Experiences with Opus Dei

How to serve our Lord in tough times

2009-07-13T03:32:00.000-07:00

By Robert Stackpole in Divine Mercy News and Events

Given the world economic downturn that we are all facing this year, the question I received a few weeks ago from a lady named “Rosalind” is likely to be on a lot of people’s minds these days:

I understand that of utmost importance is our spiritual life … but how do you balance the needs of your spiritual life and your human/physical life? I am the mother of six children ages 8 months to 15 years. My husband was laid off from work so I have been working more than usual. It’s difficult to make enough time to pray, to care for the children, to nourish my married life.

I wish we had more stable finances, wish we could contribute more to the Divine Mercy movement, make more donations to the works of charity, but we barely have enough to pay our bills. … We live simple lives. We are not extravagant. …

We plan on taking on a new endeavour that will hopefully allow us to achieve that stability. … Is it wrong to focus on that? To put effort in that for stability in finances, so we could support our family, provide the children with a good education, and contribute to the spread of The Divine Mercy? For so long, I was lost on the many charities to give, but now I know my heart has been converted to The Divine Mercy …

Well, Rosalind, perhaps it would help to remember that works of mercy and charity are not just the extra things we do with our time (such as helping out at a shelter for the homeless), or the extra things we do with our money (such as giving money to support Divine Mercy apostolates, or some other charity). On the contrary, works of mercy are anything we do to help those in need, beginning with those nearest to us. Saint Thomas Aquinas, for example, defined the virtue of mercy as “the compassion in our hearts for another person’s misery, a compassion which drives us to do what we can to help him” (Summa Theologiae, II-II.30.1).

Again, this applies first of all to our own families, for we have a special responsibility for the families God has placed in our care. Since a work of mercy is a work of compassion for those in need, and your family is really in need of some financial stability right now, by striving to meet that genuine need you are accomplishing an important work of mercy. So the first thing I want to say to you, Rosalind, is: Be at peace. From what I can surmise from your letter to me, your intentions are pure and good, and our merciful Savoir will bless and guide you in this.

It also sounds as if you and your husband will have to work extra hard for a while to get your family finances back on a stable foundation. It is certainly not wrong to focus on that goal for now: Just make sure that you sit down with your husband and talk openly about what kind of time and energy sacrifices this will entail, and therefore how hard it will be, at this stage of your life, to spend quality time (as you put it) “nourishing your married life.” Marital problems can arise when one spouse recognizes this harsh reality, while the other cannot accept it. So be sure you two are “on the same page” here. Forgive each other in advance; it appears that no one is really at fault for the predicament you are in anyway. Such severe financial situations are often the result of circumstances beyond anyone’s control.

Just be sure that you do not put that attention to your marital relationship “on hold” indefinitely, I would suggest that you resolve to go out on a date together three months from now, just the two of you, for lunch and a walk in the park, perhaps or for dinner at a restaurant. Resolve to do it every three months, so no matter how overwhelmed with work you two may get at times, you always know you have already set aside time for each other that is sacrosanct. That way you won’t let daily absorption in the difficult task of financial recovery swallow up your marriage altogether.

With regard to your relationship with Jesus Christ, you are already finding it hard to “make enough time to pray,” you said. This is understandable, too, and our Savoir knows the pressures you are under. Again, one thing you can do to prevent this from becoming a lifelong habit is to set aside a future date — say, six months from now — when you will go on a one-day retreat at a retreat house somewhere, just to be alone with Him, and to get reacquainted, so to speak. Resolve to do it every six months.

Moreover, one of the special things about our relationship with our Lord that makes that relationship unique is that we do not have to completely “get away” from our work and labours in order to be with Him and to grow in our love for Him. After all, Jesus promised: “I am with you always, even to the end of time” (Mt 28:20). By His Spirit He is with us everywhere, at all times and all places.

One of the Catholic spiritual writers who can help us to live out this truth of our faith is the Spaniard St. Josemaria Escriva (1902-1975). For example, Escriva taught, “External work should not interrupt our praying, just as the beating of our heart does not break or diminish attention to our activities, whatever they may be.” All our work and labours — including looking after our own children, and earning a living — can be turned into a prayerful offering to God. Many of us give “lip service” to the art of turning our work into prayer, but when we find ourselves caught in situations such as the one you face, Rosalind, sometimes that is almost the only kind of daily prayer we can manage to offer at all!

Saint Josemaria Escriva’s counsel is helpful here. “Sanctify your work,” he taught us, by which he meant doing your work as well as possible, with a pure intention, such as providing a good product and service for your community, and providing a decent home and good educational opportunities for your kids.

“Sanctify yourself in your work,” St. Escriva taught, by which he meant doing your work for the glory of God and stealing little prayer times throughout the day to keep your heart open to grace. You may not have time right now for a proper half hour for meditation each day, but you can always grab 30 seconds here, a minute there, 10 minutes during a lunch break, or even when you are alone behind the wheel of your car. In these little openings in the day you can offer up the simplest “arrow prayers” to God: “Merciful Heart of Jesus, into Your Heart I put my heart,” “Merciful Heart of Jesus, I put all my trust in You,” “Merciful Heart of Jesus make me love you more and more.” Don’t you think that our Savoir will be delighted by your efforts to steal these minutes in the midst of all your labours to be alone with Him? I assure you that He will pour His grace into your heart in torrents when you do!

Finally, “sanctify others through your work,” St. Escriva said. This means setting a good example for others of cheerfulness, helpfulness, honesty, perseverance, and patience. What a tremendous example of Christian virtue you can be for others at your workplace — and especially for your own children — as they see you tackle the labours of each day in the Spirit of Christ.

Of course, I know that some days — many days — it will not be easy. At times of financial stress and strain, we may have to battle constantly against sheer exhaustion and sometimes suffer discouraging setbacks. Be patient: Let Jesus the Good Shepherd find a way forward for you when sometimes there seems to be no way. If He got His stubborn people of Israel successfully through 40 years in the wilderness before they reached the Promised Land, He can certainly find a way forward for you, too! As St. Francis De Sales put it, “Either He will shield you from suffering, or give you unfailing strength to bear it.” And He is rather good at “writing straight with crooked lines.”

So be at peace, Rosalind. You are on the right track, not only toward financial stability, I would guess, but on the right path to holiness and heaven as well.

First supernumerary of Opus Dei in Canada: Orthopedic surgeon who helps clean up a river

2009-07-09T01:06:00.000-07:00

From Romana, Bulletin of the Prelature of Opus Dei

André Allaire was born on September 1, 1934 in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada. He was the first Supernumerary of Opus Dei in Canada.

