PathToHoliness

I love this passage from Supreme Knight Carl Anderson’s book Called to Love: Approaching John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. I think it corresponds nicely to Opus Dei’s focus on the sanctification of one’s work:

The body enables man to respond creatively to the world and to God – and to respond is to be responsible. There is no true freedom without responsibility.

We learn to appreciate the link between freedom and responsibility through work. We can even define work as man’s way of giving the material world a share int he dignity of the human body. To work is to give the world a human shape.

Nevertheless, because we work in our bodies, our labor isn’t purely external to us. Nor is its value simply the sum total of what we produce. The quality of work is not measured only by the quantity of the objects our work may produce. John Paul II, who put in countless hours of manual labor in a Polish factory, was very sensitive to the impact of work on the worker himself and on the development of his character – and impact the pope called the “subjective” dimension of work (Laborem Exercens, 6) Because man works in his body, whenever he transforms the world through work, he is also transforming and molding himself. How, since man’s life is a journey toward God, the work by which he shapes his life is a kind of “liturgy” (which comes from the Greek work leitourgia, meaning “work of the people”). To work is to shape the world into a reflection of our relationship with God; it is to incorporate the world into our worship. Every human action, every work man performs, no matter how humble, has a liturgical dignity. (p.36-37)

Recommended:
Sanctifying ordinary work: quote from St. Josemaria
The Sanctification of Work
Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace

Today is the feast of St. Joseph the worker who is an excellent model for Opus Dei. He was regarded in the Bible as a good and just man and was referred to by his profession (“is this not the carpenter’s son?” Mt. 13:55). The emphasis on Joseph’s work in the Bible and throughout tradition speaks to the importance of our own work in the world.

Be sure to read today’s reading from the Divine Office which comes from Gaudium et Spes n. 33-34 on Man’s Activity Throughout the World.

From St. Josemaria

-Work is man’s original vocation. It is a blessing from God, and those who consider it a punishment are sadl mistaken. The Lord, who is the best of fathers, placed the first man in Paradise ut operaretur, so that he would work (Furrow 482).

-You should maintain throughout the day a constant conversation with Our Lord, a conversation fed even by the things that happen in your professional work. Go in spirit to the tabernacle…and offer to God the work that is in your hands (Forge 745).

Book suggestion: The Sanctification of Work

Opus Dei is often seen as a way of sanctifying one’s work – which it is. But it’s not just about professional work. It’s about raising up every aspect of daily life to the level of prayer and union with God. As children of God, we must act like His children, even in the most ordinary aspects of our daily life:

Heaven and earth seem to merge, my daughters and sons, on the horizon. But where they really meet is in your heart, when you strive for holiness in your everyday lives.
~St.

http://www.gaelnet.de/wp-content/themes/twentyten/best-essay.html

Josemaria Escriva, from Passionately Loving the World, Oct. 8, 1967

On his blog, Human Life Matters, Mark Pickup has a beautiful post about how those of us with disabilities, though we may not “work”, can still contribute to society and benefit from Opus Dei:

I have been unable to work in years because of multiple sclerosis. Still, I believe that even my circumstances of everyday life — relegated to a wheelchair — can be fertile ground for growing closer to God…

We, the incurably ill and disabled, are not life unworthy of life. We have contributions to bring to the table of the Human Community, even if it is only by our presence.

We can challenge society to include those who may difficult to include, or those who bring discomfort to sophisticated or polite company. We call those around us to a higher standard of love and friendship. We can knock at the door of mainstream society and demand admission and reasonable accommodation so that we can find our rightful places in the world. If the disabled and incurably ill despair of life, we need people to lift us up as indispensable members of society and worthy of life. We do not need the abandonment of a utilitarian society eagerly agreeing to assist with our suicides, or euthanasia of those who can’t communicate to defend themselves.

Contrary to what bioethics may promote, our rightful places in the world are not graves or crematoriums.

