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Everyone can be holy
July 6, 2008
During his life, through his lectures, writings, travels and simple way of life, St Josemaría taught that everyone can be holy by giving glory to God in all the little things they do, and by doing those things as well as possible. On its website, www.opusdei.org, the Work describes its mission as “helping people turn their work and daily activities into occasions for growing close to God, for serving others, and for improving society”.
Every year, on 26 June, the anniversary of his death is celebrated with Masses in his honour all over the world. In fact, though it started in Spain, Opus Dei now counts about 87,000 members in over 65 countries, most of which have centres for activities related to and organised by the Work. Members include supernumeraries, who generally are married men and women, numeraries, who live in centres and work on the apostolic activities of the Work, associates who live with their families, and priests.
Of the 87,000, more than half are in Europe. In Malta, though there are no centres yet, there are some members who attend activities such as meditations given by a priest, talks and classes, and who receive spiritual direction. Most of those activities are directed by numeraries who come once a month from Rome.
It was those Maltese members, their families and friends, who filled the pews of Our Lady of Victories Church in Valletta on the evening of 20 June, as Malta’s Archbishop, Monsignor Paul Cremona, celebrated the Mass in honour of St Josemaría.
Though most attendees were Maltese, there were also people from countries such as Spain and Italy. Monsignor Cremona, who celebrated the Mass in Maltese with six con-celebrants, took the opportunity to emphasise Opus Dei’s presence in the Catholic Church, saying that it is not a separate entity but rather an additional aspect of one’s faith.
Mgr Cremona related the readings and the gospel to past homilies of St Josemaría, underlying the accessibility of his words and way of life. “It is Christ who chooses the appropriate time for each and every one of us to follow him,” he said. “Nobody is born holy, but we can discover (interior life’s) meaning and live it by walking with the Lord.”
Opus Dei has been the target of much criticism in the past, but its community is still growing strong and expanding globally. It has recently opened centres in Russia, and, when St Josemaría was canonised (recognised as a saint by the Church), an estimated crowd of 300,000 from all corners of the world assembled in St Peter’s Square in Rome.
On the occasion of the canonisation, Pope John Paul II said of Josemaría that he had called Christians to “raise the world towards God and to transform it from within”, and not to be taken in “by a materialistic culture, which threatens to dissolve the most genuine identity of the disciples of Christ.”
At the Mass in Valletta, Archbishop Cremona reminded the faithful that St Josemaría is like any other saint – he is a saint of the Catholic Church, just like St Paul, St John, and the many others, but with a new approach to holiness.
“I felt happy to hear another Maltese person, particularly because it was our archbishop, speaking so positively about the words of St Josemaría,” said Alison Gauci, a 22-year-old who attends activities of the Work.
The Mass was followed by a reception to which everyone was invited to share food, drinks and chat. Monsignor Cremona was also present, and took the time to talk to individuals and take pictures before leaving a room full of people hopeful and determined to see that Opus Dei keeps on growing.
by Mariane St.Maurice
Article published in the newspaper The Malta Independent
(http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=71838)
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