Opus Dei students and young professionals prepare for Pope

By Angelo Stagnaro, Catholic News Service, 4/10/2008. Opus Dei is one of the Ecclesial Movements flourishing in the Church during this time of "New Evangelization"


NEW YORK (CNS) - Students and young professionals associated with Opus Dei gathered April 5 to get ready for Pope Benedict XVI's visit by creating banners and practicing cheers, chants and songs.

Headed by the high school students in the group, the banner-making party at Opus Dei's U.S. headquarters in New York prepared two pieces they hoped will attract the attention of the pope as he makes his way around the city.

They planned to carry the banners wherever they thought they might be able to see the pope from the street.

Opus Dei is a personal prelature founded in 1928 by St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer in Madrid, Spain. Its principle aim is to help people come closer to God in their work and everyday lives. It has 88,000 members worldwide, 3,000 in the United States.

"During this time of war, I really believe that the pope's visit will help Americans come to see what is the right response to our enemies," said Will Narduzzi, 15, a sophomore at Seton Hall Preparatory High School in West Orange, N.J.

Jim O'Toole, 15, said he believed the pope's visit will be a blessing for the country.

"He's a beacon to the world especially in terms of respect for life and humanity," he said in an interview.

One of the 30-foot banners portrayed the New York City skyline, and over the image were superimposed the words "Omnes cum Petro," referring to the need for all Christians to see the pope as the head of Christ's church. The words are from the opening of a common Opus Dei prayer.

The second banner showed the pope's coat of arms splayed across an American flag along with the words "Gratias tibi Benedictus XVI" ("Thank you, Pope Benedict").

Alvaro Aguirre, a 19-year-old Spaniard from Navarre and an undergraduate student at Manhattan College, was particularly enthused about Pope Benedict's visit.

"I feel pumped up!" said Aguirre. "I think that many young Catholics felt Pope Benedict would be an extreme intellectual incapable of speaking to youth.

"Of course, we've found the opposite to be true. The pope knows how to speak to us, how to make complex theological issues easily understandable to people without any particular academic training," he said.

John Wilson, 23, was very hopeful the pope will continue his message of engaging Islam and other religions.

"The effects of what he says and does may not be immediately obvious to us but I believe that five and 10 years down the road, they will be obvious to everyone," he said.

Before arriving in New York for his April 18-20 visit, the pope will attend an interfaith meeting April 17 in Washington. He will be in the nation's capital April 15-17. He will attend an ecumenical meeting in New York April 18.

Opus Dei officials expected approximately 250 high school boys from the New York City area to participate in their activities when the pope arrives, along with 50 from Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Washington, and about 10 people from Guatemala. Plans called for daily Mass, prayer and a party.

Miguel Leonardo, 22, said he hoped the pope's visit would have a practical effect on the country.

"America struggles with its loss of a sense of morality in modern times. I believe the pope's visit will help renew our relationship with the pope and the church in general," he said.

Many of the students, especially those from out of town, did not have tickets to any of the New York papal events, and so they planned to pursue a "catch as catch can" strategy to see the pope.

Peter Scarby, 31, said he believed Pope Benedict's message would be poignantly felt by all Christians. "The pope has always been very ecumenically minded. His presence will spur dialogue among all Christians," he said.

Two Opus Dei priests, Fathers Robert Brisson and Javier Garcia, both administrators for the prelature on the national level, were scheduled to serve as television commentators during the pope's Yankee Stadium Mass.

I am not superhuman

By Olivia Darby in New Statesman. She joined Opus Dei at age 19. She is now 23 years old and works for an educational charity helps disadvantaged children in London.


If you have learned about Opus Dei from the media and Da Vinci Code, it is easy to believe that it is a shadowy sect, governed by some sinister Dr No type figure, high on power and attempting world domination.

I am a member of Opus Dei. I take the bus with you. I walk past you in the street. I might be behind you in the supermarket queue, and you might buy me a drink at a bar. I am 23, I work for a charity, I love cooking, reading, and walks along the Thames. I struggle to get up every morning and I find it impossible to be tidy. Superhuman – I don't think so. When my brother asks me whether I've been brainwashed, I can only sigh, "I wish!” Maybe Opus Dei could wave a magic wand and help me keep my room tidy!

I am in the middle of the world – your world – but you probably wouldn't notice me amongst the hundreds of other people you pass on your way to work. I'm not a nun. I do not live in a dungeon, nor an ivory tower. Members of Opus Dei live their lives side by side with everyone else.

I guess this can lead to the other fear – the infiltration of society by a group of people who you don't quite understand. There are two good reasons to laugh at this. Firstly, I am free. Contrary to popular expectations, I have never been instructed to kill any infidels. I joined Opus Dei four years ago. I think I may have got an inkling of this if it were the case, and if someone did ask me I would a) say no, and b) make them an appointment with their doctor. Secondly, there are about 500 members of Opus Dei in the UK, out of sixty million people. None of us has super powers!

But hold on, I may have missed the key point: the vocation to Opus Dei is a vocation to be saints in our daily lives. Saints have to emulate Jesus. They have to love people. Saints are people who try every day (even though they might not always succeed) to love God a little bit more, and consequently make the lives of those around them easier.

