By Josh Low
“Your ordinary contact with God takes place where your fellow men, your yearnings, your work and your affections are. There you have your daily encounter with Christ.” – Saint Josemaría
Founded by St Josemaria Escriva in 1928, The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei (more commonly known as Opus Dei, or ‘Work of God’ in Latin) is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church, a canonical structure of the Church made up of a prelate, clergy and lay people who undertake specific pastoral activities.
With approximately 95,000 members of Opus Dei worldwide, 600 of which reside in Australia, along with countless others who participate in the formational activities offered, St Josemaria explained that the spirit of Opus Dei ‘reflects the marvellous reality that any honest and worthwhile work can be turned into a divine occupation.’
“In Jesus’ hands, work, an ordinary job like that done by millions of people throughout the world, becomes a divine task, a redeeming job, a path of salvation,” he said.
Opus Dei spokesman Richard Vella said members are ordinary Catholics who belong to the diocese in which they live.
“The essence of the spirit of Opus Dei is that work, family, social life and everything that makes up ordinary life provides opportunities for us to develop a deep union with Jesus Christ, to serve others and to improve society,” Mr Vella said.
“This message is familiar to all Christians. Opus Dei’s uniqueness lies in providing ongoing formation for people and personalised support to live out this aim.”
Much attention was given to Opus Dei after the release of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, after featuring a murderous monk from Opus Dei guarding the secrets of Christianity. (There are no monks in Opus Dei).
“This book and movie was popular fiction, but totally separated from reality. The release of the book and movie did however, allow those in Opus Dei to talk more about the true story behind Opus Dei.
“The reality is that Opus Dei teaches what the Church and Holy Father teach. If one was to come to formational activities, they would be encouraged to work well – to give glory to God, to take seriously their responsibilities as a father, mother, husband or wife, be a good friend, live Christian virtues and to serve others, all in imitation of Jesus Christ,” he explained.
Member of Opus Dei in Perth, Tony Hicks, said another commonly misconceived notion in Opus Dei, is the idea of mortification and sacrifice.
“In fact, it involves small sacrifices done out of love, with the aim of turning the focus away from ourselves and onto Jesus Christ and those around us.
“Maybe eating less of something you like, not grabbing the best cooked meat at the family BBQ, or even waking up on time,” he said.
He added that being in Opus Dei required using your own initiative to spread the word that God loves and cares for us.
“Who do we spread this word to? To our colleagues at work, our family; that includes in-laws and outlaws and all those we meet in our day to day activities.
“My Parish Priest won’t have the same opportunity to talk to my schoolmates that I do, or the customers I meet every day.
“My Parish Priest won’t have the same opportunity to talk to my schoolmates that I do, or the customers I meet every day.
“It’s a sensitive subject to chat to someone about their religious beliefs so how do I do this? By just being a friend and getting to know them.
“Friendship takes time to develop and it means making an effort to meet outside work, on the weekends, sharing holidays and time away together and maybe some social initiatives – sharing lives which means sharing joys and sorrows.
“In this way we can pass on this message that Christ actually lived on earth, had a life not unlike ours, has His message recorded in the Bible and remembered by the Church, and wants to have a personal relationship with each of us.
Mr Hicks explained that Opus Dei facilitates yearly three day retreats and monthly evenings of ‘Recollection’ with the aim of renewing our personal relationships with God.
“The retreats are small; 10 – 15 people and allow time for reflection and the sacraments.
“An ideal retreat involves one person and one priest, however that’s not viable so the retreats are organised for people with common interests and lives; retreats for working men, retreats for university students, retreats for mums at home, retreats for working women; anyway you want to slice and dice – it’s a chance to begin again and refocus on this adventure of life and our friendship with Christ,” he concluded.
For more information about Opus Dei, contact the Information Office via email info.au@opusdei.org or Richard Vella on 0407 400 890.
From pages 18 and 19 of Issue 11: ‘Adult Faith: Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Book of Numbers’ of The Record Magazine