By Alan Frederick in Catholic Answers Forum.
I will give my experiences and knowledge and each one can form their own opinion.
I am not a member of Opus Dei but on the other hand have known them for the last 25 years. Actually I came to know about them when I worked in Spain. My company had sent me overseas as Financial Director for our Spanish operation. As you know Opus Dei was born in Spain. They are traditional, faithful to the Magisterium. By this I don't mean ultra conservative. By traditional I mean that they are faithful to the Hierarchy of the Church especially the Holy Father, The Church Tradition and Scripture.
Their charism is forming the faithful so that they can go out into the world (world meaning their families and professional occupation and social life) and take the Good News of Jesus Christ into the world. The reason they ask their members for money is in order to further their charism which is to educate the laity in Theology and Philosophy and other Catholic education to empower them for Evangelization. There is nothing extreme about this group. They are very committed to the Faith and to the works of the Church. They don't vacillate in their doctrine. They are solid Catholic recognized by the Church by Pope John Paul II and by the current Pope Benedict XVI. So there you have it.
I am a Seminarian at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Wisconsin. My current spiritual Director is a Priest of OPUS DEI.
I personally recommend anyone to go and meet and learn. They are not a cult or have witch craft. They strictly follow Catholic Doctrine and are trying to build a better Christian world.
Friday, February 27, 2009
St. Josemaria preached to everybody, not just the Fortune 500 types
By Occupant in Catholic Answers Forum. Occupant is from Camel City, NC, responding to discussions at the Forum.
People in Opus Dei here are nothing but friendly. I have some college experience, due to certain circumstances I can't return yet to finish, and a mediocre job and yet... hold on... they are still friendly to me! In fact when I met them, all they asked was about school and what I did for a living and that was about it. Nothing my aunt doesn't ask me when she flies in from Egypt. I have never had the impression that they only go for the smart types that have money.
St. Josemaria preached to everybody, not just the Fortune 500 types. His examples on life are mostly of Our Lady. She wasn't rich and probably didn't get a college degree!
Granted, I don't go to very many meetings since there is no Opus Dei center in NC, so a priest comes around once every three months to Charlotte, but the actual members that I meet with are nice people who love Christ and who feel called to be saints in the middle of the world. What's wrong with that? I'm sure if something was up with OD then the Church would do something about it.
I suggest reading some of St. Josemaria's books. Very good insights. I know it has helped me greatly.
People in Opus Dei here are nothing but friendly. I have some college experience, due to certain circumstances I can't return yet to finish, and a mediocre job and yet... hold on... they are still friendly to me! In fact when I met them, all they asked was about school and what I did for a living and that was about it. Nothing my aunt doesn't ask me when she flies in from Egypt. I have never had the impression that they only go for the smart types that have money.
St. Josemaria preached to everybody, not just the Fortune 500 types. His examples on life are mostly of Our Lady. She wasn't rich and probably didn't get a college degree!
Granted, I don't go to very many meetings since there is no Opus Dei center in NC, so a priest comes around once every three months to Charlotte, but the actual members that I meet with are nice people who love Christ and who feel called to be saints in the middle of the world. What's wrong with that? I'm sure if something was up with OD then the Church would do something about it.
I suggest reading some of St. Josemaria's books. Very good insights. I know it has helped me greatly.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
February 14 and Opus Dei
Taken from RSD Reports
February 14 is a double anniversary in Opus Dei. It celebrates the start of Opus Dei's apostolic work with women in 1930 and the beginning of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross in 1943.
Opus Dei was born on October 2, 1928, when God gave young Fr. Josemaria Escriva a glimpse of the institution he was to found within the Church. At that time, Fr. Escriva did not see that Opus Dei would work with women as well as men.
More than a year later, while he was celebrating Mass on February 14, 1930, it became clear to him that Opus Dei's universality must be reflected not only by embracing people in every sort of profession, but also by including women in its apostolic work. The apostolic work with men and women would be done separately, however, in recognition of their different pastoral needs.
It was also clear to St. Josemaria that Opus Dei needed priests. However, it was not until 1943, again during Mass, that God let St. Josemaría see the juridical solution that would enable priests to be ordained for Opus Dei: the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross. Laymen in Opus Dei would be ordained and incardinated in the Priestly Society, which is an intrinsic and inseparable part of Opus Dei. Later, diocesan priests could also form part of the Priestly Society; they would strive for holiness by fulfilling their priestly duties, while remaining within their own dioceses.
Looking back on these anniversaries, St. Josemaría said in 1974:
"I thought that Opus Dei would be just for men. It’s not that I didn’t want women. I have a great love for the Mother of God; I love my own mother and all of yours; I love all my daughters, who are a blessing of God throughout the whole world. But until February 14, 1930, I had no idea there would be women in Opus Dei, although I had in my heart a great desire to fulfill God’s Will in everything. When I finished celebrating Holy Mass that day, I knew that our Lord wanted the women’s branch." Later, on February 14, 1943, he wished to crown his edifice with the Cross: the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross.
In February 1968, in an interview for a magazine, he was asked about the role that women have to play in society and in the life of the Church. By that time, there were already centers of Opus Dei in countries all over the world.
He said, “Women are called to bring to the family, to society and to the Church, characteristics which are their own and which they alone can give: their gentle warmth and untiring generosity, their love for detail, their quick-wittedness and intuition, their simple and deep piety, their constancy... A woman's femininity is genuine only if she is aware of the beauty of this contribution for which there is no substitute and if she incorporates it into her own life.”
“To fulfill this mission, a woman has to develop her own personality and not let herself be carried away by a naive desire to imitate, which, as a rule, would tend to put her in an inferior position and leave her unique qualities unfulfilled. If she is a mature person, with a character and mind of her own, she will indeed accomplish the mission to which she feels called, whatever it may be. Her life and work will be really constructive, fruitful and full of meaning, whether she spends the day dedicated to her husband and children or whether, having given up the idea of marriage for a noble reason, she has given herself fully to other tasks.”
“Each woman in her own sphere of life, if she is faithful to her divine and human vocation can and, in fact, does achieve the fullness of her feminine personality. Let us remember that Mary, Mother of God and Mother of men, is not only a model but also a proof of the transcendental value of an apparently unimportant life.”
February 14 is a double anniversary in Opus Dei. It celebrates the start of Opus Dei's apostolic work with women in 1930 and the beginning of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross in 1943.
Opus Dei was born on October 2, 1928, when God gave young Fr. Josemaria Escriva a glimpse of the institution he was to found within the Church. At that time, Fr. Escriva did not see that Opus Dei would work with women as well as men.
More than a year later, while he was celebrating Mass on February 14, 1930, it became clear to him that Opus Dei's universality must be reflected not only by embracing people in every sort of profession, but also by including women in its apostolic work. The apostolic work with men and women would be done separately, however, in recognition of their different pastoral needs.
It was also clear to St. Josemaria that Opus Dei needed priests. However, it was not until 1943, again during Mass, that God let St. Josemaría see the juridical solution that would enable priests to be ordained for Opus Dei: the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross. Laymen in Opus Dei would be ordained and incardinated in the Priestly Society, which is an intrinsic and inseparable part of Opus Dei. Later, diocesan priests could also form part of the Priestly Society; they would strive for holiness by fulfilling their priestly duties, while remaining within their own dioceses.
Looking back on these anniversaries, St. Josemaría said in 1974:
"I thought that Opus Dei would be just for men. It’s not that I didn’t want women. I have a great love for the Mother of God; I love my own mother and all of yours; I love all my daughters, who are a blessing of God throughout the whole world. But until February 14, 1930, I had no idea there would be women in Opus Dei, although I had in my heart a great desire to fulfill God’s Will in everything. When I finished celebrating Holy Mass that day, I knew that our Lord wanted the women’s branch." Later, on February 14, 1943, he wished to crown his edifice with the Cross: the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross.
In February 1968, in an interview for a magazine, he was asked about the role that women have to play in society and in the life of the Church. By that time, there were already centers of Opus Dei in countries all over the world.