What does this mean to me? I work with around 180 disadvantaged children a week. I chose this work because I hope I can have a positive impact on their lives. But perhaps more importantly, I try to see each child as an individual, as a child of God, just like me, regardless of their religious background. With so many children, there is the temptation to see them as numbers, and just look at the statistics (x number passed their exams, no one got pregnant this year). But the real point is to develop the personality of each child, to help them to learn about themselves, to pass their exams so that they can give something back to society. Too see the joy on a girl's face when she realises that she is worth something after she has helped a younger child achieve something.

My vocation means looking after my friends. Not to be a fair weather friend, but to be there through thick and thin. My vocation means that of course I want my friends to come closer to God, because I believe that fulfilment comes through loving Him. But this does not mean that I would pressure them into it. My boyfriend is not a Catholic. I would love him to share my faith, but faith is a gift –it cannot be forced on someone. I love him just the same.

My vocation means trying to build a deeper relationship with God, through daily Mass, prayer and sacrifice. People get a bit worried about the sacrifice bit. But really, we all make sacrifices for the people we love. You don't know that someone loves you until they give you their last rolo. And we make so many sacrifices for much less important reasons- stilettos, leg waxing, nails so long that you're almost disabled (vanity, vanity). What is forgoing salt or getting up on time for love of God compared to blisters from too-tight shoes?

I chose to join Opus Dei. No one even suggested it to me before I said that I wanted to. And ever since I have been a firm believer in St Augustine's "our hearts our restless until they rest in You alone, O Lord". Accepting my vocation, which crept up on me and was never in my life-plan as a teenager, has given me a great peace. I couldn't have said no, not because anyone forced me, but because saying no to God, when he has called you, does not make one happy. Trust me - as a nineteen year old it wasn't what I had thought I wanted - but I was also quite sure it was the right thing to do. I'd be lying if I told you it was always easy - as I said before, I'm not superhuman - but it is always worth it.

Finish at least one of your projects

By William Keenan. He first encountered Opus Dei in Manchester in the 1960s. He is a writer and journalist and he worked for many years on the Daily Mirror as a feature writer, television critic and investigative journalist. He has also written several detective novels and radio plays for the BBC.

I first came into contact with Opus Dei when a doctor in my parish began holding monthly social gatherings for parishioners at his home. One day he invited a priest of Opus Dei to give a talk. I seem to recall, that the talk wasn’t received too well with many of the liberal Catholics at the meeting. But I found the idea of finding holiness in everyday life and ordinary work fascinating.

I was then a journalist on the Daily Express in Manchester editing and laying out the feature pages, which included the City pages, the Leader page and the William Hickey gossip pages. My working hours were from four or five in the evening until around three a.m. the following morning. If I went straight home and to bed I would often have difficulty getting to sleep. I would find myself looking at the ceiling and redesigning pages and rewriting headlines in my head.

Several times a week when we finished work we would drive to the Press Club in Albert Square for a couple of pints of beer. This would mean getting to bed about four in the morning and rising about lunch time. After lunch I would try to do some writing. Then it was time to go to the office again.

I decided I would like to know more about Opus Dei and finding holiness in work and everyday life. The doctor who had organised the meeting was not a member of Opus Dei but used to go to the monthly evenings of recollection at Greygarth Hall, the Manchester centre of Opus Dei. He said the next time he was going he would take me with him. But he was unable to make it in the next few months so I took myself off to Greygarth for an evening of recollection.

Recollection, I discovered, consisted in a priest giving two meditations followed by Benediction. Afterwards there were tea, cakes, and biscuits. After that evening of recollection what impressed me very much was not what had been said during the meditations but the happiness and cheerfulness of the people I met and chatted to over tea and biscuits. That was the reason I continued attending over the next few months.

One person I seemed to get on particularly well with was a student from the Basque country of Spain who I think was doing a doctorate in electrical engineering. One day he asked how my writing was going and I told him about a play I had just started working on. He looked a little puzzled because the previous time we spoke I had told him about a novel I was writing whose central character was a northern detective called John Marne whose ankle had been crushed by a thieves' get-away car so he would always walk with a limp.

When he asked what had happened to the John Marne novel I explained that I had decided it wasn’t working, that it was no good and that I would be better doing a play. He then produced a copy of The Way -- the book for meditations written by St Josemaría Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei -- which is now a best selling spiritual classic. He showed me Point 42 which says, “Why those variations in your character? When are you going to apply your will to something? Drop that craze for laying corner stones, and finish at least one of your projects.”

The point really went home. I kept thinking about it and realised that of my many unfinished writing projects the detective novel was the nearest to completion. So I sat down and finished it.

I sent it off convinced that it wasn’t good enough, and it was immediately accepted. This led to two other novels and a biography and about eight plays for BBC Saturday Theatre. Many times when I was three quarters through writing them, I wanted to start something else and had to struggle to put the finishing touches to each particular project.

Since then I have met many writers who, when they were three quarters through what they were working on, would decide it was no good. And I would repeat the point in The Way and get them to finish it. A good friend of mine had been commissioned by the BBC to write a television play. One day he rang me to say he couldn’t finish it. It wasn’t working, it wasn’t good. He was going to send the BBC their money back. I took him for a pint and persuaded him to keep the money and finish his play. He did and it was broadcast without need for a rewrite.

I think it only fair to say that the point in St Josemaria’s The Way has not only helped me but also many of my friends and fellow writers.