A man like me is increasingly viewed as a liability to society. I need an organization like Opus Dei to encourage and mentor me to use my circumstances of everyday life for “growing closer to God, for serving others, and for improving society.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. My father has been a cooperator of Opus Dei for a number of years and my mother and I enjoy the women’s retreats every year. I adore the message and spirituality of Opus Dei – holiness in ordinary life. It has been a great blessing and help for me in living out the daily struggles of my own disability, not to mention every other part of my everyday life:

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

Find out more about Opus Dei

American Life League‘s Celebrate Life Magazine has an article about the star of the movie Bella, which is set to be released this fall. Eduardo Verastegui began his career as a model and soap opera actor in Mexico City and soon set his sights on Hollywood. But after a while he realized that something was missing in his life:

“I wasn’t happy,” Eduardo said. “I was impatient. I had been all over the world. I had money. I had fame. I had everything I wanted, so I had to ask, ‘How come I feel empty?’…I realized that the reason I wanted to be an actor was superficial; fame, money, power, lifestyle, women—the whole thing. I realized that I was poisoning society. So I went through a change of heart.”

That change led him back to his Catholic faith that he had not practiced in years. After discerning a priestly vocation, a spiritual director suggested that his talents and influence would best be put to use back in Hollywood. Embracing this vocation he decided he would do it under one condition: “I won’t do anything that will offend God. Period.”

This is not very easily done in Tinseltown, where immodesty is the name of the game, but Eduardo is determined:

“When you kill somebody in the movies, you’re not killing anyone. But when you kiss someone, it’s really a kiss,” Eduardo stressed. “In sex scenes, you’re really half naked. So I would recommend that people be careful, because you are working with fire and you’re gonna get burned. Don’t risk yourself for some role. I know because I did it. And I’m telling you, 12 years of that was nothing but emptiness, pain and suffering.” Eduardo described sex scenes as what they are: “legal adultery.” And because a kiss is sacred, he vows to kiss no woman unless she’s his wife.

“Every single person hardcore Catholics, told me I wouldn’t work,” Eduardo admitted. “So if changing my path to follow Christ means that I will never work, thanks be to God. I’m free, because you know what? I wasn’t born to be a movie star. I was born to be a saint, just like you. And this is not going to get in my way. Or God will make it happen in a way that I don’t have to compromise.”

Hopefully his devotion will rub off on others in Hollywood or at least help inspire those who view his movies. And what about this movie, Bella? It has gotten quite a buzz among pro-lifers. It is about a waitress who learns she’s pregnant and the chef (played by Verastegui) who comes to her rescue. It is supposed to be incredibly powerful.

To help get Bella in your hometown theater, see www.BellaTheMovie.com, email contact@MetanoiaFilms.com and call 888-474-6025.

The basic message of Opus Dei is holiness in ordinary life, sanctifying one’s work. That was the message of the vicar of Opus Dei in the United States’ homily commemorating the feast day of Opus Dei founder St. Josemaria Escriva:

“So much depends upon our living the lives that God wants us to,” said Msgr. Bohlin, emphasizing that “every baptized Christian” has a “call to heroic Christian holiness in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.”

…Describing Opus Dei’s founder “as a modern-day saint” familiar with 20th-century life, Msgr. Bohlin said the charismatic St. Josemaria advocated “an apostleship of friendship” in which Catholics “from all walks of life” reach out “one on one” to those near them in the workplace, family, school and community.

American culture suffers from what some call “friendship-deficit syndrome,” he said, noting that “so many are surrounded by people but have few friends.”

Source: Catholic Online

See: Opus Dei Message

Yesterday I posted this quote from St. Josemaria:

You should maintain throughout the day a constant conversation with Our Lord, a conversation fed even by the things that happen in your professional work. Go in spirit to the tabernacle…and offer to God the work that is in your hands.

The idea of going in spirit to the tabernacle as a way to keep holiness in your daily life reminded me of a website I found on another blog. Savior.org is an online visit to the Blessed Sacrament. The goal of Savior.org is not to replace spending time in the physical presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, but to increase “awareness and devotion to our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament. We also seek to bring the live image of His living Presence to the homebound, the workplace, and to remote areas around the world.”

