Opus Dei is a Catholic institution founded by Saint Josemaria. Its mission is to spread the message that everyone can become a saint in their everyday life. Everything that happens to us in our lives are occasions to get closer to God by serving others and improving our society.
So how did it all begin? In 1928, while on a retreat, Saint Josemaria, under divine inspiration, founded Opus Dei. On June 16, 1950, Pius XII granted the definitive approval to Opus Dei. From there, Opus Dei grew all over the world. Opus Dei spread its work in different countries, for example: Germany, Paraguay, New Zealand, Israel and most recently Indonesia, Romania and South Korea. Opus Dei has been known and blessed by the last six popes.
As the Second Vatican Council noted, every baptized person is called to follow Jesus Christ, by living according to the Gospel and making it known to others. The aim of Opus Dei is to contribute to the evangelizing mission of the Church. Opus Dei does so by promoting among Christians of all social classes, a life fully consistent with their faith, while in the midst of the ordinary circumstances of their lives and especially through the sanctification of their work.
One of the main features of the spirit of Opus Dei is divine filiation. “Divine filiation is the foundation of the spirit of Opus Dei,” said its founder, St. Josemaría Escrivá. It means that we are all children of God by the virtue of baptism. It fosters confidence in divine providence and the capacity of having a simple dialogue with God.
“It is in the midst of the most material things of the earth that we must sanctify ourselves, serving God and all mankind,” said St. Josemaría. That means that in all aspects of our life for example: family, work, study – in all our activities, we have the amazing opportunity of serving others and God. At the same time this makes us a better person. It helps us to deal with Christian and human values such as integrity, patience, charity, humility, cheerfulness and so many others.
Another big part of the spirit of Opus Dei is sanctifying daily work. This means to sanctify our work by having a supernatural outlook in the presence of God. It’s important to do things competently and ethically, to the best of our capabilities and with the aim of loving God and serving others. In the end, what matters the most in God’s eyes is the love we put into our work and not our human successes.
The formation given by Opus Dei encourages people to live with the spirit of prayer and sacrifice in the middle of the world while carrying your ordinary daily duties. This all helps in the process of sanctifying our ordinary occupations. To imitate Jesus Christ a few good steps to take would be to pray, to go to Mass, to go to Confession, and also reading and meditating on the Gospel. Also, devotion to our Lady is also something that takes up a big part in their hearts. Members of Opus Dei also make sacrifices here and there to acquire a spirit of penance. So they might renounce to a small pleasure such as not having desert or fasting.
St Josemaría explained that Christians in the world should not live “a kind of double life”. People must see that you’re a Catholic by the way you act and your example. To give you a concrete example that individuals of Challenge and younger people can relate to. Let’s say you act a different way when you’re out in a bar or with your friends. Then you go home and you seem to be a completely different person. Is that Unity of Life? Shouldn’t you be who you are all the time? You should live your life with integrity and coherence because “There is just one life, made of flesh and spirit. And it is this life which has to become, in both soul and body, holy and filled with God.”
In a nutshell, Opus Dei is like a spiritual trainer, like a coach in the spiritual gym of life that can help anyone to become closer to God in concrete ways: one deed at a time, one act of service at a time, one smile at a time.
Cristina Marin-Aponte