Opus Dei’s center helps local clergy to seek holiness

By Santosh Digal at the Catholic Bishops' Conference website

MANILA, March 11, 2008—The Theological Centrum of the Opus Dei in the Philippines has been helping priests strive for holiness in their priestly ministry, says Fr. Mickey Cardenas, director.

The Vatican Council II reminded that all are called to holiness. In this regard, priests have greater role to help laity to achieve holiness. “But what about priests themselves who need to be helped in the same direction? Theological Centrum is an answer to that,” Cardenas told CBCP News.

Based in Mandaluyong City, Theological Centrum (TC) is an initiative for the "on-going formation of priests and seminarians for the local churches,” he said.

It assists many dioceses in the Philippines in the task of seminary formation integrated in various programs for formation, said the priest.

TC was established in 1985 by some priests of the Prelature of Opus Dei and the Archdiocese of Manila, along with a number of professionals, who were eager to assist bishops in their response to the call of the Vatican II.

To allow TC carry out this task more effectively in a new juridical framework and to initiate other activities, the Studium Theologiae Foundation Inc. (STF) was established.

Founded by Mgnr. Josemaria Escriva, Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church that helps clergy and lay people seek holiness.

TC coordinates several activities for priests and seminarians all over the country, such as Holy Hours, publications of newsletters and books for spiritual reading and the ecclesiastical sciences, retreats and recollections, spiritual direction, conferences on Philosophy and Theology, yearly seminar for priests and seminarians, and live-in seminars at a regional or national level, said Cardenas.

Often regional meetings of priests are held such as in Manila, Laguna, Leyte, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Bicol, Tuguegarao, Bayombong and Baguio.

Since 1986, TC, with the help of generous benefactors, initiated a major project that aims to offer a much-needed support to the Church in the Philippines, a project called Formation for Seminary Formators of the Local Church.

For last 20 years, through this project, Bishops have been sending priests and seminarians to the University of Navarre in Pamplona, Spain, and to the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, for studies in the different ecclesiastical fields.

These two universities include research and study in the ecclesiastical sciences—schools of theology, canon law, philosophy, institutional social communications, and an institute for higher religious studies. The Schools grant the Bachelor's, Licentiate, and Doctoral degrees established by the Holy See.

TC carries out the selection process on the bases of the candidates' responsibilities to their bishops, and especially on their potentials in handling important tasks of formation in the seminaries.

TC shares the reflections of late Pope John Paul II that considers the importance of prayer in working together with the whole Catholic community to foster vocations to the priesthood, to give particular attention to seminary training and sound continuing education for the clergy, particularly trainers of future priests, Cardenas said.

TC’s library, holding around 3,000 basic books on Philosophy, Theology and Canon Law, is open to all the clergy.

TC also publishes reading materials like the Documentation Service to enhance the doctrinal and pastoral materials of the clergy. One effective instrument TC tries to establish in the training of diocesan priests and seminarians is to ensure their competence and formation in their ecclesiastical studies.

The Center published several books for the doctrinal, ascetical and pastoral needs of priests and seminarians.

Through its various programs, TC helps priests of the country to grow in priestly ministry and holiness, Cardenas added.

Fr. Peter Stravinskas on Opus Dei

By Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Ph.D., S.T.D. He is founding editor of The Catholic Answer magazine and the author of over 30 books and 500 articles.

Q. My husband and I are loosely affiliated to Opus Dei as cooperators, and like you we are surprised at the attitude of so many diocesan priests. After all, Opus Dei is very loyal to the Pope. Why would this threaten so many priests?

A. It's an indication of the sad state of affairs in some places that loyalty to the Holy Father is automatically interpreted as belonging to some type of secret society. Often I am "accused" of being a member because I represent orthodox Catholic teaching.

Easy to laugh off criticisms

By Gladys in Helium. About herself, she says: "My friends call me quirky, crazy and just plain weird. I'm not sure they're compliments. I'm passionate about a few things in life; namely jazz, food, travelling, my trusty piano and God. Always looking out for a chance to make a positive difference, no matter how small. We only live once anyway."

As a person who participates actively in Opus Dei's activities, it's easy for me to laugh off some of the criticisms and accusations so often leveled at the organization. I'm not an Opus Dei member, but I've had the chance to interact and observe its members now for almost 5 years. Opus Dei members have to be some of the most ordinary and civilized people around. Most of them hold normal jobs like many of us, they go to work 9-5 and they eat normal meals like us. While they lead ordinary lives, what is extraordinary about them is the way they lead their ordinary lives.

You see, Opus Dei's mission is to call all Catholics to find holiness through their normal everyday work and activities. We so often find a huge gap between work and God, and many people often complain about how work seems to take them away from their relationship with God. Opus Dei attempts to bridge that gap by bringing people closer to God THROUGH their work.

Members are taught to put in so much love into their work that it becomes a form of prayer and glorification to God. Order and attention to details are some of the little things that are given importance but the end result is people who are extremely dedicated to living their lives extraordinarily well for God and with God, and to spread that belief to their friends and family.

I've learnt so much about my faith since attending Opus Dei's activities (which by the way are open to all). Not only do I have so much more in-depth knowledge about the Catholic faith, but my relationship with God has deepened and grown. The environment at Opus Dei is really beneficial for anyone who wants to improve their relationship with God, or to just find out about the faith.