He lived in the Piedmont Student Residence when the Work’s apostolate was taking its first steps in the country. He asked to join Opus Dei on March 19, 1958.

Married and the father of four children, he worked for more than thirty years as an orthopedic surgeon in Drummondville, Quebec. His prestige enabled him to ensure that the hospital where he worked cared for the sick in accord with Christian morality. He carried out an extensive apostolate among his patients (one of whom is now a priest of the Prelature), as well as with his colleagues and friends.

He was also very active in civic affairs. In the 70’s, for example, he headed a committee that solicited the help of many public and private organisms to clean up the river that runs through Drummondville. He continued working until a few weeks before being hospitalized to undergo chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

He was president of various foundations that assisted the apostolates of Opus Dei. He lived his vocation faithfully, and was an example to other Supernumeraries with his constant smile and great determination to fulfill his apostolic assignments.

He died in Montreal on October 30, 2007.

Inside Opus Dei's world headquarters

2009-07-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Robert Moynihan in Inside the Vatican

In 2006, when The Da Vinci Code was released as a film, some high Church officials strongly objected to it because it was based on the idea that Jesus married and fathered children and because it depicted Opus Dei, a recognized Prelature within the Catholic Church, as a murderous cult.

====================

Poor Dan Brown! He completely missed the story!

In his novels The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, he depicts Opus Dei (the Latin words mean "the work of God") as a world-spanning, secret, sinister organization, and the Vatican as impenetrable, mysterious, and dangerous.

After leafing through the books, I wondered this afternoon what I might encounter as I rang the doorbell at #75 viale Bruno Buozzi, the world headquarters of Opus Dei.

The building's walls were tall and white, constructed of large blocks of what seemed to be travertine marble; the doorway seemed oddly small.

A woman answered.

"Come around the corner to via di Villa Sacchetti," she said. "The first door you come to on the left..."

Did Dan Brown ever go to Opus Dei headquarters? It wouldn't have been difficult... It's in Parioli, a wealthy Roman neighborhood just a mile or so out from Piazza del Popolo.

I went there today with my old friend, Richard Mileti, a retired Catholic historian from Cleveland, Ohio (he has been visiting Rome for a couple of days).

As soon as we reached the door, a receptionist opened the door, poked her head out, and greeted us.

"We'd like to visit the tomb of St. Josemaria," I said. "And we would like to talk to someone about Opus Dei and Dan Brown's book, Angels and Demons. Is that possible?"

"Yes, of course," the receptionist said.

We were guided to a small waiting room, and the receptionist told us we would soon be joined by a guide who would show us around the headquarters.

I looked around the little room. It seemed a bit dark, so I went to open what seemed to be a window in the back corner. But when I opened the window, there was just a 4-inch recession, then a blank wall, with a fluorescent bulb to illuminate the room through the glass.

Then there was a sound and a motion at the door, and a young woman entered the room.

"Hi," she said, in English. "I am Claudia. I can try to answer any questions you have, and I will show you around."

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"I am from Guatemala."

"And are you a member of Opus Dei?"

"Yes, I am a numerary. Do you know what that is?"

"Yes," I said. "You have taken a vow never to marry."

"Not precisely a vow," she said, laughing a bit bashfully. "I have made a commitment."

Claudia was a lovely young woman with raven-black hair and olive skin and bark eyes. She was poised and polite.

"Have you heard of the book Angels and Demons?" I asked.

"Who hasn't?" she said, and laughed again.

"What do you think of it?" I asked.

"I haven't read it."

I asked Claudia how old she was.

"I just turned 24," she said.

I asked how she came to join Opus Dei, what had attracted her.

"I met some members of The Work in my country," she answered. "I was so struck by their overflowing sense of having a meaning and purpose in their lives, that I began to want to spend more and more time with them. I began to meet with them. I began to discuss with them, and ask questions of them. And after a while it was clear to me that I had a vocation. This vocation..."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "How did you know?"

"I sensed, deep inside, that there was a love and a meaning which responded to my own deepest longings, and I wanted to be close to that love and meaning. It was an attraction that I felt, like a magnet, like a warm fire in winter-time, when your hands are cold, and you stretch out your hands toward the fire. I was warmed by what I loved, by words and prayers and songs and contemplation, and the more I drew close to what I loved, the more right and complete I felt, and so I decided to continue on this journey, wherever it leads, to the end."

We discussed our schedule for the afternoon: we would go down to the tomb of the saint, visit the chapel where he is buried, then try to reach the Opus Dei spokesman, Manuel Sanchez.

"But let me get another person to come with us, because I am rather new here," Claudia said. "Someone who may be more qualified to answer any question you have."

She left the room. I turned to Richard. "Well?" I said.

"Hey," he said, "what do you want me to say? She's an angel..."

===============================

When Claudia came back, she brought with her a slightly older woman, who said her name was Rosario.

"In Italy, it would be Rosaria, but it is Rosario in Spanish," she said. "I am from Madrid."

Rosario seemed extraordinarily refined. Her hands and fingers moved when she spoke, and her grey eyes observed us attentively and with evident intelligence.

"A second angel," Richard said.

We went out of the reception room and started down four flights of steps -- down, down, down, down. I think we must have been 60 feet under the level of the street.

We came to a small chapel, where we saw an altar and, in a glass case against the wall, a figure of a beautiful woman lying with her hands folded upon her chest and her feet in sandal.

"This is the chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary," Rosario said.

I read the inscription on the side of the altar: "Assumpta est Maria in caelum. Gaudet exercitus angelorum." ("Mary was assumed into heaven. The army of angels rejoices.")

"More angels," I said to Richard.

=======================

.St. Josemaria's tomb is at the front of a small chapel called the chapel of Santa Maria della Pace (St. Mary of Peace). (Photo, me standing in front of the tomb.)

His body has been moved there from its original resting place nearby, where two large words are still written on the center of the flat stone, though Escriva's body is no longer there: "El Padre" — "The Father."

The stone now covers the body of Bishop Alvaro del Portillo (1914-1994), St. Josemaría’s first successor at the head of Opus Dei.)

When I entered the chapel, I knelt for a moment in front of the saint's tomb, on his feast day.

(Once, some years ago, when my second son, Luke, fell and hit his head while playing soccer, causing a concussion and a terrible bloody eye, I chose to say a prayer to St. Josemaria — saying to myself, "I need a tough saint for this task" — that Luke might not lose his eye, or have brain damage. And when the doctor came back, after two hours of tests, he said, "I'm quite surprised, but it looks like there will be no permanent damage whatsoever.")

Rosario nodded to me.

"Here is something you should see," she said.

She indicated a small niche in the very back of the chapel. What was there? Swords? Yes, some 60 swords were hung up in rows on both sides of the niche, like an emergency arsenal...