I think it is a fabulous idea and a good way to keep in the presence of Our Lord throughout the day. Another way I heard about in a talk on the Eucharist is to ask your guardian angel to go and kneel in the presence of Our Lord for you and tell Him you love Him.

Today was the feast of St. Joseph the worker. St. Joseph could be considered a model for Opus Dei. He was regarded in the Bible as a good and just man and was referred to by his profession (“is this not the carpenter’s son?” Mt. 13:55). The emphasis on Joseph’s work in the Bible and throughout tradition speaks to the importance of our own work in the world.

From St. Paul’s teaching we know that we have to renew the world in the spirit of Jesus Christ, that we have to place Our Lord at the summit and at the heart of all things. Do you think you are carrying this out in your work, in your professional task?..

Professional work – and the work of a housewife is one of the greatest of professions – is a witness to the worth of the human creature. It provides a chance to develop one’s own personality; it creates a bond of union with others; it constitutes a fund of resources; it is a way of helping in the improvement of the society we live in, and of promoting the progress of the whole human race…For a Christian, these grand views become even deeper and wider. For work, which Christ took up as something both redeemed and redeeming, becomes a means, a way of holiness, a specific task which sanctifies and can be sanctified…

You should maintain throughout the day a constant conversation with Our Lord, a conversation fed even by the things that happen in your professional work. Go in spirit to the tabernacle…and offer to God the work that is in your hands.

~St. Josemaria, the Forge 678, 702 and 745

The Pope had a wonderful message of peace for Easter. Here’s an excerpt from his Urbi et Orbi:

May the Risen Lord grant that the strength of his life, peace and freedom be experienced everywhere. Today the words with which the Angel reassured the frightened hearts of the women on Easter morning are addressed to all: “Do not be afraid! … He is not here; he is risen (Mt 28:5-6)”. Jesus is risen, and he gives us peace; he himself is peace.

This past week was a very busy and interesting one. I attended the Biotechnology Industry Organization convention in Chicago. It was huge and easy to see that this is a growing business area. There are so many good things that people are doing with biotechnology research. Especially in the food and agriclture arena. At the same time it’s very easy to see a negative side. For us Christians that’s most evident in the push to do embyonic stem cell research. As a reporter at the meeting my focus was agriculture but it was easy to see the messages from companies touting their stem cell initiatives as essential for human health. This is troubling. In those cases it seems like money is ruling over the science and just plain common sense.

It gave me a lot to pray about.

This past week has been a challenging one professionally as I’ve had to make some important business decisions. A small home-based business is never without challenges! There’s been the temptation to grow too quickly and thereby take on too much at once. There’s been at least some efforts by outside forces to negatively impact the business.

As a result of the first I found myself putting in too many hours in a day. Cash flow became tight due to my not spending enough time on sales. This made it easy to start despairing and worrying.

Fortunately, my spiritual reading includes volume 3 on the life of the founder of Opus Dei. In this volume we read about the challenges St. Josemaria had in growing the Work, especially building the college in Rome. He faced serious financial difficulties, exterior persecution and health problems that were complicated by working without a break. What inspired me was his persistence, constant prayer and what can only be described as supernatural happiness.

By reading and meditating on his life in that time I have been able to put my own circumstances in perspective. I met with my spiritual director this past week who also made me look at what I’m worrying about by describing the worries of this life as “it’s all nothing.” It really is. I’ve always liked to quote this when asked about what I would do if my business fails, “The worst thing that can happen is I’ll have to get a job.”

This doesn’t mean that we don’t have trials and troubles. It does mean that no matter what they are, as long as we sanctify our work we don’t have to worry about the future. It’s hard to accept this without faith, making faith so important to our lives. I firmly believe that even if my business isn’t deemed successful by my peers I will not have ever failed because it’s dedicated to God, for His honor and glory. He gave me talents and I need to use them in His service.