20th-century a Kempis

By Stratiotes Doxha Theon "Στρ ... (Richmond, Missouri) 5.0 out of 5 stars, June 14, 2007. A review of The Way.

This collection of inspirational sayings is too often underrated. Read it as Fr. Josemaria suggests in the preface of the book and you will find much with which to be challenged. It is a 20th-century Thomas a Kempis fortified with the importance of the so-called "small and insignificant" things of life.

It is a call for Roman Catholics in particular to gain from careful and continuous study of the scriptures along with the mystagogy that Roman Catholics have appreciated since the first century. Given careful consideration, the sayings can enhance your devotional life in a way that impacts every other aspect of your life. Fr. Josemaria reminds us again and again that every Christian has a vocation, a calling, and that bringing Jesus to ordinary life transforms and sanctifies that life. It is a message all Christians can find life-changing.

It is a simple teaching that one might wonder why it has caused such a stir. But it is in the application that this teaching can shake and transform our culture. For that reason, I think, it is feared by those resisting such change. It is only for the brave; your church and your culture may not be ready for the revolution it could bring. But little could compare to the rewards that await those brave. You will find versions of this and other of the author's works at escrivaworks dot org.

Relationship with non-members is one of respect

By Pat Delaney, answering allegations by someone against Opus Dei

The relationship between the members themselves and, between members and non-members is one of respect, and always cognizant of the personal freedom that is necessary and central to a person's ability for developing their spiritual life.

Opus Dei, if you request it, will provide a spiritual director. This is a well established practice in Catholicism. A spiritual director's job is to know the person and give advice in life situations so that a person can make their own choices informed about how their actions conform or not with Catholic Doctrine.

I totally disagree about confessors and the seal of the confessional. I confess to many priests in and out of the Work. Some of those in the Work are old friends. I also have a spiritual director that I keep in touch with on my own schedule. I have not recently contributed money to the Work, but I plan to resume that and other such activities on a very regular basis as this type of regular practice was interrupted due to my own life circumstances.

I have known the Work for many years. In fact, I have previously been a member, and did in fact "whistle." I was an active member for five years before I decided it was not quite right for me about 8-9 years ago. Nevertheless, the people in the Work are still very much a part of my life in some ways. I have NEVER encountered any of the conspiratorial nonsense that you allege. The types of things you allege cannot be proven otherwise as you allege they are done secretly.

What I have seen within the work are many highly gifted people who live saintly lives, and less gifted ones who are willing to struggle with themselves. As with any human organization, there is an occasional idiot or two hanging around that everyone tries to be patient with in the hope that they will grow.

I have also seen much of is something else. I have seen people who, when they see the the opportunity for much sacrifice in their life, the sacrifices that will really need to be done to reform their spiritual life, will recoil in disgust after making an initial attempt. This often happens in the spiritual development of any person and is referred to as the "the dark night." Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Theresa of Avila refer to these periods as occurring twice along the path to great spiritual perfection. This path is well know and is defined by three phases: Purgative, Illuminative and Unitive and are separated by these dark periods. This is all explained quite will in "Spiritual Passages" by Father Benedict Groeschel (not in Opus Dei).

Many people when they reach these dark phases, or encounter some other great temptation, give in to the temptation to just stop trying. These people sometime find their way back to spiritual development, sometimes not. Unfortunately, rather than realize this failure is the result of their own weakness, these people will try and blame their own personal decision on factors controlled by others.

I see this often among ex-members who wish to justify there own personal decision to leave the Work. They associate the demands of growing in the spiritual life, with the rigors associated with living the "Norms" and other activities that EVERY person, in and out of the Work will eventually need to undertake if they are to develop themselves and grow to be a person of great virtue, i.e., a saint.

Inside Opus Dei

By Courtny Gerrish in WTMJ-TV, MI, February 22

Strange rituals, and dark secrets. 'The DaVinci Code' exposed its version of 'Opus Dei' to the world. Turns out...Opus Dei has a stronghold in Milwaukee. But what exactly is it?

Opus Dei is an organization within the Catholic church. The Opus Dei we saw on the big-screen showed members inducing self-flagellation, and following cult-like practices. But we found...reality is very different from the fiction of 'The DaVinci Code'.

Just ask Sharon Ruplinger...a busy mom of five. Or ask Chris Wolfe, a political science professor at Marquette. Both are members of Opus Dei.

"As a mother, I can find so much in the doctrine classes, in the talks that are periodically given on virtues," Sharon explains.

"I think in the long run that does make me a better professor. I hope so anyway," Chris says.

St. Josemaria Escriva founded Opus Dei in Spain in 1928. It calls on Christians to bring holiness into their everyday lives.

Sharon adds, "It's for lay people, in the middle of the world, to grow in holiness."

In addition to their daily routine, most Opus Dei members attend daily Catholic mass. Members get support not only from God, but from each other. They often gather at Opus Dei centers for mini-retreats. Chris says he enjoys the retreats.

"Pulling yourself out of the hub-bub of the day, and recalling to mind, well, what are the really important things in life," he says.

Tom Mammoser has been a member for 40 years, and lives at the Layton Study Center in Brookfield. "I guess you could say Opus Dei for me is a way of life, a guide in my life," Tom explains.

