I was a solid Catholic but I needed more. I was hungry for more.
Opus Dei helped me to strengthen my faith
and bring it into everyday life.
WHAT IS OPUS DEI?
Opus Dei is a Catholic organization with an inspiring idea:
that everyone is called to be holy, to serve the Church,
and spread the joy of the Gospel, right in their ordinary lives.
Opus Dei is for people who are living in the world.
Living in the world and sanctifying work,
knowing that you do it for the glory of God.
No matter what you’re doing, where you are in your background,
you can love God and make a difference.
At work, at home, with family, with friends.
Everyone is called to be a saint.
The mission of this part of the Catholic Church
is to teach people how to find God in their work
and the normal circumstances of the day…
how to serve others, and improve society.
That mission began in 1928, when its founder, St. Josemaria Escriva,
saw that any person could give glory to God by doing work well
and striving to live the Catholic faith.
In 2002 at his canonization in Rome,
Pope John Paul the Second called the founder of Opus Dei, “The Saint of Ordinary Life.”
Opus Dei is Latin for “Work of God.”
That work — getting to know Jesus Christ intimately
and living His teachings in the middle of the world —
is central to the message of Saint Josemaria.
I think of myself as a catalyst to transform the world to be a better place.
I see, every day, people who want to be better sisters, better daughters, better friends.
The way in which I interact with my wife and my kids,
every little detail of what I do as a professional,
they’re all opportunities for bringing myself and others closer to God.
The teaching that everyone is called to holiness
was at the heart of the Second Vatican Council.
And so, in Opus Dei, there are men and women,
single and married, lay and priests,
from all the continents, and all walks of life,
who are called by God to live a deep spirituality,
without leaving their profession, their families, or their friends.
As a surgeon, doing the will of God and not leave my profession,
it was the exact fit for me.
The spirit of Opus Dei is a very practical simple thing.
It’s taught me how to integrate my prayer life into a busy work life
And that’s, to me, the most wonderful message of my life.
As a science teacher I can definitely find God in my students.
I want to show them how excited I am about science
and I hope through my example that the girls can also find God there.
As a mother of four there are daily challenges
and it helps me to really have a solid inner peace,
so that as those challenges come up I can draw from that inner peace.
The message for me is to find those encounters with Christ
and to really weave that into my day naturally and continuously.
Opus Dei provides assistance,
offering spiritual formation to its members,
and to anyone else who seeks it.
With this help, each person in their own situation
tries to transform the ordinary moments of life.
As a soccer coach, I know how important it is to practice in order to get better;
and the same goes for my spiritual life.
Retreats and talks and spiritual direction —
all these things make me a better Christian.
So this idea of finding God constantly throughout my day,
Opus Dei helped me to become a stronger Catholic,
and in doing so a stronger mother, a stronger wife, a stronger friend.
As a mother, as a wife, as a sister, as a daughter,
it has helped me be at peace.
It has given me inner joy.
It was crystal clear to me that I did not need to change
my profession, my family life, and I could strive to be a saint.
And that, to me, was
an incredible discovery.