He said, “Women are called to bring to the family, to society and to the Church, characteristics which are their own and which they alone can give: their gentle warmth and untiring generosity, their love for detail, their quick-wittedness and intuition, their simple and deep piety, their constancy... A woman's femininity is genuine only if she is aware of the beauty of this contribution for which there is no substitute and if she incorporates it into her own life.”
“To fulfill this mission, a woman has to develop her own personality and not let herself be carried away by a naive desire to imitate, which, as a rule, would tend to put her in an inferior position and leave her unique qualities unfulfilled. If she is a mature person, with a character and mind of her own, she will indeed accomplish the mission to which she feels called, whatever it may be. Her life and work will be really constructive, fruitful and full of meaning, whether she spends the day dedicated to her husband and children or whether, having given up the idea of marriage for a noble reason, she has given herself fully to other tasks.”
“Each woman in her own sphere of life, if she is faithful to her divine and human vocation can and, in fact, does achieve the fullness of her feminine personality. Let us remember that Mary, Mother of God and Mother of men, is not only a model but also a proof of the transcendental value of an apparently unimportant life.”
Vocation story of Fr. Cory Sticha
By Fr. Cory Sticha in Omne Quod Spirat, Laudet Dominum!
As I left Scott Air Force Base for what I thought was my last time, I had a lot of uncertainty in my life. I didn't know when I'd get a job. I didn't know where I would be living. Everything that I owned was under a tarp in the box of my truck. This truly was the closest I've ever come to being homeless, and in fact was technically homeless for a couple of weeks.
Through a series of connections and the grace of God, my time as a homeless person didn't last long. One friend offered to let me stay at his house until the job situation was sorted out. Another friend had a connection to a landlord who had recently remodeled a couple of duplexes that were available to rent. My resume which I had posted on an Internet job search site had finally gotten a strong prospect. In short order, after only a couple of weeks, I had a job and a place to live, so I thought things were going well.
During this time, I was making Sunday Mass attendance a priority. Unlike previous moves, I wasn't going to wait a couple of weeks, or even months, to get to Mass. Instead, I went back to St. Clare Parish in O'Fallon, which happened to be only about 5 miles from my new apartment, and formally registered as a member of the parish. I also introduced myself to Fr. Jim, the pastor. We had met briefly when I was “church shopping” before the end of my enlistment, but it was pretty brief, just a quick handshake at the end of Mass.
My new job was on the other side of St. Louis, in the western suburbs, so I began to experience the joys of commuting that so many other Americans trudge through every day. For two hours each day, one hour each way, I had nothing better to do than sit in my truck, drive, and listen to the radio. At first, I would listen to the typical music on the radio, but shortly after I began working, a friend introduced me to WRYT 1080 AM, a Catholic radio station. Catholic radio? There's such a thing? I knew about EWTN, even though I never had the opportunity to watch it, but had not heard of Catholic radio. I started listening and was hooked. More good information, and I could learn as I drove to and from work. This was great!
I had learned a lot from the Catholic Answers website, so I was excited to hear that they also had a radio program, Catholic Answers Live. Oh, boy, more good stuff! There was no end to the amount of material that I could learn about the faith, whether apologetics, Church teachings, history, you name it.
Of course, Catholic Answers Live wasn't the end of the great programs that I was able to listen to. Because WRYT used EWTN for much of its source material, I also got to hear Mother Angelica, the Journey Home, Life on the Rock, and much more. This was an information fire hose, and I just had to turn on the radio!
The more I learned about the faith through the radio and Internet, the more involved I wanted to be. I started to get more active in the parish, volunteering to be a Lector and Eucharistic Minister – now more accurately called an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. I was also getting involved in communal prayer, such as the Rosary, and was starting to meet new people through my involvement.
It was about this time that I met a couple who has been a strong supporter of my vocation, even throughout our respective moves. I don't remember if I first met Mike and Denise at Mass or as part of a communal prayer, but we quickly became friends. Having met and worked with a lot of people my age who were barely Catholic at best, it was exciting to meet a young couple, a little older than me, who were as excited about the Faith as I was.
One day, Mike invited me to an evening of reflection at the Opus Dei center in St. Louis. He explained that it involved a couple of spiritual conferences, exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and reception of the Sacrament of Confession. I had heard of Opus Dei through my research, and was interested in what this evening of reflection was all about, so I agreed to go. It was incredible! Two powerful conferences with lots of silent time for adoration. Following the conferences, there was time for socializing, and it was amazing to meet more Catholic men who were on fire for the Catholic Faith. They loved the Church, they loved her teachings, and they weren't afraid to say so. It was a powerful experience for me, and one I had the privilege to repeat many times over. I even began to look forward to these evenings of reflection, especially as the job and commute became more intolerable.
By the end of the first year out of the Air Force, I'd felt like I'd had enough of the job I was doing. It wasn't a bad job, just wasn't I expected when I was first hired. My experience from the Air Force was that of a computer administrator, keeping servers and networks up and running so that users to get to them 24 hours a day. The job I was doing was more data manipulation, working with a database to set up reports for customers. Not my interest, so my performance at that job suffered. A weakness that I am still working on is my extreme procrastination towards tasks I find unpleasant, and much of this job fell into that category.
My Knights of Columbus connection came through about this time. One of the members of the Scott AFB council was working for a military contractor which specialized in computer programming. They were looking for a computer administrator who knew UNIX, which I happened to know. It was 6 months on base at the main server facility, with the potential to continue with the company for further contracts. This was the job I was looking for. I really thought God was looking out for me.
Well, it turns out He was, just not the way I expected. The main server facility was next to one of the headquarters buildings on base, and had a small restaurant where I would go for lunch. It was also where my friend Mike worked as part of his job, as he was an officer in the Air Force. One day, around noon, I was walking over to the restaurant and ran into Mike. He was heading to daily Mass, and invited me to join him. He had been encouraging me to consider trying to get to daily Mass, and I had plenty of excuses why I couldn't. On this day, the excuses ran out, and I walked with him to the base chapel. From that day on, I would regularly go to daily Mass before grabbing a quick lunch.
It was at daily Mass at the chapel that I first performed the role of altar server, having not done it as a child. I think that this was the turning point in my discernment process, as I started to get a better appreciation for the Mass and how important it needed to be in my life. Instead of just going to Mass once a week to get it “done with”, I was daily present at the Sacrifice on Calvary and receiving Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
About this time, I found out that my friend Matt, who had given me a place to stay when I was between the Air Force and my first job, was not baptized. I had seen him at Mass, and never seen him receive communion. One day I asked him why, and after hearing that he wasn't baptized, asked him if he had ever considered going through baptism. He said that he had, and was considering going through RCIA at the parish.
A couple of weeks later, Matt asked me if I would be willing to be his sponsor through RCIA. I agreed, and for the next year, Matt and I caused trouble during the RCIA classes (in a good way, of course). I was learning a lot about the Faith, but Matt was a voracious reader. He even read the Catechism of the Catholic Church all the way through! (Something I've never done, admittedly.) We never directly contradicted the instructors, but we did ask some questions that they had no idea how to answer. After he completed the RCIA process, and received the Sacraments at the Easter Vigil, I turned to ask him how he felt following the reception of three Sacraments at once. I didn't have to. The tears of joy said it all.
With all this going on, the defenses were starting to go down. I found that I was actually willing to consider a vocation to the priesthood, although I wasn't going to make any commitments at that time. It would still take another year and a half before I finally submitted my will to God's divine will.
As I left Scott Air Force Base for what I thought was my last time, I had a lot of uncertainty in my life. I didn't know when I'd get a job. I didn't know where I would be living. Everything that I owned was under a tarp in the box of my truck. This truly was the closest I've ever come to being homeless, and in fact was technically homeless for a couple of weeks.
Through a series of connections and the grace of God, my time as a homeless person didn't last long. One friend offered to let me stay at his house until the job situation was sorted out. Another friend had a connection to a landlord who had recently remodeled a couple of duplexes that were available to rent. My resume which I had posted on an Internet job search site had finally gotten a strong prospect. In short order, after only a couple of weeks, I had a job and a place to live, so I thought things were going well.