Today, there are over 60,000 Opus Dei members across 6 continents. But despite this popularity, many of us only know the 'DaVinci Code' version.

"It's less dramatic than the movie would present," Tom admits.

The movie portrays Opus Dei as an oppressive, secretive society. "I think people in Opus Dei don't have any secrets about being members of Opus Dei. But on the other hand, they're not out there wearing it on their sleeve," Tom says.

Despite the apparently flawed depiction, many members think 'The DaVinci Code' was a good way for the faith to progress.

"I think Opus Dei came out of the whole mess with a lot more people interested in it, and kind of an intriguing group," Chris says.

A study that started with a young Spanish priest...and continues today here in Milwaukee, and across the world.

"It's a wonderful thing, and a lot of people feel it's making a difference in their lives...and making a difference in society," Tom points out.

Opus Dei places a strong emphasis on family. In many cases both spouses are members, but they do worship separately. The reason: They say men and women each have different spiritual needs.

Anyone is welcome to attend Opus Dei events. Check out OpusDei.org if you want to learn more about the group.

Our Choices

By Deacon Keith Fournier at Catholic Online, 2/8/2008. Abridged.

LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom.... I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD your God.” (Deut. 30:15)

Jesus said to his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and ... be killed and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9: 22-25)

The readings of the Liturgy on this Thursday following Ash Wednesday invite us to probe the meaning of the Christian vocation by examining our choices. Not only do we make choices, our choices make us. We become what we choose, changing ourselves in the process.

As we walk this Lenten pilgrimage we can reflect on how Jesus chose, in His Sacred humanity. He walked the path of surrendered love. So should we. In His Sacred humanity, Jesus shows us the model and then provides the means for our own transformation.

With His outstretched arms on the Cross, He freely chose love and bridged the gap between heaven and earth.

We are invited during Lent to embrace even that which we do not want as the very means of this transformation.

The Christian tradition insists that even undeserved and unmerited suffering, when joined in love to the sufferings of Jesus Christ, can produce extraordinary fruit within us and around us. This is the mystery of suffering in the Christian life.

Saint Josemaria Escriva once wrote “The great Christian revolution has been to convert pain into fruitful suffering and to turn a bad thing into something good. We have deprived the devil of this weapon; and with it we can conquer eternity."

How do we treat those circumstances that cause us to struggle? How do we deal with what we find unpleasant?

This day, let us ask for God’s grace to choose life and live; to choose the way of redemptive love. Let us pick up our cross, follow the One whose choice on our behalf secured our true freedom, and find the Way.

Benedict XVI: Work is a Means and Path of Holiness

By Benedict XVI's address to Italian Artisans

Dear friends, continue with tenacity and perseverance to preserve and put to good use the productive craft culture that can give life to important opportunities for balanced financial progress and encounters between men and peoples.

Furthermore, may you as Christians be committed to living and testifying to the "Gospel of work", in the awareness that the Lord calls all the baptized to holiness through their daily occupations.

Josemaría Escrivá, a Saint of our times, notes in this regard that since Christ who worked as a craftsman took it into his hands, "work has become for us a redeemed and redemptive reality. Not only is it the background of man's life, it is a means and path of holiness. It is something to be sanctified and something which sanctifies" (Christ Is Passing By, Homily, n. 47).

Women in Opus Dei

by Michelle Matouk


It might surprise people to discover that Opus Dei, shrouded in orthodoxy, is really a radical, revolutionary movement in the Catholic Church. I certainly was taken by surprise when I stumbled upon that reality in my spiritual searching about eight years ago.

Saint Josemaria Escriva, upon realising that God willed all people to seek holiness, founded Opus Dei as a way to provide spiritual support and doctrinal formation to the laity in order to achieve sanctity through one’s ordinary work and daily routine.

He broke down all barriers between the clergy and the laity by offering all people access to courses in theology, philosophy, spirituality, doctrine, and by providing personal spiritual guidance not only for members but for anyone who sought these spiritual services.

A brief look at the historic context of the inception of Opus Dei demonstrated to me more clearly just how ahead of his time Saint Josemaria was. In 1930, a year and a half after establishing Opus Dei for men, by divine inspiration he understood that it was meant for women as well.

It is worth noting that this took place at a time when women were not educated to work in professions outside of the home. It was not thought that women could lead an independent life without masculine support. In fact the laws did not allow women to be involved in any business without the sponsorship of men.

Yet, in this cultural atmosphere, Saint Josemaria wrote to “his daughters”: “Develop yourselves personally in society, among women, in work similar to that fulfilled in the world of your brothers; and undertake, as they do, all types of professional, social and political positions, etc.” (Letter, VII-29-1965, n 9). This was very progressive thinking.

How is it that Saint Josemaria became a pioneer of the role and mission of women in the world and the Church? He is not the author of a new spirituality, but the instigator of a rebirth of a new and old spirituality.

He revealed Scripture’s modern day relevance over and over again, as when, for example, he referred to Genesis 2:15 in a meditation and remarked that “after two thousand years we have reminded the entire humanity that man was created … to work” and that “there is no noble human task in the world which cannot be made divine, which may not be sanctified.”

Most importantly, the inspiration of this message comes from the biblical principle that God created man male and female. Since man is made in God’s image and likeness, what is specific to both male and female has its archetype in God. Therefore, from the beginning, God intended for male and female to collaborate jointly, to bring to all human activity a masculine and feminine perspective.

