St. Josemaría's "The Way" inspires Hallow's Lenten challengeSt. Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975), founder of Opus Dei, "the saint of the ordinary," was canonized by St. John Paul II in a moving ceremony celebrated in Rome on October 6, 2002. Since then, the private devotion that began on June 26, 1975, his "dies natalis," has spread throughout the world to the present day.
In the Office of the Causes of Saints of Opus Dei we continue to record, investigate and give thanks for those favors and graces that we receive every day, because they manifest the gift of God for his children and express that those who received everything from God for their lives and for Opus Dei, now continue to receive gifts and graces from God to distribute them everywhere and to people of all kinds and conditions.
This is precisely the great gift of the communion of saints. God wants us to come to him through the saints, because it is through the friendship and confidence of the saints that we can more easily touch the heart of God. Moreover, by imitating the prayer of complicity with the saints, we too will learn to be good children of God.
Centenary of ordination
This year we celebrate the centenary of St. Josemaría's priestly ordination by Bishop Miguel de los Santos Díaz Gómara in the Church of St. Charles in Saragossa on March 28, 1925, and, consequently, of the first solemn Mass that he celebrated on March 30 in the chapel of Our Lady of the Pillar. We will celebrate the centenary of St. Josemaría's identification with Jesus Christ, for in that word "identification" is summed up the mystery of the grace that worked in St. Josemaría's priestly soul and in the fruitfulness of his priesthood.
For many years all Opus Dei throughout the world, and consequently men and women of every class and condition, offered their Mass, their lives, for the intentions of St. Josemaría's Mass. This identity of purpose in the one goal of the unbloody renewal of the sacrifice of Calvary explains the expansion of Opus Dei throughout the world.
Saints next door
In 1933, St. Josemaría wrote to his confessor: "See that God asks this of me and, furthermore, it is necessary that I be a saint and a father, a teacher and guide of saints," which is why several processes have been set in motion among faithful of Opus Dei who have died with a reputation for holiness and favors.
Logically, the models and intercessors for the People of God must be varied, since, as Pope Francis has emphasized in the Exhortation ".Gaudete et exultate"The saints must be "from next door", "neighborhood saints", saints of proximity. Men and women who have listened to the same music, who have enjoyed themselves in the same way, who have celebrated our feasts and suffered our same inconveniences.
Common priesthood of the faithful
The last words that St. Josemaría spoke on earth a few hours before going home to heaven were during a conversation with a group of young professionals at the Roman College of St. Mary in Castel Galdonfo, Rome, on June 26, 1975. In that conversation St. Josemaría spoke to them once again about sanctifying work, sanctifying oneself in work and sanctifying others through work," and he made an explicit reference to the common priesthood of the faithful received in baptism, which enables Christians to be mediators between God and mankind.
In fact, through the common priesthood all Christians bring the gifts of heaven to our family, our friends and our environment. At the same time, every day, as mediators, we participate in the Holy Mass and there, together with the offerings, we bring the material and spiritual needs of the people around us.
This centenary year of St. Josemaría's priestly ordination is a special time to meditate on the meaning and importance of the Holy Mass. St. Josemaría referred to this overwhelming mystery, as Benedict XVI recalled, as the "center and root" of Christian life.
Holiness and Eucharist
How often have we heard him refer to the fruits of the Mass in the soul of the Church and of individual Christians as: "An intratrinitarian current of God's love for mankind". It is enough to pause and savor the words that the priest may utter at the beginning of the Mass: "The grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all." This is the foundation of the priest's identification with Jesus Christ at the moment of Holy Mass: to be "ipse christus, alter Christus". Truly, humanity has lived from the Mass for so many centuries and will continue to do so until the end of time.
I remember that Cardinal Castrillón, who was Prefect of the Dicastery of the Clergy when he was President of CELAM, came to inaugurate the first Symposium "History of the Church in Spain and America: 16th to 20th centuries" in Seville in May 1990. A climate of great expectation was created when Castrillón, surrounded by all the world press, officially inaugurated the acts of the V Centenary of the Discovery of America, thanking Spain and the Spaniards for having arrived in America and for having celebrated the Holy Mass on the beach of the island of El Salvador and for having reserved the Eucharist in those newly discovered lands. They brought the risen Jesus Christ there and that presence continues to enliven the lives of those peoples.
Everything comes from the Holy Mass. Therefore, let us learn to celebrate and participate in the Holy Mass and in the living liturgy of the Church and we will be able to continue to spread Christianity throughout the earth, filling the world with hope, as you have asked us to meditate in this Jubilee year Pope Francis: "Spes non confundit" (Rom 5:5)". The foundation of our hope is Jesus Christ who gave up on the cross every drop of his precious blood.