During this time, I was making Sunday Mass attendance a priority. Unlike previous moves, I wasn't going to wait a couple of weeks, or even months, to get to Mass. Instead, I went back to St. Clare Parish in O'Fallon, which happened to be only about 5 miles from my new apartment, and formally registered as a member of the parish. I also introduced myself to Fr. Jim, the pastor. We had met briefly when I was “church shopping” before the end of my enlistment, but it was pretty brief, just a quick handshake at the end of Mass.
My new job was on the other side of St. Louis, in the western suburbs, so I began to experience the joys of commuting that so many other Americans trudge through every day. For two hours each day, one hour each way, I had nothing better to do than sit in my truck, drive, and listen to the radio. At first, I would listen to the typical music on the radio, but shortly after I began working, a friend introduced me to WRYT 1080 AM, a Catholic radio station. Catholic radio? There's such a thing? I knew about EWTN, even though I never had the opportunity to watch it, but had not heard of Catholic radio. I started listening and was hooked. More good information, and I could learn as I drove to and from work. This was great!
I had learned a lot from the Catholic Answers website, so I was excited to hear that they also had a radio program, Catholic Answers Live. Oh, boy, more good stuff! There was no end to the amount of material that I could learn about the faith, whether apologetics, Church teachings, history, you name it.
Of course, Catholic Answers Live wasn't the end of the great programs that I was able to listen to. Because WRYT used EWTN for much of its source material, I also got to hear Mother Angelica, the Journey Home, Life on the Rock, and much more. This was an information fire hose, and I just had to turn on the radio!
The more I learned about the faith through the radio and Internet, the more involved I wanted to be. I started to get more active in the parish, volunteering to be a Lector and Eucharistic Minister – now more accurately called an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. I was also getting involved in communal prayer, such as the Rosary, and was starting to meet new people through my involvement.
It was about this time that I met a couple who has been a strong supporter of my vocation, even throughout our respective moves. I don't remember if I first met Mike and Denise at Mass or as part of a communal prayer, but we quickly became friends. Having met and worked with a lot of people my age who were barely Catholic at best, it was exciting to meet a young couple, a little older than me, who were as excited about the Faith as I was.
One day, Mike invited me to an evening of reflection at the Opus Dei center in St. Louis. He explained that it involved a couple of spiritual conferences, exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and reception of the Sacrament of Confession. I had heard of Opus Dei through my research, and was interested in what this evening of reflection was all about, so I agreed to go. It was incredible! Two powerful conferences with lots of silent time for adoration. Following the conferences, there was time for socializing, and it was amazing to meet more Catholic men who were on fire for the Catholic Faith. They loved the Church, they loved her teachings, and they weren't afraid to say so. It was a powerful experience for me, and one I had the privilege to repeat many times over. I even began to look forward to these evenings of reflection, especially as the job and commute became more intolerable.
By the end of the first year out of the Air Force, I'd felt like I'd had enough of the job I was doing. It wasn't a bad job, just wasn't I expected when I was first hired. My experience from the Air Force was that of a computer administrator, keeping servers and networks up and running so that users to get to them 24 hours a day. The job I was doing was more data manipulation, working with a database to set up reports for customers. Not my interest, so my performance at that job suffered. A weakness that I am still working on is my extreme procrastination towards tasks I find unpleasant, and much of this job fell into that category.
My Knights of Columbus connection came through about this time. One of the members of the Scott AFB council was working for a military contractor which specialized in computer programming. They were looking for a computer administrator who knew UNIX, which I happened to know. It was 6 months on base at the main server facility, with the potential to continue with the company for further contracts. This was the job I was looking for. I really thought God was looking out for me.
Well, it turns out He was, just not the way I expected. The main server facility was next to one of the headquarters buildings on base, and had a small restaurant where I would go for lunch. It was also where my friend Mike worked as part of his job, as he was an officer in the Air Force. One day, around noon, I was walking over to the restaurant and ran into Mike. He was heading to daily Mass, and invited me to join him. He had been encouraging me to consider trying to get to daily Mass, and I had plenty of excuses why I couldn't. On this day, the excuses ran out, and I walked with him to the base chapel. From that day on, I would regularly go to daily Mass before grabbing a quick lunch.
It was at daily Mass at the chapel that I first performed the role of altar server, having not done it as a child. I think that this was the turning point in my discernment process, as I started to get a better appreciation for the Mass and how important it needed to be in my life. Instead of just going to Mass once a week to get it “done with”, I was daily present at the Sacrifice on Calvary and receiving Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
About this time, I found out that my friend Matt, who had given me a place to stay when I was between the Air Force and my first job, was not baptized. I had seen him at Mass, and never seen him receive communion. One day I asked him why, and after hearing that he wasn't baptized, asked him if he had ever considered going through baptism. He said that he had, and was considering going through RCIA at the parish.
A couple of weeks later, Matt asked me if I would be willing to be his sponsor through RCIA. I agreed, and for the next year, Matt and I caused trouble during the RCIA classes (in a good way, of course). I was learning a lot about the Faith, but Matt was a voracious reader. He even read the Catechism of the Catholic Church all the way through! (Something I've never done, admittedly.) We never directly contradicted the instructors, but we did ask some questions that they had no idea how to answer. After he completed the RCIA process, and received the Sacraments at the Easter Vigil, I turned to ask him how he felt following the reception of three Sacraments at once. I didn't have to. The tears of joy said it all.
With all this going on, the defenses were starting to go down. I found that I was actually willing to consider a vocation to the priesthood, although I wasn't going to make any commitments at that time. It would still take another year and a half before I finally submitted my will to God's divine will.
Monday, February 16, 2009
St. Josemaría Escrivá is a genius
By Jack Perry in Cantànima
For the record, I'm not a member of Opus Dei, and I'm not looking to become one, but I did discover St. Josemaría Escrivá's The Way while I was in seminary, and I re-discovered it online recently. I started re-reading it last night, and immediately fell in love with its gems again. Consider #4,
I showed it to my wife last night, and she agreed with me that it seems particularly apt to some messy going-on in my extended family.
Or #9:
If I'd used that as a sure guideline, I likely wouldn't have written a few of the entries on this weblog…
Finally, #20:
The world seems to want sponge-cake, yet never seems happy when it finds it.
For the record, I'm not a member of Opus Dei, and I'm not looking to become one, but I did discover St. Josemaría Escrivá's The Way while I was in seminary, and I re-discovered it online recently. I started re-reading it last night, and immediately fell in love with its gems again. Consider #4,
Don't say, That's the way I'm made… it's my character. It's your lack of character. Be a man.
I showed it to my wife last night, and she agreed with me that it seems particularly apt to some messy going-on in my extended family.
Or #9:
Say what you have just said, but in a different tone, without anger, and your argument will gain in strength and, above all, you won't offend God.
If I'd used that as a sure guideline, I likely wouldn't have written a few of the entries on this weblog…
Finally, #20:
It is inevitable that you should feel the rub of other people's characters against your own. After all, you are not a gold coin that everyone likes.
Besides, without that friction produced by contact with others, how would you ever lose those corners, those edges and projections—the imperfections and defects—of your character, and acquire the smooth and regular finish, the firm flexibility of charity, of perfection?
If your character and the characters of those who live with you were soft and sweet like sponge-cake you would never become a saint.
The world seems to want sponge-cake, yet never seems happy when it finds it.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
They know who they are and where they are going
Prof. Mary Ann Glendon in “The Hour of the Laity,” First Things, November 1, 2002. Prof. Glendon is Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.
“It was only through serving on the Pontifical Council for the Laity that I came to know groups like Communion and Liberation, the Community of St. Egidio, Focolare, the Neo-Catechumenate Way, Opus Dei, and Regnum Christi, and became acquainted with many of their leaders and members.