In his desire to want what God wants, Saint Josemaria embraced this Christian tradition of equality of men and women which celebrates and ennobles the differences between the sexes, the differences which complement and balance one another.

In marriage, he echoed Pope John Paul II when he considered the relationship between spouses as being reciprocal (Conversations, n.107-108). He encouraged women to help men to “make the family” by getting them involved in household and educational duties (Conversations, n 89, 91).

Saint Josemaria advises women not to fall into the trap of imitating men, that equality means that a woman’s feminine way of being is legitimate and valuable. In the public arena, he refutes the implication that there may be specific tasks for women alone: “As I said earlier, in this field what is specific is not the task or position itself, but the way in which the work is done.

There are values which a woman more readily perceives, and her specific contribution will often, therefore, change the whole approach to a problem, and can lead to the discovery of completely new approaches” (Conversations, n 90).

Finding Opus Dei gave me a sense of coming home, for these were the lessons taught to me by my devout parents, but lost somewhere in modern culture. Rediscovering anew the valuable lessons preached by Saint Josemaria has empowered me to infuse my professional work as a mother, homemaker, architect and teacher with warmth and sensitivity to humanity that has resulted in a more far-reaching, positive effect than I ever could have imagined.

St. Josemaria, the poor, and Catholic social doctrine

Interview with Fr. Enrique Colom, a Consultor to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and was contributing editor of their Compendium of the Social Teaching of the Church.


Q: How did St Josemaría practice charity and solidarity with the poor?
A: St Josemaría taught us that Opus Dei must be present “where there is poverty, where there is unemployment, where there is sadness, where there is suffering: to help people to bear suffering gladly, to make poverty disappear, to banish unemployment by educating and training people so that they can get jobs, and to bring Christ into everyone’s lives in so far as they want, because we are all in favor of freedom” (St Josemaría, speaking on October 1, 1967, cited in Una mirada hacia el futuro desde el corazón de Vallecas, Madrid 1998, p. 135). In this area, as in all others, he asked us for “unity of life”, meaning that we were to allow no separation between our faith and our life. That is why his teachings have inspired so many people to set up projects to help the poor, to enable them to achieve a decent standard of living and education.

Q: Can you give an example St Josemaría’s contribution to the social teaching of the Church?
A: Something I heard him say several times was that he would like to see Catholic catechisms include points showing that social action is a Christian duty, compatible with pluralism of ideas and methods in this field. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, do now include such points, and I hope this may become universal practice in the catechisms published at diocesan level. Then people will learn right from the start that they need to take part in social affairs, in order to make them more human and more in accordance with the teaching of Jesus Christ.
St Josemaría also stressed the political freedom all Catholics have within the moral order. Specifically, he used to say that the whole life of the faithful of Opus Dei is – and I quote – “a service with exclusively spiritual aims, because Opus Dei is not, and will never be – nor could it be – a tool for temporal ends. But at the same time, it is also a service to mankind, because all you are doing is trying in an upright way to achieve Christian perfection, acting most freely and responsibly in all the areas of civil life. It is a self-sacrificing service that is not degrading, but uplifting; it expands the heart (making it more Roman, in the most noble meaning of the word) and leads you to pursue the honour and the good of people of every nation – to try to see that every day there are fewer people who are poor and uneducated, fewer souls without faith, without hope; fewer wars, less uncertainty, and more charity and peace” (St Josemaría Escrivá, letter dated May 1, 1943, cited in Pedro Rodriguez et al., Opus Dei in the Church, Four Courts Press, 1994, p. 107). I could quote plenty more examples, but I think that what I have just quoted summarizes the social teaching of the Church.

The people's modern Saint and the pro-life movement

By George H. Kubeck in CINOPS BEGONE


Behold, we have the people’s modern Saint! I am trying to digest the notes from Saturday’s Conference on the above Saint, the founder of Opus Dei and want at this point only to focus on him. The only book I have read that he authored is The Way. Years ago, I reread the book several times. (877-785-6736) www.stjosemariaconference.org

What is extraordinary for the pro-life movement in America is that here is a Saint of the Ordinary. Pope John Paul II on Oct. 6, 2002 called him that. He was canonized that day. When you think of the pro-life movement, we are made up of ordinary people who are trying to do extra-ordinary things in this secular America.

Joemaria had a sense of poignant identity and humor. Three words in Latin translated into Always like a Donkey. He was God’s donkey, needing little, doing a lot, no airs, no facade, and he struggled like many of us. This Saint had beautiful symbolic language. His portrait of the donkey as a small animal that can carry heavy loads, stubborn at times and refuses to botch: As pro-lifers we will never give up.
You find God in the little things and the unimportant things of life. He had many different mottos. For example, from Latin two words: Today, Now! If you can do it now, do it now instead of tomorrow.

Here we have a Saint of the Ordinary for all time. How Beautiful! Father Paul Donlan recalls the time the Saint blessed the last stone where Opus Dei resides in Rome. We were there for the last time, Jan, 9, 1960 and the Saint had these words inscribed on the brick, The End is Better than the Beginning. The importance of finishing things, to persevere as the Saints: To finish counts most.
And this is also the goal of the U.S. pro-life movement.