"Why?" I asked.

"These are the swords of all those military men who entered Opus Dei, and gave up their swords in order to show symbolically that they wished only to work for peace."

The blades glistened in the cabinet, behind a glass window. There were even some daggers there.

In the front of the case was a small box containing a gilded flower, a rose, made out of wood.

"What's this?" I asked Rosario.

"Ah," she said. "There is a story behind that rose.

"In 1936, with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Fr Escriva went into hiding in Madrid. Eventually, to escape persecution, he left the city, persuaded by his followers. On November 21, 1937, he spent the night in a small room in a ruined church and spent the night in prayer, not sure whether he should go forward or back.

"That night, he asked for a sign from God. He asked that our Lady would give him a rose if God wanted him to continue.

"The next morning, Fr Escriva left the room. When he returned, he held a gilded wooden rose in is hand — this rose. And so he kept going."

I listened,

Then Rosario added: "In 1936, when the militia sacked the church, they had torn down the wooden altarpiece and carried it outside to burn. But the rose, part of the frame of roses encircling the image of Our Lady of the Rosary, survived. Fr Escriva saw it as the sign he had requested."

====================

Just at that moment, an important Vatican official whom I have known for many years entered the chapel. I waited, but the official did not turn toward me or see me. So I asked Rosario to go up to the prelate, and ask if I could speak with him at the back of the chapel.

She did so, and he came with her.

We greeted each other, and spoke about the strange coincidence of meeting just then in the chapel of St. Josemaria.

"I just felt this morning that I should come here today," I told him.

"So did I," he replied.

And then I asked him about the Ecclesia Dei Commission document, which is much on my mind, as I wrote on Thursday.

"Why has it still not been published, though it has been finished for some time?" I asked.

"It isn't yet finished," he said, without emotion.

=====================

Rosario and I looked at the eight doors around the edges of a room next to the chapel.

"Where do all these doors lead to?" I asked. I wondered if there might be some underground passageways...

Rosario opened one door: a closet.

"What about that one?" I asked.

She opened it.

There was only a wall there. But on the wall was painted, in perspective, a long corridor leading far away. If you looked at the painting without realizing it was a painting, it seemed like you were looking down a 100-yard passageway.

"That's pretty bizarre," I said.

"It's just a false doorway," Rosario said, laughing. "Just for fun."

===================

Richard and I walked back up the stairs with Rosario and Claudia, and we sat for a moment in the reception room where we had begun our visit.

A young African woman poked her head in the door.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Jennifer," she said. "I am from Nariobi, Kenya." She laughed, for no reason. Her dark skin, bright smile and flashing eyes lit up the room. She was like a lightning bolt in human form.

I asked her how she had come to join Opus Dei, and what she thought of the book Angels and Demons, and she said: "Look, people are interested in different things. Dan Brown was evidently interested in earning a lot of money. Ordinary people are easy to deceive. Just tell them a tall tale, and they will believe it, even if it is a complete fabrication.

"But my focus is a different one. I'm here in Rome to study canon law, and I don't want to be distracted from that. So I've never even read that book. If it says things about Opus Dei that aren't true, I'm sorry. But I have set my life in a certain direction. I'm like a woman who has fallen in love and knows she wants to marry a certain man. I want to give my entire life to Christ.

"And I think that the best way I can defend Opus Dei, and the Church, is simply to live my life in complete abandonment to God's will, so that my example outweighs any slander anyone may invent — if that is even the case. I am focused on the positive, not the negative. My eyes are set on the goal, and I don't want to take them off that goal, because I want to get there."

Richard looked at me, marveling at the eloquence and poise of the young lady.

"Another angel," he said.

========================

Richard and I walked down the hill to the the Basilica of Sant'Eugenio for the evening Mass in honor of St. Josemaria. The basilica was completely filled, leaving standing room only to the very back of the church.

The novels of Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, have depicted Opus Dei as a very powerful but sinister force in the world.

But Brown has somehow seen demons where there are angels. This is puzzling. Has he also seen angels where there are demons?

In front of the Church, the Opus Dei spokesman, Manuel Sanchez, was waiting. He is from Granada, Spain, in the far south, near the Rock of Gibraltar.

"I am looking for angels and demons," I said to Manuel. "Dan Brown says they can be found in Opus Dei. What do you think?"

"That's easy," Sanchez said. "The angels and demons are in each one of us."

Mode of Dress

2009-06-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

By Right Said Red in Building Cathedrals.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Real Opus Dei

2009-06-26T22:59:00.000-07:00

By Peter Bancroft in Jesus Decoded

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

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

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

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

Teachings of St. Josemaria in an African context

2009-06-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

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

Published originally on www.stjosemariaescriva.info

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The teaching we should follow

2009-06-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

Josemaria Escriva, ‘the saint of the ordinary’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A saint to heal our country

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

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

Saint of the Ordinary

2009-06-25T19:07:00.000-07:00

By aldrich in Her Loyal Son

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

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

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

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

Fun fact for my fellow philatelists:

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

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

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

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

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

A family that works together to the glory of God

2009-06-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The warmth is wonderful

2009-06-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

By Joan M answering a question in Catholic Answers Forum

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Schedules of members of Opus Dei

2009-06-22T20:02:00.002-07:00

By Margaret answering a question at Catholic Answers Forum

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

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

It makes me very happy

2009-06-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

By Oli in her profile at Superduper.

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

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

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

2009-06-16T22:26:00.000-07:00

By John Allen, Jr. in Opus Dei

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

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

“In Opus Dei life is usually very easy, but it can become very hard if you don’t pray,” Andreu said. “When you are down, maybe temptations come more easily” That temptation, Andreu said, came in the form of a young woman. At a moment of low self-esteem and spiritual emptiness, he said, not to mention exhaustion from overwork, it was an attraction too powerful to resist. He and the young woman began an affair. In a spirit of honesty he told the director at his center what was going on. Rather than casting him out, the director suggested that he take a sabbatical to sort out what he wanted to do. (...) Eventually, he said, he decided to write a formal letter declaring his intention to leave. “That’s the honest thing to do, because there are people who disappear and do not come back,” Andreu said.(...) Today he is in a serious relationship that may be heading toward marriage, and is also a cooperator of Opus Dei.

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

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

Opus Dei founder gets 'The Mission' treatment

2009-06-09T00:38:00.000-07:00

By Austen Ivereigh in America Magazine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A gift of discerning people through love

2009-05-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

By Andre Frossard, from documentary film Divine Paths of the Earth

I never met Msgr. Escriva.

I only knew him by hearsay, from what people in Opus Dei told me.