What a contrast between these groups that work in harmony with the Church and organizations that define their aims in terms of power! It is no surprise that the more faithful and vibrant the great lay organizations are, the more they are vilified by dissenters and anti-Catholics. But attacks do not seem to trouble them, for they know who they are and where they are going.”
Plan for a peaceful home
By Elizabeth Foss in Catholic Herald
St. Josemaría Escrivá calls it the “heroic moment” — that space between sleep and waking when we assent with our entire being to overcome the creature comforts of slumber and cozy bedding and instead rise to face the morning.
St. Josemaría Escrivá calls it the “heroic moment” — that space between sleep and waking when we assent with our entire being to overcome the creature comforts of slumber and cozy bedding and instead rise to face the morning.
The heroic moment is our first victory of the day. Instead of hitting the snooze button, we get up and get going. Sometimes, I have to ask for the grace and strength to just meet that moment. And I do. The day begins with prayer. That’s a good thing.
I have found that no matter how well organized I am before a baby is born, there is some re-shuffling of schedules and routines to be done once baby arrives. It’s no secret that this time I was a bit unprepared. I spent six weeks on bedrest and delivered six weeks early. After some time in the NICU, baby Sarah Anne has continued to chart her own course. She’s as demanding as she is darling. Still, we are creatures of peace and order and when those things are absent in our lives, we seek them.
I’ve learned that such order — both interiorly and in my environment — is less dependent on my Martha Stewart tendencies and more dependent on my Blessed Mother tendencies. While this birth was difficult and demanding and disruptive, it bore great fruit in my soul. Still, I was amazed to find that that spiritual growth conveys to peace and order in my home — more peace and order than all the management schemes and homemaking notebooks and chore charts could ever yield.
While on bedrest, I had a lot of time for prayer and since I was well aware that delivering this baby could be life-threatening, prayer took on a sense of urgency. After the baby was born and all was well physically, I was disoriented in my home. I thought that it was the physical disarray that was bothering me — my 14-year-old had been in charge of housekeeping for nearly three months. Feel free to imagine the chaos.
To be sure, the mess was troublesome, but the spiritual shock to my system was far more important. My soul had grown accustomed to a spiritual plan of life and I was going through withdrawal. I was able to be up and about and thoroughly immersed in the world and my prayer life suffered for it.
What surprised me is that once I put the spiritual pegs back in place, the environmental peace followed. I knew that I had plenty of time to pray during bedrest. I learned that I must claim that time now and that if I do, God grants abundant grace and strength for everything else that is necessary for the day.
My day must begin in the presence of God. Before I open my eyes, I thank Him for granting me anew a chance to love and serve. It’s a quick silent prayer before my feet hit the floor. And then, baby in arms, I sit and rock and nurse and pray a morning offering.
A morning offering is an opportunity to turn all the work of the day into prayer. This means that whether my day looks like a success to the world out there, it is absolutely successful in heaven. God can take my failures and shortcomings and He can make them holy offerings for the sanctification of souls. The reality lends a whole new meaning to the overused “It’s all good.” With a morning offering, it all is.
Because my day — my work and my play — has been offered to the Lord of my life, every action I make becomes an occasion for silent prayer to Him. I am mindful that this is not really my day, but His.
Because I work for Him, my work is careful and it is cheerful. I am surrounded by eight children all day long. Their needs are pressing and at times overwhelming. I am often faced with circumstances beyond my control. It doesn’t always look very tidy and together. I am mindful that my home and my circumstances might not look successful to my neighbors or my friends, but they are holy in my Savior’s sight.
A morning offering is only the beginning of a peaceful, orderly day in a peaceful orderly home. Next time, we’ll review the rest of the spiritual plan for peaceful home management.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
5TODAY!!!
By Oli in superduperWahoo! Five years today since I made my first steps in joining Opus Dei : )
Thank you God for opening up such a marvellous panorama to me, and allowing me to deepen in my faith.
Thank you for all of the formation that I have been given!
Thank you for opening my eyes to the beauty of your Truth.
Thank you for lifting my spirits and warming my heart.
Thank you for all the times that you have given me the grace to start again when I have strayed- I ask you for the grace to continue to struggle to love you.
All things are possible to you, Lord! Everything that I have you have given to me, and whenever I forget that, help me to remember that I am nothing, just your imperfect instrument!
===
I am not celebrating, although I ask you to remember me and my intentions in your prayers and when you go to Mass : )
I have a friend's bday tomorrow, and am going to a WYA dignity party in the evening with friends, after my study circle.
Deo Omnis Gloria
===
I would like to end this post with something that St Josemaria wrote in "Christ is Passing By", Number 123.
I have been describing to you, not my own idea, but Christ's doctrine on the Christian's ideal. You can see that it is demanding, sublime, attractive. Still some might ask: "Is it possible to live this way in today's society?" (...)
If I were to describe the present situation of the world as a priest, all I need is to think again about one of our Lord's parables, that of the wheat and the weeds.
"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away." The situation is clear — the field is fertile and the seed is good (...) If, afterwards, there are weeds among the wheat, it is because men have failed to respond, because they — and Christians in particular — have fallen asleep and allowed the enemy to approach.
When the careless servants ask the Lord why weeds have grown in his field, the explanation is obvious: "an enemy has done this." We Christians should have been on guard to make sure that the good things placed in this world by the creator were developed in the service of truth and good. But we have fallen asleep — a sad thing, that sluggishness of our heart! — while the enemy and all those who serve him acted without stopping. You can see how the weeds have grown abundantly everywhere.
My vocation is not that of a prophet of misfortune. With these words I do not wish to make you see a desolate and hopeless picture of reality. I do not want to complain about this time in which the Lord's providence has placed us. We love this time of ours because it is in this time when we are called to achieve our personal sanctification. (...)
Still, it cannot be denied that evil seems to have prospered. Weeds have grown in this whole field of God, which is the earth, the inheritance of Christ. Not only have they grown, they are abundant. (...)
Our Lord, I insist, has given us the world for our inheritance. It is up to us to keep our souls and our minds wide awake. We have to be realistic, without being defeatist. Only a person with a callous conscience, made insensitive by routine or dulled by a frivolous attitude, can allow himself to think that evil — offence to God and harm, at times irreparable harm, to souls — does not exist in the world he sees.
We have to be optimistic, but our optimism should come from our faith in the power of God who does not lose battles, and not from any human sense of satisfaction, from a stupid and presumptuous complacency.
We have to be optimistic, but our optimism should come from our faith in the power of God who does not lose battles, and not from any human sense of satisfaction, from a stupid and presumptuous complacency.
Divine Filiation
By Fr. Roy Cimagala
I FIRST met this expression, sounding Greek to me at that time, when I read a book of homilies by Opus Dei founder St. Josemaria Escriva. That was many years ago, when I was still in college.
I remember how deeply moved I was when I understood what it meant. I felt as if a whole new world was suddenly opened to me, and I luxuriated in savoring the million and one considerations that instantaneously came to mind.
It simply means that we are children of God. I know that to many, this expression, though sounding beautiful and worthy of brandishing around, can mean hardly anything and give no practical consequences. It’s about time, I think, that some changes be made.
The basis is that first of all we have been created by God, we come from him and have been endowed by him with such richness that we rightfully can be called the masterpiece of his creation.
The heartwarming conclusion I derived was that God who is all goodness and all loving wants to share what he has with each one of us. We have been made in his image and likeness, and with his grace we also have been made to participate in his life and nature.
And even if we bungled all this divine goodness, God continues to be madly in love with us by saving us, going through the most complicated plan to reach us and to bring us back to him. His divine mercy completes his love for us, his patience is forever.
The reality of our divine filiation is at the root and center of our being. Sadly, though, we manage to ignore and misuse this happy truth. A real pity!
When we don’t develop this spirit of divine filiation, we place ourselves at the mercy of our human devices—some of them admittedly can be impressive—that can prop us, to be frank, only for a while at best. Our integrity would be compromised. We could not go the distance.
Have you seen a bear lying flat on the belly after a hearty meal? That’s what can happen to people without this sense of divine filiation. It’s as if life has gone away in spite of their impressive human qualities.