On one Jan. 9th, there was a birthday party for the future saint. Everyone was gathered around. When asked why he was so happy? Well, it is because he made a good examination of conscience and many acts of contrition.

He was as he was. Reflecting on the passing things of this world and how we become Saints in the ordinary things of life. God spawned a new spirituality.

At one time there was a viewing of a Blessed Damian film. And with a booming voice he said. There is a great deal of leprosy today, the leprosy of religious ignorance, of the human mind as regards to God, the human mind and the Catholic Church. For pro-life it is the leprosy scandal of Catholic-in-name-only Politicians.

Let’s vote out the CINOP candidates from their high horse; and as they fall to the ground may they come to their senses? May they have a conversion that can even influence our own conversion? Nothing is impossible with God for as we enter the pearly gates of heaven we have Lou Correa and Loretta Sanchez as our brother and sister. This would be in the spirit of St. Jose Maria Escriva.

The leprosy of uninformed voters is our biggest challenge in 2008 and in the country. Can we count on you to participate in that challenge?

My son was invited to work in an Opus Dei school in the South Brox

By Ridgerunner at Catholic Answers Forum

While my son was a freshman in law school, he was invited to work for the summer in an Opus Dei school in the South Bronx.

Well, the South Bronx is a far cry from Murray Hill. The purpose of the school was to tutor young black and Latino toughs in some academic subjects, athletics and lessons on character. I have no idea how they recruit the students; with the parents perhaps. I suspect some are told by the juvenile office to go, or else.

The living conditions were spartan, and the neighborhood where the kids came from and where the staff lived, was beyond awful. The kids were tough and street-smart. The "teachers" were expected to set a no-nonsense example of what it is to be a man...but a man of character. They first had some intensive schooling themselves. Some of the kids washed out. Some expressed to my son at the end how it had made a difference in their lives, including one kid who had tried to rough him up during athletics and learned he had made a mistake.

Kids who successfully completed the program were allowed to then attend, for free, a school in New York, run by Opus Dei, the academic excellence of which is beyond question. "Crotona" I think is the name of it.

Every once in awhile, the "teachers" were invited to Murray Hill. They were served an excellent but sparing meal in the dining room there, then repaired to a very nice lounge where various Opus Dei members would expound on various topics; religion, business, the law, physics, government...everything imaginable, and all from first-hand experience. Some of their credentials were incredible. He met the guy who designed the chapel at Murray Hill; a very accomplished architect named Henry Menzies. You can google his website. Those "discussion sessions" are a regular feature of life at Murray Hill, and my son felt privileged to be able to even be at them. The people he met were anything but removed from the "real world".

My son admired the people in the various levels of participation. Never did he feel anybody was being coerced into anything. Never did he feel he, himself was being coerced or bamboozled into becoming a member. But he knew from the beginning that this was a life that required a lot.

At the end, he could understand how people would do it. He likened it to being a Marine in a way. You could get there, but it would take every bit of effort you had. The Marines want particular sorts, and are unashamed in that. So, I guess, does Opus Dei. You really have to want to do it in order to do it. Some people don't. Some people think they do, then figure out that they don't.

At my son's graduation, one of his close friends' sisters, a very accomplished and wonderful young lady, mentioned that she was going to join Opus Dei shortly. After talking to her a bit, I could picture her making it. She explained to me how she had an interest in perhaps working in a school Opus Dei operates for young black women, where they're taught to be professional caterers, hoteliers and accomplished chefs. Not the worst project anyone could think of.

That's it. Everything I know about it is second hand. But one can't say anything bad about Opus Dei to my son without challenge.

Spiritual Steroids

By Kallyne Pudner in The Philosopher-Mom. Kallyne is "your typical Philosophy Ph.D with nine kids".


I'm BAAACK! I love my life! I love my husband, and my kids, and the mess I found when I walked through the door, because it represents OPPORTUNITY for me to love them and love God! Woo-hoo!

I hear someone thinking: "It's an imposter, a Stepford-Philosopher-Mom. Remove this blog from the reader; it's gonna be a goody-goody yawner from now on."

I hear someone else thinking: "She's on drugs."

And the latter someone is right, in a manner of speaking. I'm on spiritual steroids, which is what a retreat will do for you. There's nothing illegal, nothing that's gonna get Major League Baseball after you, about spiritual steroids; I can't recommend the injection highly enough.

To answer the questions about where I went and what it was all about: I went to Hoschton, Georgia, a place you will only have heard of if you're in the habit of driving on I-85 between Atlanta and the South Carolina line (so, like, if you're a NASCAR fan, maybe). The retreat I made was directed by Opus Dei; a team of albino monks was helicoptered in to train us in assassination methods.

JUST KIDDING!! (I know a lot of people like it, and God knows it's gotten more attention from the publishing industry than LOADING...PLEASE WAIT, but I think Dan Brown's Big Book is just silly.)

Seriously, Opus Dei is about getting closer to God doing whatever you normally do. How sweet is that? I sweep the salt off the kitchen floor, I get closer to God. I grade 130 papers in five days, I get closer to God. I walk up and down four flights of stairs four times a day twice a week, I get closer to God. I blog, I get closer to God.

I put eight sheets on eight beds, then find four of them in the pasture, having been made into cat-parachutes...and I get closer to God! As opposed to getting closer to court-ordered rehab!