Then I saw the film of a gathering with Msgr. Escriva. He was walking up and down, and there was a huge number of people of all ages: children and their parents, men, women, old people.

And what surprised me especially was the sort of euphoric feeling in the room. I mean you could see the radiant faces of people who were clearly happy to be there, to be gathered around that man. And he looked just like the father of many children who didn’t often get the chance to see him, and were taking advantage of that gathering to bring up all sorts of little personal problems. The questions really were not that important: it was the spirit they were asked in.

I could see that Msgr. Escriva had a special gift of discerning people, through charity. The love he had for them, visibly, shone light for him on their personal case, so that the answers he gave to their questions in public, touched on their small inner problems, their inmost problems of conscience, you could see that.

Generally speaking, when someone asks a question at a large gathering, it gives rise to some general considerations. But there, there was an answer which was helpful for everyone there, but also a little something that was addressed directly to the questioner.

Women of Opus Dei: In Their Own Words

2009-05-27T00:32:00.000-07:00

By Publisher's Weekly in Amazon.com

The Catholic group Opus Dei (Latin for work of God) emerges in this compact collection of essays and interviews as an entity that gives its female members a deep sense of purpose amid ordinary and extraordinary circumstances. Whether they are stay-at-home mothers or professionals in academia and business, these women tell of lives changed by their faith and what they commonly refer to as the Work.

Opus Dei members, according to founder St. Josemaría Escrivá, aspire to be contemplative souls in the midst of the world who try to convert their work into prayer. They do this through offering their work to Christ and following a spiritual regimen of daily prayer and regular theological development programs.

Excerpts from Escrivá's writings and an explanation of the group's structure help fill out the selected narratives. Readers looking for the kind of intrigue found in The Da Vinci Code's treatment of this group won't find it here, but they will get an honest appraisal from women who know Opus Dei from the inside out.

Other Comments in Amazon:

By LEE: I almost didn't finish this book. I had gotten close to the end and then was distracted by another project. Last night I couldn't sleep, so I picked it up as easy reading to try to lull myself back to sleep, thinking, well, now's a good time to finish this book. My God, I'm glad I did.

Kudos to the editors for including Margaret Kalb's Changing Diapers for God. I was downstairs at 3:30 AM this morning laughing my head off! There are many inspiring stories of diverse and unique women that really make you think, but in my opinion, Margaret's takes the cake. Specifically, I think she best describes the fact that heroism is not found in always being perfect and doing everything perfectly like many moms and wives think. Instead, heroism is found in always "beginning again." Thanks Margaret for sharing your sincerity and charm.

The Price, and the Hurt, of Discipleship

2009-05-15T03:55:00.000-07:00

By Richard John Neuhaus in his book Appointment in Rome: The Church in America Awakening, an account of the Synod of America of 1999.

As has happened in earlier centuries, new movements arise to challenge what they view as the stultifying of the call to radical Christian discipleship. Also as in earlier centuries, such movements stir controversy. Opus Dei in particular, but by no means alone, is the object of regular attack in books and articles. There is a whole genre of literature generated by people who claim to have been connected to these movements and then for one reason or another, to become bitterly disillusioned. Some of this literature is sober criticism, and some of it comparable to classic anti-Catholic polemics such as Maria Monk’s Awful Disclosures of the Hotel Dieu Nunnery of Montreal, first published in 1836 and still being reprinted today.

There no surprise in the fact that some people have been hurt and disillusioned-in part because movements that demand radical commitment attract also the psychologically and spiritually unstable; in part because the failure to meet the standards set by the community can be grievous disappointment; in part because members and leaders of renewal movements, like all of us, are sinners and sometimes treat people shabbily.

Opus Dei and other groups are frequently accused of being, interalia, authoritarian, sexist secretive, and elite. Judged by the dominant standards of a largely secularized culture, they are beyond reasonable doubt guilty as charge. A society that cannot distinguish between authoritarianism and the acknowledgment of what is authoritative is scandalized by people who understand the whole of their lives in terms of obedience to the lordship of Christ in accord with the rules of a community of obedience. The recognition of difference and complementarily between male and female is likewise deeply offensive to prevailing cultural canons. And there is almost unavoidably a tone of secretiveness that attends a powerful group identity, a sense of belonging to “us” as distinct from “them” – a sense greatly intensified by the hostility of “them.” As of elitism, what is the point of paying such a steep to belong to a group unless one believes it is the best?

All that being said, I am impressed that those whom I know in these movements are, for the most part, keenly aware of the conventional criticisms and are eager to counter them. Against the charge of authoritarianism, they accent the freedom of life in response to commanding truth. From being sexist, they strive to demonstrate mutual respect between men and women who know they are wondrously different. Against secretiveness, they enjoin upon the members an openness and invitational eagerness to share what they have found. Against elitism, they espouse a humility that underscores the truth that, whatever they have found and whatever they have achieved, it is the grace of God from the beginning to end. They seek, they survive, they enjoin, they espouse, and they often fail. It is a wonder that anybody should be surprise at that.

In some cases, there is the undeniable hurt felt by parents and families; in others, inexpressible gratitude that sons or daughters have found the purpose for which they were born. As a priest, I have encountered both reactions. For families, and especially for parents, there is a painful “letting go” of someone who has been claimed by greater devotion, much as Mary proved her discipleship in releasing Jesus to his mission. In what are called the culture wars of our time, Christians frequently declare themselves to be “pro-family”, but true Christianity sharply relativizes the natural bond of the family. The gospels are replete with the invitations of Jesus to leave all and follow him. “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and land, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29 – 30).

“With persecutions” is a nice touch. Through the centuries there has also been family resistance to those who respond to the call to radical discipleship. Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, Ignatius of Loyola, and innumerable others had to overcome the vigorous opposition of their families. Youthful passion is perceived as madness, and zeal of a vision of what might be possible is derided as fanaticism. Not for nothing are so many movements of renewal built around young people; not for nothing did Jesus say we must become as little children, or end up living and partly living lives that have displaced the possible with the practical. Movements that do not demand do not attract; movements that are incapable of scandalizing are incapable of renewing. They become, as Jesus said, salt that has lost its savor, good for nothing.

And I think again of Ratzinger’s words in Salt of the Earth:

In our time the reforms will definitely not come from forums and synods, though these have their legitimacy, sometimes even their necessity. Reforms will come from convincing personalities whom we may call saints... If society in its totality is no longer a Christian environment, just as it was not in the first four or five centuries, the Church herself must form cells in which mutual support and a common journey, and thus the great vital milieu of the Church in miniature, can be experienced and put into practice.

Placing ourself in the scene

2009-05-11T03:44:00.000-07:00

By Dave Miller in Dave's Books. Dave Miller is a software developer.

