General Information about Opus Dei
What is Opus Dei?
Opus Dei is part of the Catholic Church. The name is Latin for “Work of God”. Opus Dei’s mission is to spread the Christian message that every person is called to holiness. This teaching was at the heart of the Second Vatican Council, which was enormously influential in shaping the Catholic Church’s understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ in the modern world. Holiness, in fact, means following Jesus Christ, imitating him in thoughts, outlook, words and deeds. It means loving God and neighbour, with a love that gives rise to other good habits, such as humility, justice, integrity, and solidarity. Holiness is attained only with God’s assistance and constant striving. Opus Dei offers support and guidance to all who (whether members or not) want to aim at such holiness in their ordinary lives, especially through their everyday work.
Opus Dei teaches that any work, if carried out in the spirit of Jesus Christ, competently and honestly, with the aim of loving God and serving others, can be sanctified, that is, made holy: what matters is the love that is put into work, not its apparent importance.
Members
People of all kinds belong
to Opus Dei: lay people and priests, men and women, young and old,
married and single, of every occupation and social background. Men and
women have the same status in Opus Dei. There are currently about
85,000 members of Opus Dei worldwide. Most members are married and have
families. They
are called supernumeraries. Some members make a
commitment to celibacy, and so generally have more time and greater
availability to dedicate to the various social and educational
undertakings promoted by Opus Dei. They are called numeraries and
associates. Some of the male celibate members are ordained as priests,
who make up roughly 2% of the total membership.
Commitments
To help them search for holiness, members of Opus Dei receive training, support and guidance (“spiritual formation”), including courses in philosophy and Catholic theology. Activities of spiritual formation for individuals or groups are held separately for women and men. For members, they take place weekly and monthly, and each year there is a retreat and a formation course. This course lasts a week in the case of supernumeraries, and two or three weeks in the case of associates and numeraries.
The spiritual commitments which members undertake
are ones which have been recommended by the Church over centuries and
are practised today by many Catholics. They include daily Mass, time
spent each day in personal prayer, the Rosary, reading of Sacred
Scripture and of other spiritual books. Members also try to incorporate
an element of sacrifice into their lives. While some members also
practise traditional Catholic forms of penance, Opus Dei emphasises
that daily life provides plenty of opportunities for sacrifices:
carrying out one’s duties conscientiously, putting others’ needs before
one’s own, smiling in annoying circumstances, and so on.
Members
are aware of their duty to bear witness to their Christian faith
wherever they are. Like the first Christians, they strive to change the
world for the better, and find fulfillment in taking seriously the
Christian duty to help those in need.
Joining Opus Dei
People join Opus Dei because they feel they have a vocation to do so: a personal, intimate calling from God to place their whole life at his service in the middle of the world. Although there are practical differences in the way they live it out, the vocation of supernumeraries, associates and numeraries is one and the same: to seek holiness in their ordinary lives.
Any lay Catholic may ask to join Opus Dei. Those who think they may have such a vocation are advised to attend activities of spiritual formation and take on the commitments of members for some time to discern whether it really is God’s will for them. When they have matured in their decision, after a suitable time, they may ask for admission. Eighteen months later, if it is still their firm belief that God is calling them, they may make a formal commitment to Opus Dei. The minimum age for making this commitment is 18. It needs to be renewed each year for at least five years before a lifelong commitment can be made.
People join Opus Dei by choice, and they remain equally free to leave at any time.
Ordinary people
There
is no outward change in the lives of those who join Opus Dei. They work
in the same jobs and live in the same social settings, but now are
helped to see their work and relationships as opportunities for coming
closer to God. Opus Dei does not publish members’ names but leaves it
to them to tell people themselves, respecting
their freedom.
While members do not ordinarily announce their membership to the
general public, neither do they conceal it. Friends, relatives and
acquaintances will naturally know of it. Indeed, it would be impossible
for Opus Dei to carry
out its mission if members were not open about their involvement.
Opus Dei has no views of its own on politics, economics, or social matters. Members are totally free, especially in their professional lives and political opinions, and are personally responsible for their actions.
Corporate activities
As
an expression of their desire to serve society, some members of Opus
Dei, together with others (Catholics, non-Catholics, non-Christians,
and even some of no faith at all) have set up many educational,
charitable and cultural ventures around the world.
Examples
include inner-city achievement programmes, vocational training centres,
medical clinics in developing countries, schools for immigrants and
poor farm workers, youth clubs, halls of residence for students,
secondary schools, hospitals and universities. Such activities are
always open to people of all creeds, races and social
backgrounds.