It is refreshing to find holiness in my daily work

By Kathleen Miller in The Daily Grotto

I discovered Opus Dei just after my reversion to Catholicism about 11 years ago. A friend (my youngest daughter's godmother) invited me to a women's evening of recollection and it was there that I learned how this great saint founded Opus Dei by divine inspiration on October 2, 1928.

Going to these recollections given by an Opus Dei priest and some of its members opened a whole new world for me which included going to daily Mass, frequenting the Sacrament of Confession, making visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and growing in my love for the Eucharist, and Our Lady.

Saint Josemaria Escriva, a priest from Barbastro, Spain was canonized by John Paul II on October 2, 2002. Seeking "sanctity" in your ordinary day was something this saint strove for daily.

In his own words St. Josemaria Escriva points out "Your daily encounter with Christ takes place right where you work, where your aspirations and your affections are. There we must seek sanctity, in the midst of the most material things of the earth, serving God and all humankind. Heaven and earth seem to merge, my daughters and sons, on the horizon. But where they really meet is in your heart, when you strive for holiness in your everyday lives."-St. Josemaria Escriva, from the homily Passionately Loving the World, October 8, 1967.

I would love to spend time in a monastery and pray for hours and hours on end. But that is not what I am called to do. There are meals to cook, bills to pay, floors to mop, a husband and children to care for. It is refreshing to me that I too can find holiness in my daily work.

To learn more about this wonderful saint whom I hope that you will turn to for intercessions go to St. Josemaria Escriva.

An Eastern Catholic on Opus Dei

By Taylor Black, an Eastern Catholic writing for The Gonzaga Witness

In recent years, Opus Dei has often been under attack for a number of different practices that people either attribute to it or misunderstand about it. As an Eastern Catholic who has attended many Opus Dei activities and has many friends who are Opus Dei members, I thought I would share my experiences as answers to some common misconceptions.

One of the first misconceptions of Opus Dei is that it is somehow promoting a fascist philosophy. One of my good friends, whom we shall call Hank, is a numerary (a celibate member of Opus Dei). He grew up in Cuba under the socialist regime that was taking over at that time. He remembers family members and friends being shot to pieces in front of his eyes. His own father was shot after he and his mother escaped to United States and became legal immigrants. This same Hank helped run a summer course that I and about 30 other boys from around the West Coast attended called "Leadership for America."

In the four years that I attended the camp, we looked at the leadership philosophy of Abraham Lincoln, Henry V, Saint Thomas More and many others. We also played a lot of football, watched some John Wayne classics and went to Mass and confession. I never heard mention of anything that sounded like fascism. We were all having good, old-fashioned American boy fun and learning about good, virtuous democratic leaders.

Many other misconceptions that abound about Opus Dei concern the lives of the members. There are rumors that they live the lives of monks, that they whip themselves, that they are held in psychological obedience to their superiors and that they look down on women. All these misconceptions center on the novelty of a person who is dedicated to God, living in the world and making it a better place.

Escriva believed that a person didn't have to become a monk or a nun to be holy. He believed that each and every person can become a saint simply by living a holy life by sanctifying and offering to God their daily work and lives. This is the very beauty of Opus Dei. It is the beauty of God's calling any person, wherever they are in their lives to a life of holiness.

There are powers with which we are at war

By David Werling, who reviewed Michael Walsh's book at Amazon.com

If those writing negative reviews about this book are Opus Dei members, then those writing positive reviews about this book are limp wristed liberals. Give me a break. Try reviewing the book instead of pushing your agenda. Of course, people who liked this book were swayed by the agenda than any actual facts contained therein.

I'm not a member of Opus Dei, and even though I've read portions of The Way, I'm far from being an expert about Opus Dei. However, it was so glaringly obvious that Michael Walsh has a bone to pick and had skewed his facts so badly it really was an utter waste of time to continue reading.

How in the world can a Jesuit criticize any religious organization for meddling in secular politics? It's laughable.

One has to wonder why so many people have gone so far out of their way to throw insults and slander at others trying to live simple, Christ-centered lives as they go about their humble, normal, everyday activities. There are powers with which we are at war... powers that would like to see less Christ-centered, humble people running around.

What I love about Opus Dei

By Chuck Zimmerman, an Opus Dei cooperator in mid-Missouri

Today’s feast of the Baptism of the Lord reminds us of our own baptism into the family of God and our call to grow in holiness: “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48).

We may not all be called to the same level of spiritual or intellectual insight as the likes of Augustine or Aquinas and we may never be martyred like St. Paul or St. Thomas Moore, but we are certainly all called to be saints. What I love about Opus Dei is that it encourages the sanctity of the ordinary Christian life:

“It doesn’t matter what age you are; it doesn’t matter what your position is or what your circumstances are or who you are: you have to convince yourself, commit yourself, and desire holiness. You well know that holiness does not consist in extraordinary graces received in prayer, or unbearable mortification and penance; nor is it the inheritance only of those who live in lonely oases, far from the world. Holiness consists in faithful and loving fulfillment of one’s desires, in joyful and humble acceptance of God’s will, in union with him in your everyday work, in knowing how to fuse religion and life into a fruitful and harmonious unity, and in all sorts of other ordinary little things you know so well.”

(From Jesus as Friend by Fr. Salvatore Canals)