too powerful to resist. He and the young woman began an affair. In a spirit of honesty he told the director at his center what was going on. Rather than casting him out, the director suggested that he take a sabbatical to sort out what he wanted to do. (...)

Eventually, he said, he decided to write a formal letter declaring his intention to leave. “That’s the honest thing to do, because there are people who disappear and do not come back,” Andreu said.(...) Today he is in a serious relationship that may be heading toward marriage, and is also a cooperator of Opus Dei.

Andreu says Opus Dei did everything right, and that what happened was his own fault. “If you are humble, the directors will do everything to help you, everything,” he said. “It doesn’t make any sense for them to treat numeraries with a whip. They want to try to keep you happy, not drive you away.” He said the trick is for numeraries to be honest with their direc­tors. “The director may say, ‘I want you to do five things.’ You may know deep down that five is too much, that you can only handle two or three, that with five you will break. But your pride takes over, you want to be strong, so you say, ‘I’ll do all five.’ But that’s not the director’s fault, that’s pride and dishonesty. I should have been honest about what was happen­ing in my life much earlier.”

“Maybe if I get married, I will become a supernumerary,” Andreu said.

Opus Dei founder gets 'The Mission' treatment

By Austen Ivereigh in America Magazine

Remember The Mission, that great 1986 film about eighteenth-century Jesuits in the Paraguayan jungle, starring Robert de Niro and Jeremy Irons? Its British director, Roland Joffe, is making a new Catholic drama - about the early life of Opus Dei and its founder, St Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer.

There be dragons will benefit from Opus Dei collaboration, but it has not been commissioned or financed by the organisation. "The film team asked us for help in gathering information and we gave them access to the documentation. That's the beginning and end of our collaboration with this film," says Opus Dei's former information officer.

The film is an Argentine-Spanish-US co-production which will be shot over coming months at the Marian pilgrimage site of Luján in Argentina before moving to Spain. The film stars a British actor, Charlie Cox, who plays a present-day journalist visiting his estranged father, dying in Spain, to mend fences. By chance the young man investigates one of his father's old friends, a priest, now dead, who is a candidate for sainthood.The action unfolds in the Spanish Civil War, as the journalist explores the complex friendship that bonded the two men from childhood.

"A drama of passion, betrayal, love and faith", say the production notes. "An action-packed story set at a murderous period in history, with lessons for the present in revealing the importance and eternal power of forgiveness.

Opus Dei should be very pleased. Joffe -- The Killing Fields and City of Joy -- is one of the few directors who can make a gripping film while respecting the moral integrity and purpose of his characters. Whether in the Da Vinci Code or Camino, the portrayal of Opus Dei usually has almost nothing to do with the reality. There be dragons looks set to put that right.

And it could turn out to have a much deeper significance.

When Joffe made The Mission, liberation theology was at its strongest in Latin America, and the Jesuits -- remember the six Salvadoran martyrs in 1989? -- were closely identified with it.

The Mission was the story of Jesuits who chose to disobey bishops' orders that they should pull out of the missions and relinquish the Guarani people to the Portuguese slave-traders. They sacrificed their own lives for the poor, against their predators -- one by taking up arms, the other nonviolently. It was impossible not to read the twentieth-century Jesuit story into the sixteenth-century one -- and Joffe, who was reading plenty of liberation theology at the time, encouraged viewers to do so.

So what twentieth-century story will Joffe by trying to tell through the life of a young priest in the Spanish Civil War? What needs to be forgiven? It could well be the divisions of the War itself, from which neither Opus Dei nor Spain have ever quite managed to shake themselves wholly free.