Spirituality of Opus Dei

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The spirituality of Opus Dei has influenced the daily life of laymen and laywomen since 1928. Opus Dei is a hierarchical Catholic organization spread worldwide that comprises mostly laymen and laywomen, and a few priests. They do not change their current status when become members. In contrast to religious people, they do not profess any kind of vows, but strive to draw close to God in their ordinary activities.

Sanctifying work is the main Opus Dei's message. [1] It encompasses professional competence,[2] working ethically [3] and helping others.[4][5]

This stems from the so-called divine filiation. According to the website of Opus Dei, divine filiation leads the Christian faithful to a deep awareness of their being children of God, fosters confidence in divine providence, simplicity in their dialogue with God, resulting in a truly Christian love for the world and for all human realities created by God, and a sense of calm and optimism.[6]

Opus Dei also emphasizes the necessity of the so-called unity of life, which is closely related to divine filiation. Unity of life means uniting spiritual life with professional, social, and family life; behaving according to one's faith in every circumstances in life.[7]

Divine filiation and unity of life are attained by means of a spiritual struggle to master several virtues. This article elaborates on both issues and a few related virtues.

The Theological Virtues

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 1813) [8] the theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity and are related directly to God (Catechism, 1812).[9] There are three theological virtues, namely: faith, hope, charity.

Faith is the theological virtue by which one believes in God and believes all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for his belief, because he is truth itself (Catechism, 1814).[9]

Opus Dei's members believe that the institution was inspired by God, consider having been called by God (vocation) to take part of it behaving as actual sons towards a loving Father. The founder used to say that 'the Heaven wants Opus Dei to be accomplished'. As a consequence, they struggle to live unity of life by undertaking all endeavours with a supernatural outlook, convinced that God will help them to fulfill His will, be it as simple as finishing with perfection a small report or as demanding as founding schools or living family live heroically.

Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit (Catechism, 1817). This virtue helps Opus Dei's members to keep their serenity and confidence in God even in hard situations, for they believe that whatever would happen would be allowed by God to increase their love, freedom and happiness. God is a loving Father that would not allow anything that would not contribute to the eternal happiness of His sons.[10] Detachment is the way Opus Dei members live in hope.[11]

Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God (Catechism, 1822).

An Opus Dei member believes that God has created any human being out of love. Thus, the only answer a man or a woman to God would be also love.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Josemaria Escriva. Work (number 702). The Forge. Retrieved on 2008-10-25.
  2. ↑ Josemaria Escriva. Work (number 681). The Forge. Retrieved on 2008-10-25.
  3. ↑ Josemaria Escriva. Work (number 695). The Forge. Retrieved on 2008-10-25.
  4. ↑ Josemaria Escriva. Charity (number 440). The Way. Retrieved on 2008-10-25.
  5. ↑ Josemaria Escriva. Work (number 684). The Forge. Retrieved on 2008-10-25.
  6. ↑ Opus Dei Official Web Site. Message. Retrieved on 2008-10-11.
  7. ↑ Josemaria Escriva. Chapter 15: Study (number 353). The Way. Retrieved on 2008-10-11.
  8. ↑ Pope John Paul II. The Theological Virtues. Catechism of the Catholic Church. Retrieved on 2009-01-24.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named CCC
  10. ↑ Reference needed. cite St. Paul - Omnia in Bonum
  11. ↑ Reference needed. Insert examples of detachment, concerning money, time, self-image
  12. ↑ Reference needed. (- St. John - God loved us first)(cite The way, love by love)
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