I've been reading more in this book about a basic plan for growth in the spiritual life. Boylan lays out three basic needs: reading, reflection, and prayer.

Reading is to learn more about our Lord and Savior; when we love someone, we want to know more about them, and we love our Lord more than our own lives! Plus, there is so much sentimental and malicious distortion of His life and teachings that it takes some time to root out our built-in misconceptions and replace them with the wonderful truth. Reading should be done every day, at least ten to fifteen minutes worth. We should read carefully, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Reflection is to prayerfully consider what we have read, to turn it over in our minds, discuss it with Our Lord, and drive it deep into our subconscious. Reflection is how we root out the misconceptions and lies I mentioned above, and plant the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Prayer is conversation with God, recalling Him to our mind and placing ourselves in His presence. We should get used to talking with Him from time to time throughout the day, and practice being aware of His presence. The phrase I use is "practicing the presence of God"; taking a few moments to become of aware of Him and recall Him to my mind.

All of these are closely intertwined. Reading can be a form of prayer, and many people mix in reflection during their prayer time. All three of them combined into a daily practice will have a singular effect: to make us Christ-centered, to put Him at the center of lives and thoughts. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, used to say that we should be able to close our eyes and mentally play back scenes from our Savior's life, placing ourself in the scene. I often picture myself in the crowd when Christ was passing by. Reading, reflection, and prayer is what allows us to bury such scenes and images so deep into our souls that we can close our eyes at any time and find ourselves crying out for Jesus, like the tax collector that climbed the sycamore tree to see Him.

St. Joseph the Worker

2009-05-04T00:41:00.000-07:00

By Ron and Lou in Contemplations. They are both from Regnum Christi.

This is a great preface I found on Universalis.com about today's feast of St Joseph. Christ has sanctified our work, just as he has sanctified the waters of Baptism as long as it is done in the name of God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Today we celebrate the feast of St Joseph the Worker, step-father and guardian of our Lord and the chaste husband of the Virgin Mary. We celebrate the worker, offering the work of his hands to God. No matter what we do, whether cook or carpenter, banker or baker, if we offer our work to God, He will sanctify it. We can all strive for sainthood in our work day.

I have long admired St Josemaria Escriva and his life's passion Opus Dei (The Work of God). I have included a message from the Prelate at the end of this post.

The feast of Saint Joseph the Worker is not a mere Catholic copying of the Communist First of May – any more than Christmas is a mere copy of the pagan feast of Saturnalia.

The Christian view of work is diametrically opposed to the materialist view. A worker such as St Joseph is not a mere lump of labour – “1.00 human work units.” He is a person. He is created in God’s own image, and just as creation is an activity of God, so creation is an activity of the worker. The work we do echoes the glorious work that God has done. It may not be wasted; or abused; or improperly paid; or directed to wrong or pointless ends. To do any of these things is not oppression, it is sacrilege. The glory of the present economic system is when it gives so many, of whatever class, the chance to build and create something worthwhile, whether from their own resources, or in collaboration with others, or by attracting investment from others. But its shame is when that does not happen: when people are coerced, by greed or by poverty, into being “lumps of labour.” Whether the labour is arduous or not makes no difference; whether it is richly paid or not makes no difference.

Because she must combat the anti-humanist Communist heresy the Church is sometimes thought to be on the side of capital. Reading the successive Papal encyclicals on labour and society, from Rerum Novarum (1891) onwards, will soon dispel that illusion. The enemies of the Church have no reason to read them; all too often we feel too comfortable in our present economic state and refrain from reading them also.

MESSAGE OF THE DAY - From Opus Dei
“Your human vocation is a part of your divine vocation”

As Jesus, who is our Lord and Model, grows in and lives as one of us, he reveals to us that human life - your life - and its humdrum, ordinary business, have a meaning which is divine, which belongs to eternity. (The Forge, 688)

Christian faith and calling affect our whole existence, not just a part of it. Our relations with God necessarily demand giving ourselves, giving ourselves completely. The man of faith sees life, in all its dimensions, from a new perspective: that which is given us by God.

You, who celebrate with me today this feast of St Joseph, are men who work in different human professions; you have your own homes, you belong to so many different countries and have different languages. You have been educated in lecture halls or in factories and offices. You have worked in your profession for years, established professional and personal friendships with your colleagues, helped to solve the problems of your companies and your communities.

Well then: I remind you once again that all this is not foreign to God’s plan. Your human vocation is a part — and an important part — of your divine vocation. That is the reason why you must strive for holiness, giving a particular character to your human personality, a style to your life; contributing at the same time to the sanctification of others, your fellow men; sanctifying your work and your environment: the profession or job that fills your day, your home and family and the country where you were born and which you love. (Christ is passing by, 46)

Sofia in Spain

2009-05-04T00:33:00.000-07:00

By Sofia in Sofia in Spain!

We left Pamplona for Rome on the 3rd of April and as the bus pulled out of the parking lot we prepared ourselves for a 24-hour trip on the bus. I was part of the Larrabide group, we were ten: me, Larri, ShanShan, Marina, Emilia, Patri, Isabel, Elisa, Teresa and Clara. But we were part of a much larger group, which was composed of practically all the women in the University of Navarra (and from Pamplona) that were going to Rome.

We started the trip off with a prayer, of course, and then passed around some gummies. Bad idea; I ate too much and spent the next two hours with a stomach-ache. Fortunately, we stopped soon after that at a gas station in the border of France.

The trip went smoothly from there. We watched a film, I read a little, and stopped a few hours later for dinner. We watched another film afterwards but I fell asleep in the middle. When I woke up we were in Italy already! The hours passed by and the journey didn’t feel too tiring. We stopped one last time at another gas station for lunch. We arrived at our lodging a little after five. It was really one day of travelling!

The place that we were staying in was on the east of Rome, way opposite the Vatican. The buses that took us here stayed with us the whole time though. They brought us to the Vatican in the morning and back home in the evening. We had bought a one-week metro ticket so we could use the metro, bus, and tram throughout the day, throughout the week.

The UNIV

We were in Rome as UNIV participants. “UNIV is an international gathering of university students, which since 1968 the Institute for University Cooperation (ICU) sponsors in Rome. Each year, several thousand students spend Holy Week in Rome, profiting from the cultural and historical riches that the Eternal City has to offer. “

The congress itself is only two days and deals with matters relevant to the university. This year’s theme was “Universitas: Knowledge Without Limits.” We attended the congress on Wednesday, and it was interesting enough. Various students gave presentations on the University’s role in a pluralistic society. Marina and her friend, Marta, were chosen (beforehand) to do a presentation on an analysis of the ‘Rosa Blanca.’ Theirs was really good, and not being biased, the best. Aside from the congress, UNIV also provides us with an opportunity to see Rome and explore the pathways of Church history. So for the rest of the week, we were able to visit Churches, tour Rome, attend the masses in the Vatican, etc.