They can have brains and brawn, money, power, fame, etc., but if they don’t have this spirit of divine filiation, their doom will just be a matter of time. They can’t go beyond earthly dimensions, they can’t fly to eternity, to life without end. Sin and temptation sooner or later will capture their heart.
We need to develop this spirit of divine filiation. While it’s a result of divine grace, it’s also something we have to work out. We need to load ourselves, to borrow a mobile-phone term, with a boosting awareness that we are God’s children.
We can go to the extent of psychologizing ourselves into it, repeating the expression until it becomes our breath and heartbeat and drives our stream of consciousness, enabling us to go deeper into its meaning, to instill its character into our thoughts, will, feelings and deeds.
This certainly would not just be a psychological exercise, for it is based on something real, not invented, though it’s a reality that can be accessed not so much by our senses and our reason alone as by our faith.
This point, I believe, is worth reiterating. It is what truly grounds us to the foundation of our life and nature, giving us the meaning and purpose of our existence. It’s a source of joy, confidence and serenity. It tells us what our filial rights and duties are.
More importantly, it tells us who we are and gives us an abiding sense that we are never alone, or worse, just on our own. It fills us with the conviction that we are children of God, that no matter what happens God will always be with us unless we reject him.
It’s heartbreaking to see that because they don’t have this sense of divine filiation, many souls fall into what we may call as Dickensian Great-Expectations syndrome, where one feels he is succeeding and prospering in life when in reality he is being impoverished and corrupted inside.
But I must also confess that I’ve met a good number who, precisely because of their faith and simplicity, enjoy the true blessings of this spirit of divine filiation. (The author is the Chaplain of the Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise in Cebu City - roycimagala@hotmail.com)
I FIRST met this expression, sounding Greek to me at that time, when I read a book of homilies by Opus Dei founder St. Josemaria Escriva. That was many years ago, when I was still in college.
I remember how deeply moved I was when I understood what it meant. I felt as if a whole new world was suddenly opened to me, and I luxuriated in savoring the million and one considerations that instantaneously came to mind.
It simply means that we are children of God. I know that to many, this expression, though sounding beautiful and worthy of brandishing around, can mean hardly anything and give no practical consequences. It’s about time, I think, that some changes be made.
The basis is that first of all we have been created by God, we come from him and have been endowed by him with such richness that we rightfully can be called the masterpiece of his creation.
The heartwarming conclusion I derived was that God who is all goodness and all loving wants to share what he has with each one of us. We have been made in his image and likeness, and with his grace we also have been made to participate in his life and nature.
And even if we bungled all this divine goodness, God continues to be madly in love with us by saving us, going through the most complicated plan to reach us and to bring us back to him. His divine mercy completes his love for us, his patience is forever.
The reality of our divine filiation is at the root and center of our being. Sadly, though, we manage to ignore and misuse this happy truth. A real pity!
When we don’t develop this spirit of divine filiation, we place ourselves at the mercy of our human devices—some of them admittedly can be impressive—that can prop us, to be frank, only for a while at best. Our integrity would be compromised. We could not go the distance.
Have you seen a bear lying flat on the belly after a hearty meal? That’s what can happen to people without this sense of divine filiation. It’s as if life has gone away in spite of their impressive human qualities.
They can have brains and brawn, money, power, fame, etc., but if they don’t have this spirit of divine filiation, their doom will just be a matter of time. They can’t go beyond earthly dimensions, they can’t fly to eternity, to life without end. Sin and temptation sooner or later will capture their heart.
We need to develop this spirit of divine filiation. While it’s a result of divine grace, it’s also something we have to work out. We need to load ourselves, to borrow a mobile-phone term, with a boosting awareness that we are God’s children.
We can go to the extent of psychologizing ourselves into it, repeating the expression until it becomes our breath and heartbeat and drives our stream of consciousness, enabling us to go deeper into its meaning, to instill its character into our thoughts, will, feelings and deeds.
This certainly would not just be a psychological exercise, for it is based on something real, not invented, though it’s a reality that can be accessed not so much by our senses and our reason alone as by our faith.
This point, I believe, is worth reiterating. It is what truly grounds us to the foundation of our life and nature, giving us the meaning and purpose of our existence. It’s a source of joy, confidence and serenity. It tells us what our filial rights and duties are.
More importantly, it tells us who we are and gives us an abiding sense that we are never alone, or worse, just on our own. It fills us with the conviction that we are children of God, that no matter what happens God will always be with us unless we reject him.
It’s heartbreaking to see that because they don’t have this sense of divine filiation, many souls fall into what we may call as Dickensian Great-Expectations syndrome, where one feels he is succeeding and prospering in life when in reality he is being impoverished and corrupted inside.
But I must also confess that I’ve met a good number who, precisely because of their faith and simplicity, enjoy the true blessings of this spirit of divine filiation. (The author is the Chaplain of the Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise in Cebu City - roycimagala@hotmail.com)
Monday, February 9, 2009
Thoughts of Escriva in London
By Robert Colquhoun in Love Undefiled
St Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, was a big fan of London. In fact, apart from Madrid and Rome, it was his favourite capital city and he visited many times.
One day he was walking down the street in the financial heart of the city of London and a sad thought suddenly occurred to him- he felt powerless in comparison to the modern world, the powerful banks and other financial institutions and that he was not able to do anything. But on this day, the 10th August 1958 he had a locution from God.
He would later say, "I somewhat lost my composure. I felt useless and powerless. Josemaría, you can't do anything here. Without God, I could not even pull a blade of grass from the ground. My whole miserable weakness was so apparent that I almost grew sad—and that is bad. Why should a son of God be sad? He can be weary, like a faithful donkey pulling a cart. But sad? Never! Sadness is evil. Suddenly, in the middle of the street, where people from all corners of the world were crossing paths, I felt within me, in the depth of my heart, the motion of God's power.
"I felt him reassuring me: 'You can do nothing, but I can do everything. You are weakness, but I am strength. I shall be with you, and that will have an effect. We shall lead souls to happiness, to unity, to the way of salvation. In the City of London, we shall sow peace and happiness in abundance.'"
And that is what he has managed to achieve even to this day.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Serious reservations with the anti-cult movement
By Massimo Introvigne. These are the conclusions of Introvigne, an author of an encyclopedia of religion, in his article on Opus Dei and the Anti-cult Movement
The secularist anti-cult movement arose as having non-Catholic religious movements for its primary objective.
The secularist anti-cult movement arose as having non-Catholic religious movements for its primary objective.
· The movement against Opus Dei started —especially within liberal Catholic circles— without any connection whatsoever with the polemic against "cults".
· In the first half of the 1980's, however, a part of the anti-cult movement extended its activity against its original enemies to cover other groups —Opus Dei among them.
· On the other hand, some Opus Dei adversaries within the Catholic ranks —typical examples of which are Fr Jacques Trouslard in France and Michael Walsh in England— realised that the anti-cult movement could offer them an ideological framework which suited their continued campaign, and provide them with powerful allies and greater resources. Initially, perhaps, the connection between the two movements arose from extrinsic and, at least partly, political reasons. But the anti-cult movement and the adversaries of Opus Dei within the Church did have in common a similar view of the world and of the role of religion which helped their mutual collaboration.
From all this one can make a further interesting and important observation. The secularist anti-cult position and the religious counter-cult position differ as to their objective reasons but do not necessarily present different subjective characteristics on the part of those who support such positions. Thus, for instance, if it is difficult to find militant atheists in the religious counter-cult movements, in the secular anti-cult movements one does find, on a personal level, people who declare themselves to be believers.
I have on other occasions pointed out how, in the anti-cult movements of the United States, mainly directed by atheistic or agnostic "secular humanists", are found well-known figures of the different North American Hebrew communities. This fact was explained by Hebrew members of the anti-cult movement as a characteristic feature of Hebraism, which is not a missionary religion, and which is suspicious of any conversion attempt. Alongside these representatives of the Jewish world some Protestants may be found —really very few— and finally a few Catholic priests and religious —occasionally also some lay people— who are few in number but very active.