In
Ireland, they include, for instance, in Dublin: the Anchor Youth Centre
in Artane, Nullamore Study Centre and Glenbeag Youth Club in Milltown;
in Galway: Ros
Geal and Gort Ard university residences; in County Meath: Lismullin Conference Centre.
Opus Dei does not own these undertakings, but takes responsibility for providing spiritual formation and pastoral care. Funding comes from whatever fees they may charge as well as donations from members of Opus Dei, supporters and friends. Financial accounts for such institutions are publicly audited.
The Prelature
Opus Dei was established as a personal prelature in 1982 by Pope John Paul II. Personal prelatures, as envisaged by the Second Vatican Council, are made up of a prelate together with secular priests, and men and women lay faithful. The prelate is appointed by the Pope. The personal prelature provides a suitable framework for an organisation consisting of secular priests and ordinary lay Catholics who simply wish to serve God by living their ordinary lives as well as possible.
As
part of the Catholic Church, Opus Dei works closely with the local
bishop, whose consent is required before an Opus Dei centre is set up
in his diocese, and who is regularly informed about Opus Dei’s
activities there. Opus Dei’s central organisation is based in Rome; the
current prelate, Bishop Javier Echevarría, was appointed in 1994.
The Founder
Saint
Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) founded Opus Dei in 1928. Even during his
lifetime he had a reputation for holiness, which continued to grow
throughout the world after his death. Many people have testified to
having received spiritual and material favours through his
intercession, including medically inexplicable cures. He was canonised
by Pope John Paul II in 2002. His feast day is June 26.
For further information:
- on Opus Dei www.opusdei.ie
- on Saint Josemaría: www.josemariaescriva.info
- on the writings of Saint Josemaría: www.escrivaworks.org
- on the bulletin of the prelature: www.romana.org
For
enquiries about Opus Dei activities near you, please contact Nullamore
or the Opus Dei Information Office (10 Hume Street, Dublin 2, Tel:
01-661 4949; E-mail: info@opusdei.ie).
WRITINGS BY SAINT JOSEMARÍA ESCRIVÁ
The Way. Brief, incisive points for reflection and prayer.
Holy Rosary. Brief meditations on the mysteries of the Rosary.
Conversations with Monsignor Escrivá. Newspaper and magazine interviews with Saint Josemaría.
Christ is Passing By. Homilies for the principal feasts of the liturgical year.
Friends of God. Homilies on key Christian virtues.
The Way of the Cross. Reflections on the Stations of the Cross.
Furrow. A posthumous collection of points for prayer and reflection with a focus on natural virtues.
The Forge. Another posthumous collection of points for prayer and reading.
In Love with the Church. Homilies on the Church.
BIOGRAPHIES OF SAINT JOSEMARÍA ESCRIVÁ
Vázquez de Prada, Andrés, The Founder of Opus Dei, 3 Volumes, Scepter, New York, 2001-2005.
Scott, Helena and Tolansky, Ethel, Josemaría Escrivá, CTS, London, 2001.
Keenan, William, The Day the Bells Rang Out, Gracewing, Leominster, 2004.
Gondrand, François, At God’s Pace, Scepter, London and New York, 1989.
Coverdale, John, Uncommon Faith – The Early Years of Opus Dei (1928-1943), Scepter, New York, 2002.
Cavalleri, Cesare, Immersed in God – Josemaría Escrivá as seen by his successor, Bishop Alvaro del Portillo, Scepter, Princeton and Sinag-Tala, Manila, 1996.
Berglar, Peter, Opus Dei – Life and Work of its Founder, Josemaría Escrivá, Scepter, Princeton, 1994.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS ON OPUS DEI
Bristow, Peter, Opus Dei – Christians in the Midst of the World, CTS, London, 2001.
Fuenmayor, Amadeo et al., The Canonical Path of Opus Dei, Scepter-MTF, Princeton-Chicago, 1994.
Illanes, J. L., On the Theology of Work: Aspects of the Teaching of the Founder of Opus Dei, Four Courts Press, Dublin, 1982.
Le Tourneau, Dominique, What is Opus Dei?, Gracewing, Leominster, 2002.
Messori, Vittorio, Opus Dei, Leadership and Vision in Today’s Catholic Church, Regnery, Washington DC, 1997.
Rodriguez, Pedro et al., Opus Dei in the Church, Four Courts Press, Dublin, 1995.
Romano, Guiseppe, Opus Dei, Who? How? Why? Alba House, New York, 1995.
West, William J., Opus Dei, Exploding a Myth, Little Hills Press, Sydney, 1987.
All the books listed above are available from:
Alex Miller
35 Finsbury Park,
Churchtown
Dublin 14
Tel: 01-298 7377
Fax: 01-298 7414
E-mail: alex.miller@managersbookshop.ie