”The first UNIV encounters began thanks to the initiative and impulse of St. Josemaría (founder of Opus Dei). For the past four decades, scores of students and professors have expanded their cultural horizons through their contact with the international environment present in the heart of Christianity and thanks to the special audiences granted by Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI to the Univ participants.”

Opus Dei Gatherings

On Monday and Friday we were able to attend two ‘get-togethers’ with the Padre or Father of Opus Dei. He is the Bishop who is the head of the Opus Dei. It was a very casual talk and he imparted on me many enlightening things. Before the end of each talk, five pre-decided women were able to personally ask a question to the Father. (Due to Opus Dei practices, the get-togethers are separate for men and women.) They shared a short something on their lives and then asked their question. The Father then answered their question, but the audience was also able to take something from it. Though I am not a member of the Opus Dei, I was able to take something from these meetings, including a better understanding of this group.
In celebration of Holy Week

On Palm Sunday morning (which was also World Youth Day) we headed to St. Peter’s Square to attend mass. We weren’t able to get seats, but we were okay. The mass lasted until about twelve.

On Thursday we had mass, not at the Vatican, but at another church organized by the UNIV. After the mass we had pizza for dinner which we ate by the steps of a fountain in Piazza del Popolo. Afterwards we started our Visita Iglesia, the Christian tradition of visiting seven churches to worship Christ. It was a very beautiful night, and I actually enjoyed walking through the streets more at this time of the day.

On Good Friday, we first went to the Scala Santa (Holy Staircase). These steps are traditionally the steps Christ walked up on his way to trial before Pontius Pilate, and could only be ascended on the knees! These marble steps, which are now covered with wood to protect them, were brought to Rome by Saint Helena (mother of the Emperor Constantine) who dedicated her life to collecting relics from the Passion of Christ. It was a tough climb and I prayed the rosary with Patri and ShanShan while climbing up. For the evening we were able to get tickets for the mass inside the Basilica. This mass was kind of new to me, because I couldn’t remember this mass at all.

We didn’t do anything on Saturday afternoon so as not too tire ourselves out before the Easter Vigil. For the Easter Vigil we were again able to get tickets for the mass inside the Basilica. When the mass started, the lights of the church were turned off, save a few backlights from behind the statues. And during the Gloria part, when all the lights came on, it was beautiful. The celebration was really nice though I’ll admit I got sleepy during the Pope’s thirty-minute homily!

We were busy packing on Sunday afternoon so we attended mass at our lodging instead. Before we left for Pamplona, we passed by St. Peter’s Square to receive the final blessing from the Pope. As he ended, the Pope greeted Happy Easter to the people in many different languages including Tagalog; “Maligayang pagkabuhay ni Kristo!”
Audiences with the Pope

We had two audiences with the Pope. The first one we had was on Monday and was exclusively for the Spanish people, mainly because of the group from Madrid that was picking up the Cross for the World Youth Day which will next be held in Madrid in 2011. We arrived outside the gates at nine where we squeezed our way near the front and waited for nearly an hour. The security came at ten, and we were let in. There was a lot of running at this point, with the guards telling us to ‘Please, slow down!’ We would slow down our pace at their words but then start running again the moment we passed them. We made it inside the building and were able to get decent seats a few rows from the font. Once everyone had saved their seats with their bags, there was a rush to stand near the barriers of the aisle, in hopes of touching Pope Benedict’s hand as He passed. It was more long waiting, and as more Spanish people came, the atmosphere got more festive. There were musical chants, cheers and songs. After, well a very long time, one of the Bishops on the stage took the mike and announced that the Spanish people were rude and to return to our seats because the Pope would not pass by the aisle, except in nicer and longer words. In defeat, everyone settled down and went back to their seats. A minute later, in true Spanish fashion, the cheering resumed. But really, can you blame them? The Pope finally came in at 11 and there was much cheering. He started off his speech, but it must have taken him five minutes to say the first few sentences because the audience would clap and cheer after every pause.

The second audience we had with the Pope was a general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday. His message was mostly about preparing ourselves for the Holy Triduum. After the message which was in Italian, he went on to greet the German pilgrims in German, Spanish pilgrims in Spanish, French in French, English in English, then Italian in Italian.
Sightseeing and Churches

Our first sightseeing stop was the Coliseum which we visited on Sunday. After the Coliseum we stopped awhile at the Arco then headed in to the Foro Romano. The Foro Romano was really impressive! It’s hard to imagine that these ruins were once the centre of all busy-doings in Rome.

On Monday we visited the church Sta. Maria Maggiore. Befote going to the Opus Dei Get-together, we also passed by the Piazza del Popolo, and relaxed on the steps of Piazza Spagna.

We spent Tuesday morning in the Vatican City. First we visited the tombs of Pope John Paul II and St. Peter. Afterwards, we visited the Basilica itself, which took up a good deal of the morning. The Basilica was huge, much bigger than I imagined, and each niche and corner had its own interesting story.

We visited the Panteon before lunch then had lunch in Piazza Navona. We passed by two small, yet interesting, churches and then headed to the Trevi Fountain. We had our pictures taken then threw our coins in and made a wish.

On Wednesday we visited Santa Croce en Gerusalenne (Holy Cross in Jerusalem). This church was really interesting. It was built by the Emperor Constantine to house the relics from the passion that his mother Saint Helene had brought back from the Holy Land. Among the relics in the church are the tablet with the inscription “INRI,” a piece of the True Cross, one of the nails, two pieces of thorn from the ‘crown of thorns.’ Also there are a large slab of wood from the cross of the Good Thief and the finger of the Apostle Thomas, who upon his disbelief in the risen Christ, put his finger through the holes in Christ’s palm.

We also visited San Juan de Letran, which was a beautiful church and considered to be ‘the mother of all churches.’ It is the oldest and first of the four major basilicas of Rome.

We spent Thursday morning visiting the various Vatican Museums. After lunch, we walked around and stumbled upon a beautiful park and lake. Some took a boat ride on the lake, while I and the others rested. A little later it started to rain so we walked to the church where we would be hearing mass.

On Saturday morning we visited San Juan de Letran Extramuros. As its name states, the church was outside the walls of Rome. It was a huge and beautiful church. It is one of the four churches considered to be the great ancient basilicas of Rome. It was founded by Constantine I and is built over the burial place of Saint Paul.

All the churches had so much history and great stories behind them, that I can’t share it all here! Rome is really a wonderful city and well worth the trip.