One could well ask, why would a Catholic —and even more so if he is a priest or a religious— join in the activities of anti-cult movements, whose ideology, as soon as one gets to know or study it, is evidently hostile to religion in general, or at least hostile to the social relevance of religion, which should be especially dear to a Catholic. It is considered by some that the collaboration of certain Catholics with the anti-cult movement may be explained by their annoyance with "cults" which leads them to choose —wrongly, for they make the mistake of using a violent tone where a strong objective criticism would suffice— the hardest and most decisive line against new religious movements.
However, the history of the attacks against Opus Dei shows that such an explanation would only be valid for a very small number of Catholics whose naivety is as great as their lack of capacity to understand the complex reality of new religious movements and the anti-cult movement. But as for those Catholics who have opted for collaborating with the anti-cult movement, their choice shows a much more ominous way of thinking. They are, in fact, Catholics who know perfectly well the secularist ideology of the anti-cult movement but seek to make use of it as a weapon with which to attack, above all, their inter-ecclesial adversaries, by labelling them as "cults".
It is certainly possible that some Catholics who today are actively involved in the anti-cult movement, may have discovered a late vocation to confront the new religious movements. But it is also true that, many years before they showed any concern for Jehovah's Witnesses or for Hare Krishna, some of them were already actively engaged in attacking Opus Dei. How can one therefore avoid thinking that the reason why "liberal" Catholics have joined the secularist anti-cult movement is not because they have recently discovered the "threat of the cults", but because they are eager to find powerful and wealthy allies, of similar ideologies, in their polemics against Opus Dei and other Catholic entities who wish to remain orthodox and faithful to the Magisterium? Even if one wanted to leave this question open, there are many signs that lead to an affirmative answer. What is more, we have abundant facts that justify the most serious reservations and the most well-founded doubts about the anti-cult movement and about the Catholics, who, with greater or lesser awareness, collaborate with the movement.
All this confirms the need for Roman Catholics to be interested in new religious movements, and even when necessary to enter into discussions about them. But this must be done from a Catholic point of view and according to specifically Catholic standards, which are very different to those of the secularist anti-cult movement, with which any form of collaboration by Catholics —as has become abundantly clear— is not only useless but indeed harmful and blameworthy.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
You...what have you done?
In Lord, if you WillSometimes, lest we forget, we need to be reminded of the power of sin, the power it can have over our lives, the power it can have to change our lives, because it is stronger than ourselves and without the help of the graces from God what might be a challenge could easily become a losing battle.
In fact, the saints were so aware of the danger of sin and the potential damage it can cause, that some would seek, to a sometimes scrupulous degree, to avoid sin despite the cost. In fact, to put it in perspective, St. Josemaria Escriva once posed this question, he said: “To defend his purity, Saint Francis of Assisi rolled in the snow, Saint Benedict threw himself into a thorn bush, Saint Bernard plunged into an icy pond... You..., what have you done?”
It is one thing to struggle with sin, but quite another to struggle to the point of great resistance, to the point of shedding blood. In other words, really fighting, really making an effort, putting everything we are and have into that fight, because we don’t shed blood unless the fight is intense, unless we are making a sacrifice, and unless we stand our ground.
Monday, February 2, 2009
It Seems St. Escriva Knew Me
By Jessica in Toothpaste in the Toilet Seat
I Corinthians 10:31--"Whether, then, you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
While checking my favorite "mommy blogs" today, I stumbled--via a link from another link--across a post from Conversion Diary (which I've never read before, but may have to check out again soon!) and was struck by the following:
Wow. I think I needed that reminder. Today. Probably yesterday.I can't tell you how many times I've been engrossed in some great spiritual book, only to be interrupted by some unexpected chaos with the kids. And my immediate reaction is to think, "Would you kids be quiet! I'm trying to seek God's will here!" sighing that if only I wasn't so bogged down with my household responsibilities that I could really start getting in tune with God. If only I didn't have to change this diaper and deal with that temper tantrum and clear all those dishes off the table I could get closer to finding out what it is that God wills for me!
It's been quite stunning, then, for me to realize that changing that diaper and dealing with the temper tantrum and clearing those dishes are God's will. These are the situations that God puts in front of me every day. If I see them through my eyes alone, holding out for God to reveal to me that "his" will is all about me writing that bestselling book or the lottery win (that just so happen to be big fantasies of mine), I grumble through the mundane tasks of my day. And when I do this, when I apathetically plop a dish into the sink or huff and puff about having to sweep the kitchen floor for the second time today, I am essentially saying, "I will not serve." I'm refusing to accept that these humdrum tasks just might be the answers to all my questions about what God wants me to do.
But to see all these diapers and temper tantrums and dishes through God's eyes, to humbly go about my day executing each task with love, appreciating every moment and every little thing around me as a precious gift, is to know and serve God, to do his will. I don't need to analyze it beyond that. I have my answer.
That post had a link to another of her posts where she quotes St. Escriva:
Conquer yourself each day from the very first moment, getting up on the dot, at a set time, without granting a single minute to laziness. If with the help of God, you conquer yourself in the moment, you have accomplished a great deal for the rest of the day. It's so discouraging to find yourself beaten in the first skirmish.
I know absolutely nothing about St. Escriva, but it seems St. Escriva knew me and presented this admonition specifically for me!
My moms' group is going through Cindy Dagnan's book, Who Got Peanut Butter on My Daily Planner?, and I was particularly convicted by our discussion of chapter 2: "Kryptonite and the Supermom." I am so very often "beaten in the first skirmish." But I want to win! I want to be Supermom, but I am overcome by the kryptonite of my to-do list. Actually, not so much my to-do list, as my snooze button. If I got up "on the dot, at a set time, without granting a single minute to laziness," I could joyfully offer up my entire day to God, and begin to take care of so many things on that to-do list before my girls were even awake. Then, I could spend my precious minutes with them as their mommy, without being distracted by everything else that has to get done.
Instead, I often lay in bed in the morning until the last possible minute. Of course, I have a whole barrage of excuses, the main one being I stay up way too late. And I often stay up way too late because Mr. B is up working, and I like to think that sitting next to him while he works somehow constitutes spending time with him. Silly, eh?
If you're reading this, will you pray for me? Please pray that I will go to bed earlier, so I can get up"on the dot" and tackle each day this way? And, while you are at it, please also pray that I will remember that the tasks I encounter throughout the day are my opportunities to serve, they are God's will for me, and that I might do them "all to the glory of God." I would feel privileged to pray the same for you, too; simply leave me a comment!
Here's I Corinthians 10:31 one more time, my own version:
"Whether, then, you eat or drink, wash lights or darks, scrub toilets or floors, work puzzles or read books, tickle tummies or soothe tears, wipe bottoms or wash hands, do all to the glory of God."
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Ex-member: It was completely my decision
By John Allen in Opus Dei
Virtually everyone agrees that for supernumeraries, exiting Opus Dei poses less risk of turbulence. Matthew Collins of Baltimore was an Opus Dei supernumerary for twenty-six years before leaving in 2003 and becoming a cooperator.
Here’s how he described his experience: While many people in the Work do not understand my decision, and perhaps even believe I “lost my vocation,” I have been treated with the utmost charity and respect.
Not a single person in the Work has in any way made me feel unwelcome. I was very open with the directors when I was considering leaving the Work, and my freedom was always respected. It was a very difficult decision for me, and at times I would have almost welcomed pressure from them to stay in. They never did so. On the contrary, the consistent message I received from them was that it was their opinion that I had a vocation to the Work, but that it was completely my decision, and that if I chose to leave the Work, I would continue to be welcome at Opus Dei activities.
Virtually everyone agrees that for supernumeraries, exiting Opus Dei poses less risk of turbulence. Matthew Collins of Baltimore was an Opus Dei supernumerary for twenty-six years before leaving in 2003 and becoming a cooperator.
Here’s how he described his experience: While many people in the Work do not understand my decision, and perhaps even believe I “lost my vocation,” I have been treated with the utmost charity and respect.
