St Josemaria Escriva and Ireland

In 1916 the young Josemaría Escrivá avidly followed the events of the Easter Rising in Ireland. “I was then about fifteen and I eagerly read everything in the newspapers about the events of the First World War. Most of all, though, I prayed a lot for Ireland. I wasn't against England; I was for religious freedom.” Tags: Freedom, trips, Ireland

A Way Through the World

John Wauck

An anthology of texts taken from the writings of St. Josemaria Escrivá. It includes extracts from his books, interviews, letters and diaries, in Italian. The texts were selected and introduced by Fr. John Wauck. The following is an English version of the introduction, in which Fr. Wauck discusses St Josemaria’s personality and the context in which Opus Dei first saw the light. Tags: Passionately Loving the World, Culture, History, books, Opus Dei

The Founder of Opus Dei in Ars

St Josemaria always had recourse to the intercession of the Curé of Ars, who is the patron of secular clergy, with great faith. His first journey to the town of Ars, to see the place where St John Marie Vianney worked as a priest and to pray at his tomb, was in 1953. Tags: Priesthood, trips

Benedict XVI, source of light and strength

On April 19 Benedict XVI celebrates five years as Pope. In gratitude for his work, Bishop Javier Echevarria, prelate of Opus Dei, underlines the joyful nature of his teachings, "explained with intelligent reasons, in crystal-clear language, and backed up by the evidence of his personal relationship with Jesus Christ". Tags: Javier Echevarria, Pope, Ratzinger, Benedict XVI

Josemaria Escriva, a man of contrasts

Pilar Urbano, journalist

When I started work on a biography of Josemaria Escriva (“The Man of Villa Tevere”), the most troubling question in my mind was whether or not there was a “man” to write about; whether, now that the living person was no longer there. That was what I feared: to have to face a virtuous hero, elevated, sublime, but somehow dehumanized. Tags: History, books, Opus Dei, Rome

Christmases with St. Josemaria

Henry Hernandez

The best Christmases in my life were in the four years I spent in Rome with St Josemaría Escrivá. I can still hear the carols we sang round the crib Tags: Contemplation, Christmas

Teacher of cheerfulness

Jose Luis Soria

Jose Luis Soria was a doctor, later ordained a priest. From then until St Josemaria's death in 1975, he lived and worked with him in Rome. St Josemaria's optimistic attitude to life, says Fr Soria, was part of his temperament, strengthened by his radical awareness of the fact that he was a child of God. Tags: cheerfulness, Divine sonship

The story of Yes!

Yes! The Life of St Josemaria was the first book about St Josemaria written and illustrated for children –children up to 80, as the author, puts it. The book has been translated into different languages, and this has given rise to many stories about how the message of St Josemaria has spread to unexpected corners of the world. But the story of how the book came to be written in the first place is equally interesting. Tags: Alvaro del Portillo, Education, books, For younger readers, Devotion

St. Josemaría´s life

Summary of St. Josemaría´s biography Tags: The Escriva family, Founding of Opus Dei, God’s glory

Christmas carol: Little Donkey

Little donkey, little donkey, on the dusty road, got to keep on plodding onwards with your precious load. From the DVD 'Christmas Voices', by Eremeran Hills Study Centre (Sydney, Australia) Download the carol “Continue thinking about the donkey’s good qualities and notice how in order to do anything worth while, it has to allow itself to be ruled by the will of whoever is leading it... On its own the donkey would only... make an ass of itself. Tags: Donkey, Christmas