Though I had visited Rome before in the summer, I had a much better trip this time around. I was more relaxed not having to plan out my itineraries or be the one to worry over the map. I learned so much more about Christian history, and all the churches I visited seemed more beautiful. Of course, it was Holy Week and it was much more spiritually rewarding, especially getting to see the Pope. Mostly, I had a great time because I was with my friends, just talking or laughing at the silliest things were enough to make me content. Along with eating pasta, pizza and gelatto, taking pictures, my UNIV experience in Rome was unforgettable.

You aren’t interested in taking our money?

2009-05-04T00:11:00.000-07:00

By Begoña in Robert Steven Duncan. Begoña couldn’t understand why God had allowed her brother to fall into a coma. After undergoing a conversion in her own life, she brought her new-found faith and happiness to many other people. Here is her story:

A few years ago my 28-year-old brother suddenly fell sick with a grave illness. He was in a coma for more than a month. During those long days the thought kept coming to me that God had no right to afflict him that way. I rebelled against it.

Until then my life had revolved around friends, work and family. But I still felt unfulfilled. Something was lacking. I considered myself a practicing Catholic, but after my own fashion.

In the hospital I began praying to our Lady. I couldn’t remember how to say the Rosary. So I just said "the first mystery" and prayed an Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and the Glory Be. Then "the second mystery," and so on. On one of those days, I found myself unexpectedly inside a church in front of a confessional. I started talking to the priest. When I came out, I had been transformed. From that moment, my life has taken a 180-degree turn.

God was looking for me. He found me, and here I am. Some time later I asked for admission to Opus Dei as a supernumerary. Although I was afraid to take that step, it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

I am a lawyer in Salamanca, a city I like a lot. I’m married and have one child. That’s my world. And I know I’m here for a reason: to love my husband and son, to help others and bring them to God.

I’ve often asked myself how I could help others where I am. And I found the answer in the people I meet in my work. For example, Estrella and her husband are penniless and he suffers from AIDS; they’re homeless. Several friends and I found them a suitable place to stay and enough financial assistance to live decently. I remember how Estrella prayed every day to "my Jesus my life" and her joy on receiving Holy Communion after many years and a difficult life away from the faith.

"Many great things depend on whether you and I live as God wants," St. Josemaria says in The Way. How true! We have to do what we should and put ourselves into what we do. That’s the lamp that began to guide my steps—at work, at home, everywhere. Since I started struggling to put God at the center of my life, I’m much calmer and happier, and accomplish a lot more. And "crazy" ideas come to me about telling others about it. I do so during coffee breaks with friends, at the bus stop with other mothers, and with people at work.

I try to ensure that everyone who comes to my law office leaves feeling encouraged. St. Josemaría said that we Christians should be "an intravenous injection in the bloodstream of society." As a lawyer, I try not only to defend my clients and resolve their disputes, but to listen and advise—and speak about God. All this helps to sanctify me, and besides I have a good time.

On top of my desk I keep a small image of our Lady. Once, as a new client was leaving, she told me as I accompanied her to the door: "I’m at ease because you have a good guide"—referring to that picture—"to help you solve my problem." That gave me a chance to talk with her about some other things.

Another day, a couple came in seeking a divorce. They told me there were "insurmountable" problems and a lot of anger. We started to work on a contract to arrive at the terms, such as care and custody of the children, alimony, etc. After talking at length with me about these matters for several days, they came to the decision that it would be better to try to start over together. The husband asked me, "But you aren’t interested in taking our money?" Some time has now gone by, and they are still together.

I speak to clients about Confession, Holy Mass, marriage, etc. without apology or human respect, with the same naturalness as commenting on the weather, politics, or any other current topic. This has led to many new friendships. Some months ago a couple came to me for help regarding an inheritance. As we spoke about it and about life in general, they told me about their twenty years together and their two children, now grown, and mentioned that they had never married. Yesterday they invited me to their wedding. All of this gives me many reasons to thank God every day for letting me be his instrument in the lives of these people.

Another of my activities is moderating a radio program on legal matters. Its purpose is to give listeners accurate information, to offer solutions for those who call in with problems, and to make it clear that lawyers see their clients as human beings who need assistance, and not simply as a source of income. Every possible topic comes up: euthanasia, marriage, neighborhood covenants, leases… A few days ago the topic was abortion. One listener located my office and brought me a sack of tomatoes from his garden in appreciation for the way I had handled the topic. How good they tasted!

My new outlook on life has also affected my family. We’re learning that work, study, any effort is a means God has given us to grow in the human virtues that are essential if we are to gain a place in heaven after we die. And we’re coming to understand that when God does anything it’s for a reason.

Under my own stream

2009-04-27T23:49:00.000-07:00

By Sarah, a nose flautist who lives in Maryland, in Ora et Labora

Now, who on earth is ever going to say to God, "No, Lord, let me do it?" Uff da! The thought!

However, we are all at fault for behaving that way to God one time or another. If it's habitual, there is really a problem. I am writing these words for all of us to think about how we treat The One (God, not Obama, duh!) Who gave us everything.

In reading the reflection in In Conversation with God by Francis Fernandez (volume 2) for the second week of Easter - Friday, I stumbled across another nugget of wisdom. Let's visit the passage from Acts 5:38-39. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this undertaking is of men it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!

This clearly means: God wins. You better pick your side.

Then the reflection talks about the five loaves and the five thousand being fed. The Lord asks us to give to Him what we have. It may be very little, it may be more than others, but to give it is the work needed to generate His power. We can hand him the little we have (five loaves, our daily life, simple prayer, suffering in silence . . . ) as He is counting on us to will it into His service for the blessings to occur. The whole premise is to not wait until you have means or not, but to do something and give something. God can do wondrous things with nothing (the nothingness of our being - even if we feel our nothingness is meaningless, it is not). Our nothing is our surrender and surrendering is a big gift of trust and faith.

St. Josemaria Escriva (from Furrow, 123): Do you see? With him you could do it. Why are you surprised? Be convinced: there is nothing to be surprised about. If you trust in God - really trust - things work out easily. And, what is more, you always go further than you imagined you could.

It is good and right that you should work things out . . . but put God first in the equation. You can count on being blessed.

Serving others is its own reward

2009-04-17T05:09:00.000-07:00

By Msgr. Fred Dolan in National Post. Msgr. Frederick Dolan is Vicar of Opus Dei for Canada. After several years in the business world as a sales representative and a stockbroker, he pursued graduate studies at Harvard Business School. In 1980 Msgr. Dolan moved to Rome where he completed his doctoral studies in philosophy. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1983. Msgr. Dolan served as a chaplain at a student residence in South Bend, Indiana, and later worked with high-school students in the Bronx and college students at Yale University.