Not a single person in the Work has in any way made me feel unwelcome. I was very open with the directors when I was considering leaving the Work, and my freedom was always respected. It was a very difficult decision for me, and at times I would have almost welcomed pressure from them to stay in. They never did so. On the contrary, the consistent message I received from them was that it was their opinion that I had a vocation to the Work, but that it was completely my decision, and that if I chose to leave the Work, I would continue to be welcome at Opus Dei activities.
Ex-member: I was shocked
By John Allen in Opus Dei
Elizabeth Falk Sather is a Chicago-area numerary who left Opus Dei in early 1983 after roughly five years.
“I went on the Opus Dei Awareness Network Web site,” she said, reading accounts by former members such as Moncada about what happened when they left. “I was shocked. I didn’t experience any coercion, anyone locking doors on me.
My director said, `This has to be your free choice.’ I didn’t feel hounded. They saw I was being open and honest.”
Elizabeth Falk Sather is a Chicago-area numerary who left Opus Dei in early 1983 after roughly five years.
“I went on the Opus Dei Awareness Network Web site,” she said, reading accounts by former members such as Moncada about what happened when they left. “I was shocked. I didn’t experience any coercion, anyone locking doors on me.
My director said, `This has to be your free choice.’ I didn’t feel hounded. They saw I was being open and honest.”
Vocation to Opus Dei is to bring forth the "I" of Christ
By Fr. Robert O'Connor in The Truth Will Make You Free
Divine filiation as an ontological reality, and not necessarily humility, is the grounding truth of Opus Dei.
This makes sense since Opus Dei is “a little bit of the Church.” And since the Church is the “I” of Christ, it would make sense that the vocation to Opus Dei is to bring forth that “I” and raise it to act.
As then-Joseph Ratzinger remarked: “(C)onversion in a Pauline sense is something much more radical than, say, the revision of a few opinions and attitudes. It is a death-event."
"In other words, it is an exchange of the old subject for another. The ‘I’ ceases to be an autonomous subject standing in itself. It is snatched away from itself and fitted into a new subject. The ‘I’ is not simply submerged, but it must really release its grip on itself in order then to receive itself anew in and together with a greater ‘I.’"
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Learning fine art of heart and hearth
by Becca Manning in the Pembroke Express
“It’s kind of like an Olympics for homemaking,” said Kelly O’Leary, a member of the executive committee and one of the creators of The Art of Living conference. “Our original idea was that there are a lot of women out there in the world today who would love to be terrific cooks and who would love to be great homemakers but lack the skills, and they find it really frustrating.”
To help young women fill that gap in their education, O’Leary and her coworkers decided to start the conference and hold it at Arnold Hall, where O’Leary used to work. She is now a chef at a women’s dorm in Boston.
“At first, the conference wasn’t a huge success because all we had were seminars and teaching classes. So one of us came up with the idea of having a competition, and that made it much more exciting for the girls,” O’Leary said.
The Art of Living conference is now in its sixth year, still held at Arnold Hall, and brings together women from all over the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, for a weekend of learning and celebrating those home arts. Among them are teams from the South Shore, Boston and New Hampshire that meet at Arnold Hall once a month during the school year to prepare for the annual event.
The girls, all high school age, stay the weekend in rooms at the conference center and attend seminars and compete in events centered around five basic themes: culinary art, home health, fashion, event planning and interior design.
“It really kind of resonates with them, the idea that someday, no matter what you do with your life, you’re going to have people that you love that you’re going to want to be able to take care of,” O’Leary said. “It’s a part of life, and you want to be able to do it well, with confidence, with artistry … and not to have to start from scratch when you’re 35.”
On Saturday afternoon, the main hall was bustling with activity, as teams of girls competed in two cooking events. In the Meals to Go event, teams had to prepare a portable meal for six, arriving with a plan and ingredients, and being judged on both the final product and preparation skills.
For the culinary competition, girls arrive knowing the meat — this year, it was flank steak — but are given a “mystery basket” on Friday night.
“With their coach, they have to make up a menu, how they’re going to cook it, and a theme. They have to put a whole meal together for four people,” said Tracy Vendetti, who helps coach the New England teams. “They’re judged on how well they work as a team, if they’re sanitary, if they keep to their space [within the kitchen], on their culinary skills and, if problems come up, how they deal with the problems.”
Her Meals to Go team from New Hampshire prepared a meal with items that represent their home state, including pumpkin soup, apple chutney, sharp cheddar and bacon from local farms.
“They’ve been working intensely on this mini meal for about two or three months,” she said.
In the kitchen, the team from Boston was turning their mystery basket — which included soy sauce, pomegranates, grapefruit, leeks, potatoes, brussels sprouts and bacon — into a cohesive meal.
“It was kind of eclectic, and it was hard to find a theme for it,” said coach Margarita Reyes, who lives and works at Arnold Hall. The girls finally decided on an early fall dinner and planned to marinate and grill the flank steak.
During the Dare to Repair competition, girls used their interior design skills to reupholster a chair, refinish a tabletop and install hooks, hardware and other items to a brightly colored door, using given tools and materials, according to Tricia Kelly, business manager at Arnold Hall.
The girls also can prepare a project fitting one or all of the Art of Living themes to be judged in a project gallery.
“The thought behind it is to think about your home and other people that you live with and to put care — and your heart — into those things, with an artistic flair and professional preparation,” Kelly said.
The weekend also includes a special Saturday night presentation — last year, it was an international fashion show, and this year, the executive committee planned a trip through the origins of Western civilization, with stations set up as “the seven hills of Rome,” Kelly said.
Though Arnold Hall is part of the Roman Catholic organization Opus Dei, and most of the retreats held there are affiliated with that group, the Art of Living program is nondenominational and open to any young woman who is interested, Kelly said. Coaches are professionals who work in Opus Dei facilities around the country.
“There’s perhaps a supernatural undertone in the sense that there’s a purpose for being here. It’s not just self-seeking but really looking for the meaning in life,” she said.
Ana Buckley, a senior at Montrose School in Medfield, has been involved in The Art of Living since she was in eighth grade.
“It’s really cool to see girls that are trying to do the same thing, to make a difference in … the simple things you can do every day, like making a meal or just fixing a light-bulb — all the little things you can do to make other people’s lives better,” she said.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
‘Mundane’ benefits of being religious
A New York Times article By John Tierney on December 29 led us to the Psychological Bulletin’s first 2009 issue, which has “Religion, self-control, and self-regulation: Associations, explanations and implications” by Dr. Michael McCullough and co-researcher Brian Willoughby. Both are with the University of Miami.
We learn from both articles that what Christian and Jewish spiritual guides—as well as Indian yogis—have been saying is true, despite the doubts and mockery of Western-influenced secular opinion leaders. Religious practices, going to church, meditation, and being committed to religious ideals and convictions also produce temporal benefits in believers.
In other words being religious does not only win rewards in the afterlife but also “mundane” benefits. (We put the word “mundane” in quotes because the most rigorous Christian spiritual directors—like Saint Josemaria Escriva—do not scoff at things of the world but instead see them as the material that must be “divinized” or made holy by the believer through his work, sacrifices and prayers. And doing that is what will also “divinize” him.
Dr. McCullough and his fellow scholars and psychologists have reviewed the past 80 years’ research and found that religious belief and practices promote self-control. And internal strength.
Dr. McCullough’s “professional interest,” Mr. Tierney writes, “arose from a desire to understand why religion evolved and why it seems to help so many people. Researchers around the world have repeatedly found that devoutly religious people tend to do better in school, live longer, have more satisfying marriages and be generally happier.”
Mr. Tierney reports that Dr. McCollough “has no evangelical motives” in devoting himself to religion and its effects for his research. He told Tierney: “When it comes to religion, professionally, I’m a fan but personally I don’t get down on the field much.”