Before his appointment as Vicar, Msgr. Dolan was the Chancellor of the Curia of the Prelature in Rome from 1992 to 1998.He is based in Montreal at 1380 Pine Avenue West, H3G 1A8.

My father, freshly arrived from Maryland, sat in his hotel room placing batteries into a flashlight as diligently as a boot camp recruit loading a rifle under a drill sergeant's stare.

Assured there would be light, he twizzled with companion gizmos he'd just bought: jumper cables, crampons, a full-blown roadside emergency kit.

"There," he said, finally satisfied, "now you'll be safe."

I had not, until that moment, felt endangered. I am a middle-aged man with decades of university education and professional training behind me. I've lived in Montreal for years, and know its winters well. I am also a Catholic priest. Let us just say I know Who to call for help.

But this man is my father and, on checking into the hotel, he sensed a blizzard in the air. The ink was barely dry on the guest register before we were on our way to Canadian Tire to make sure I had everything I needed to drive and survive in the coming storm.

Was he just being a busybody? Violating "personal boundaries" by interfering in my adult autonomy? Some modern psychologists might say so. They, unfortunately, would be aping the late 19th century's self-declared "psychologist" and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who preached the futility of being concerned with the care and comfort of other human beings.

Nietzsche's creed came down to the declaration that "there is no God, no afterlife, and therefore man is completely on his own." His outlook on life can be summarized as "maximize earthly enjoyment at whatever the cost because that's all there is." Pope Benedict XVI has masterfully summarized Nietzsche's approach as offering only: "a narrow this-worldliness -- with the will to get the most out of the world and what life has to offer now, to seek heaven here and to be uninhibited by any scruples while doing so."

For anyone who has bought into this vision of life, the driving force will be an ideology of power and domination. Such intangible values as generosity and mercy will most likely be scorned.

We don't need to scale the lofty heights of German philosophy to see the damage done by this belief system. We encounter it in our daily lives, for example at work when we hear the boss who barks, "I don't care what or how long it takes, just get it done!" Suddenly, people become merely a means of production, or even obstacles to production, rather than individuals possessing dignity and worthy of respect. Forgotten is the fact that we are not machines but rather human beings who have been created to be happy.

There is, and there always has been, another way -- one that begins and ends with the word "service." Not self-service. Rather, service as a way to recognize the great dignity and worth of those around us.

My father is someone for whom service is one of life's great essentials. Serving others is just a natural reflex for him and others like him. If you are bareheaded when it begins to rain, you may wind up sporting a hat that you wouldn't normally be caught dead wearing in public, but for which you will be infinitely grateful. Trust me. I know.

What my father and his generation taught me is that the greatest happiness of all comes from scratching someone else's back, usually in the spot they just can't quite reach.

A saint of the Catholic Church, Josemaria Escriva, had a favourite Italian expression per servire, servire. The obvious meaning is "To serve, serve." The deeper meaning is "to be useful, serve." The inescapable conclusion of this tidbit of wisdom from the founder of the Catholic organization Opus Dei is that unless I serve others I am of no use to them. Just imagine for a minute what your workplace would be like if your boss discovered that to lead means to serve by discovering and developing the talents of others.

Yet it is not only holy men and practical dads who can serve as reminders of what giving can bring. The Tiger Woods of women's professional golf is a very classy 28-year-old from Mexico by the name of Lorena Ochoa. Each time Lorena arrives at a golf course for a tournament, the first thing she does is shake the hand of each and every Mexican working at the club. It is her way of pointedly acknowledging their dignity.

What my father and his generation taught me is that the greatest happiness of all comes from scratching someone else's back, usually in the spot they just can't quite reach.

Which brings us back to the look of contentment on my father's face as he sat back from assembling my winter-driving survival kit. It was the calm before the storm when he noticed me scratching my ankle.

"What are you doing?" he said "It just itches," I said. "Pharmacy," he said.

And off we went to the drug store, emerging with two king-sized servings of Keri Lotion. It helped, as my father knew it would. Per servire, servire -- truly balm for the world around us.

Relating with God without miracles

2009-04-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My Father's Prayer

2009-04-11T01:56:00.000-07:00

By Beatasum in Catholic Me (I am blessed)

My father was a very devout Catholic. He prayed, on his knees by his bedside every morning and every night. He encouraged me to do the same.
Growing up in the Sixties and Seventies, I was not as prayerful as he would have liked. I had other things on my mind: school, boys, dances, music and other non-religious activities. My father prayed everyday for me, in the hopes that I would one day recognize the need for prayer in my life. It took some time for his prayers to come to fruition, but as an adult I now realize how important prayer is. I still feel that I can improve upon my prayer-life and I am grateful, today, to have come across a card that my dad possessed, upon the back of which he had he typed out his petition.

The prayer itself, is an appeal to God to grant a favour through the intercession of the priest, and founder of the organization Opus Dei.

Spanish priest, Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer died on June 26, 1975, at age 73 and was beatified by Pope John Paull II, in 1992. On October 6, 2002, the Pope canonized him fully as a saint. His Feast Day is June 26 (two days after my birthday).

From an early age, Josemaría Escrivá began carrying a rosary in his pocket and he developed a lifelong love and adoration of the blessed Virgin Mary. He had a special connection to the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe; while alive he remarked about a painting of this Virgin giving a rose to Juan Diego. “I would like to die that way” he said. In fact, his natural death did occur in a room under the painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

I don’t know enough about Opus Dei to argue whether or not accusations about political statements by Josemaría Escrivá are true or not. I do know that Dan Brown uses Opus Dei to great negative effect in his books, so I am inclined to disregard the rumours against it, since Dan Brown is at the top of my list of “useless articles”, as my mother would say.

I know also, that for some reason my dad had a very strong attachment to this particular priest/saint. The card on which the prayer is printed is well-worn by his hands–it is torn and stained and a corner is missing, but the words are still clear and the sentiment rings out.

My father mysteriously crossed out eleven lines at the top of the reverse side of the card. I wish I knew what they had read, but he used a black marker, so he must have been determined that nobody read it. He also crossed out his brother’s name since he had died. The remaining intercession touched me deeply this morning and I am determined to fulfill his intention:

“My deepest wish now as always Lord, is
that Josemaria Escriva in his constant
advocacy before Your Throne, might
deign to include my daughters,
my brother Mick and my
sisters; to plead that they would
retain or redevelop the fullest real-
ization and appreciation of the great
benificence bestowed on them by being
born into the True Faith; to the point
where each of them would resolve again
to nurture, treasure and safeguard it
for the remainder of their earthly
sojourn.”

With all my heart, I thank you Daddy for all your prayers for me.

Beatasum