Dr. McCollough et al. discovered, writes Tierney, that “as early as the 1920s, researchers found that students who spent more time in Sunday school did better at laboratory tests measuring their self-discipline. Subsequent studies showed that religiously devout children were rated relatively low in impulsiveness by both parents and teachers, and that religiosity repeatedly correlated with higher self-control among adults. Devout people were found to be more likely than others to wear seat belts, go to the dentist and take vitamins.”
The scientists then asked: Which came first, the religious devotion or the self-control? Aren’t children who have the will to sit through Sunday Masses or chapel services innately self-disciplined while those who drop out are not? Dr. McCulough and fellow researchers took that factor into account. Then they still found that religion does influence the development of human virtues that lead to success and doing work well.
“Brain-scan studies have shown that when people pray or meditate, there’s a lot of activity in two parts of brain that are important for self-regulation and control of attention and emotion,” Dr. McColough told Tierney. “The rituals that religions have been encouraging for thousands of years seem to be a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control.”
Should nonbelievers now start going to church and going through the rituals— to get the practical benefits of well-being, self-control and inner strength?
Dr. McCullough told Tierney that studies have shown that people who go to church for “extrinsic reasons, like wanting to impress people or make social connections” were found not to have the higher self-control that sincere believers—“intrinsically religious people”—have.
Dr. McCullough and associates have also done researches showing the good effects on health of forgiveness, thankfulness and other virtues associated with piety and religious belief.
------
New York Times Article: For Good Self-Control, Try Getting Religious About It
Original Research Study: McCullough, M. E., & Willoughby, B. L. B. (in press, 2008). Religion, self-control, and self-regulation: Associations, explanations, and implications. Psychological Bulletin.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The purpose of the Church is to make saints
By Zenit
Pope John Paul II canonized more saints during his pontificate (480) than were canonized in the preceding 1,000 years of Church history (450).
Commenting on his predecessor's enthusiasm for making saints, Benedict XVI responded, "There cannot be too many saints."
In the March issue of the journal First Things, writer Philip Zaleski contextualizes the late Pope's understanding of the role of the saints in the life of the Church.
He concludes that the canonizations of John Paul II were a reversal of the "stripping of the altars" -- the invasion of secular ideology into Catholic life -- as well as a marking of the saints as signposts of a new civilization.
Zaleski draws on the insights of Hans Urs von Balthasar's 1954 book "Thérèse of Lisieux: The Story of a Mission."
Balthasar suggests that the purpose of the Church is to make saints. Put another way, the Church works to sanctify each person to fulfill his or her unique individual role in building the kingdom of God. Thus, no two saints are alike.
Zaleski notes that traditional Christian thought understood canonization to have a number of purposes. It glorifies God by whose grace the saints are sanctified, and it honors the saints, reflections of God's glory.
Models
Furthermore, canonization provides models for holiness and gives us some insight into the citizenry of heaven, instructing us to whom we can ask to intercede on our behalf. This last aspect is particularly important as popular devotions and cults have developed around saints with dubious merit.
The recent canonizations, Zaleski argues, have renewed interest in the saints as models of holiness, particularly in places like Malta, whose first native saints were canonized during John Paul II's pontificate.
The enthusiasm for saints is not limited geographically, as Christians such as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta (not yet canonized) have a global following.
Zaleski highlights the fact that opposition to the sheer number of John Paul II's canonizations usually fell back on criticisms of particular saints. In particular, much criticism came from circles that feared that particular canonizations marked the return of an outmoded, retrograde Catholicism.
But, contrary to these critics, even John Paul II's most controversial saints actually embodied the principles outlined in "Lumen Gentium." Furthermore, according to Zaleski, opposition to saints such as Juan Diego and Josemaría Escrivá may even undercut efforts to enhance the role of the laity in the life of the Church.
The future
In his best-selling book "Crossing the Threshold of Hope," John Paul II alluded to the saints, particularly the 20th-century martyrs, as a "foundation of a new world, a new Europe, and a new civilization."
This echoes the famous axiom that the best apology for the faith is its saints. Zaleski writes: "To canonize is to renew the bond between heaven and earth; every canonization, in a sense, re-consecrates the world.
"We should never underestimate the power of holiness.… Most people cold-shoulder ecclesiastical structures, but they all embrace saints. They love the saints. The saints appeal to everyone, for they show us life as it could and should be."
Pope John Paul II canonized more saints during his pontificate (480) than were canonized in the preceding 1,000 years of Church history (450).
Commenting on his predecessor's enthusiasm for making saints, Benedict XVI responded, "There cannot be too many saints."
In the March issue of the journal First Things, writer Philip Zaleski contextualizes the late Pope's understanding of the role of the saints in the life of the Church.
He concludes that the canonizations of John Paul II were a reversal of the "stripping of the altars" -- the invasion of secular ideology into Catholic life -- as well as a marking of the saints as signposts of a new civilization.
Zaleski draws on the insights of Hans Urs von Balthasar's 1954 book "Thérèse of Lisieux: The Story of a Mission."
Balthasar suggests that the purpose of the Church is to make saints. Put another way, the Church works to sanctify each person to fulfill his or her unique individual role in building the kingdom of God. Thus, no two saints are alike.
Zaleski notes that traditional Christian thought understood canonization to have a number of purposes. It glorifies God by whose grace the saints are sanctified, and it honors the saints, reflections of God's glory.
Models
Furthermore, canonization provides models for holiness and gives us some insight into the citizenry of heaven, instructing us to whom we can ask to intercede on our behalf. This last aspect is particularly important as popular devotions and cults have developed around saints with dubious merit.
The recent canonizations, Zaleski argues, have renewed interest in the saints as models of holiness, particularly in places like Malta, whose first native saints were canonized during John Paul II's pontificate.
The enthusiasm for saints is not limited geographically, as Christians such as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta (not yet canonized) have a global following.
Zaleski highlights the fact that opposition to the sheer number of John Paul II's canonizations usually fell back on criticisms of particular saints. In particular, much criticism came from circles that feared that particular canonizations marked the return of an outmoded, retrograde Catholicism.
But, contrary to these critics, even John Paul II's most controversial saints actually embodied the principles outlined in "Lumen Gentium." Furthermore, according to Zaleski, opposition to saints such as Juan Diego and Josemaría Escrivá may even undercut efforts to enhance the role of the laity in the life of the Church.
The future
In his best-selling book "Crossing the Threshold of Hope," John Paul II alluded to the saints, particularly the 20th-century martyrs, as a "foundation of a new world, a new Europe, and a new civilization."
This echoes the famous axiom that the best apology for the faith is its saints. Zaleski writes: "To canonize is to renew the bond between heaven and earth; every canonization, in a sense, re-consecrates the world.
"We should never underestimate the power of holiness.… Most people cold-shoulder ecclesiastical structures, but they all embrace saints. They love the saints. The saints appeal to everyone, for they show us life as it could and should be."
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Primarily because they are little
By Jeff Vehige. Jeff is married and has four children. He runs the St. Peter Canisius Apostolate.From In Conversation with God, Volume 3:
[Christ] chooses us where we are, and leaves us — the majority of Christians, lay people — just where we were: in our family, in our own job, in the cultural or sports association that we belong to . . . so that in the very environment in which we are found we should love him and make him known through family ties, through relationships at work and among friends. From the moment that we decide to make Christ the center of our lives, everything we do is affected by that decision. We must ask ourselves whether we are consistent with what it means to turn our work into a vehicle for growing in friendship with Jesus Christ, through developing our human and supernatural virtues in it.
Ideas like these are what attract me to Opus Dei spirituality. Christ doesn’t call us to live apart from others, just to live differently. And what does that mean? To be a better friend, a harder worker, a more loving spouse, and more self-giving parent.
But it’s not as serious as all that. Being a good friend means taking time to spend with one’s friends — even if that means watching a B-movie. Working harder doesn’t mean doing more, but, rather, doing what needs to be done with more focus. Becoming a more loving spouse may mean taking some extra minutes to clean the bathroom sink, and letting your kids picking the Friday-night movie may be a way of being a little more self-giving. Little things go a long way to holiness primarily because they’re little: They don’t attract the eyes of others, only the eyes of God.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)