Carlos J. MoralesI have discovered traits of St. Josemaría that continue to surprise me".St. Josemaría Escrivá's legacy lives onSaints in family life, a central teaching of St. Josemaría Escrivá's messageBy training I am a Teacher, Psychopedagogue and Bachelor in Religious Sciences; currently I teach Religion -among other subjects- in a School; as a faithful of Opus Dei I have been struck -from a few years ago- by the expression quid divinum - or "something divine" in Spanish- "algo divino" in English-. used on several occasions by St. Josemaría Escrivá and I have studied the various explanations given for it and its practical usefulness in the life of an ordinary Christian.
The expression quid divinum used by the saint in his homily at the University of Navarra on October 8, 1967, highlights the spiritual and theological dimension of his preaching. According to Professor José Luis Illanes, this expression underlines the importance of the sacred and divine in the saint's message. Although there are various interpretations of this expression, they all seek to deepen its theological meaning.
At the same time, it is important to note that St. Josemaría used in his message, both oral and written, expressions that were easy to understand. However, this did not prevent him from using statements with a profound theological content, which require adequate training to be fully understood.
After researching to unravel its purest and most practical meaning, I found various explanations that are of great help to the spiritual life of an ordinary Christian, especially for those who aspire to sanctify themselves through their daily occupations.
For example, St. Josemaría often spoke of the importance of "contemplative prayer," which is a form of prayer in which one seeks to be in the presence of God and open one's heart to his transforming action. This form of prayer can be difficult to understand for someone unfamiliar with the spiritual life, but once its meaning is grasped, it can be a powerful tool for growing in one's relationship with God.
In short, although St. Josemaría's teachings may contain profound theological concepts, his message is addressed to all Christians, regardless of their background or previous knowledge. His aim was to help ordinary people to encounter God in the midst of their ordinary occupations and to live a holy life in the midst of the world.
"Quid divinum"use and explanations of the expression
St. Josemaría was certainly familiar with this Latin expression, which, according to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, means "the inspiration proper to genius"; but we should not stick to its etymological meaning but rather to the meaning given to it in the message of the Homily and in other texts. So we must read calmly the context of the expression and the intention with which it is used.
Monsignor OcárizPrelate of the Opus Dei and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, gave a spontaneous explanation on the quid divinum during a dialogue in the "International Congress on Labor." When asked the question: "Father, what is the quid divinumMonsignor Ocáriz responded, providing a valuable perspective on its meaning.
The question and the extensive and rich response were:
(Question): "Father, I am a philosophy teacher in Seville. My question is very simple and very straightforward. quid divinumwhat is the quid divinumthat something holy, divine, that I have to discover? Maybe you tell me that it is also ascetic, but I don't know if there is a part that you can enlighten me".
(Answer): "Discovering the quid divinum I would say that it is - you can think otherwise, what I am saying now is not a truth of faith - it seems to me that discovering the quid divinum is, above all, to discover the love of God for us. To see in people, in circumstances, in the materiality of human endeavors, in setbacks, to see there an expression of God's love for us, which, from the existential point of view, I think is the most important truth of faith. The most important truth of faith is the Trinity, the Incarnation..., but, deep down, for our life, for our daily existence, what these truths also indicate to us above all is God's love for us. As you remember, St. John, in an almost solemn way, says "we have come to know and believe in the love that God has for us". As if to summarize: what has happened? That we have come to know and believe in the love that God has for us.
Then discover the quid divinum is to see in people someone whom God loves; even if it is not seen, to believe that there, behind everything, is the love that God has for us".
I think this spontaneous explanation is excellent and helps us to perceive our Creator as close, showing us that He is looking for us and that we can find Him in the little things of everyday life. If we manage to discover the quid divinum In our daily life, we will be participating in the best way of approaching God and loving him and others for him, as St. Josemaría expressed it.
Likewise, professors Illanes and Méndiz indicate that ".The expression "something divine" appears here, and in other passages of the homily, always in Spanish. It may, however, have its origin, in our opinion, in the Latin formula quid divinum, of pre-Christian root, which was used in antiquity to speak of perfection or genius in art, of the curative properties of certain waters, etc., and also, more philosophically, of the intellect in man and of the laws that govern the world (cf. Cicero, De Legibus, I, 61). The founder of Opus Dei probably knew this source, but in this homily he prefers to use it in Spanish, perhaps so as not to have to translate it.." (Conversations with Monsignor Escriva de Balaguer, historical critical edition, Ed. RIALP 2012).
In his homily delivered in Navarre, St. Josemaría said: "In a laboratory, in the operating room of a hospital, in the barracks, in the university chair, in the factory, in the workshop, in the field, in the family home and in the whole immense panorama of work, God is waiting for us every day. And a little further on: "There is no other way, my children: either we know how to find the Lord in our ordinary life, or we will never find him".
It can be deduced that it is not one thing the something divine, but it is God himself whom we meet because "he waits for us every day". Why, then, does he use the expression "there is something holy, divine, hidden in the most common situations, which it is up to each one of you to discover."? (Homily "Loving the world passionately").
Something divine and everyday at the same time
What is this "something holy, divine" if not God himself? we may ask ourselves. Perhaps the interpretation is that God wants to transmit "something" to us, which could be translated as "Someone", "that it is up to each one of you to discover".
The Founder of Opus Dei uses it again later, with a nuance: "This doctrine of Sacred Scripture (...) must lead you to carry out your work with perfection, to love God and mankind by putting love into the little things of your daily routine, discovering that something divine that is enclosed in the details."So the "something divine" is enclosed in the details, in the small things, those that people do every day, when we put love.
For the third time he uses it when referring to human loveI have reminded you: "Do things with perfection, I have reminded you, put love in the small activities of the day, discover -I insist- that something divine that is enclosed in the details: all this doctrine finds a special place in the vital space, in which human love is framed".
The expression is also used by St. Josemaría in some other homilies, such as in the case of "Toward Holiness." "We are convinced that there is no evil, no contradiction, that does not come for good: thus joy and peace are more firmly established in our spirit, which no human motive can tear away from us, because these visitations always leave us something of their own, something divine. We will praise the Lord our God, who has done marvelous works in us, and we will understand that we have been created with the capacity to possess an infinite treasure.
In order to know a reality in depth, people try to discover its constituent parts, the functions they have and the relationships between them, and this does not happen in God, since in Him there are no constituent parts. Thus, when we speak of the Will of God, of His Infinite Love, Goodness, Providence and Mercy, as well as of His Immensity, Omnipotence, Essence and Being, we are speaking of the same thing, because in God they are all identified, they are the same God. And in Him what most magnifies and elevates us is His Love, which is found in His Love. "by putting love into the little things of your daily routine".
St. Josemaría, therefore, urges that in work, in ordinary occupations and in relationships with others-especially in the family sphere-Christians should put love into their work so as to find God's love, knowing that this love is hard work, diligence, diligence and sacrifice.
He himself says it in his homily "God's work": "I like very much to repeat - because I have experienced it well - those verses of little art, but very graphic: my life is all about love / and, if I am skilled in love, / it is by force of pain, / that there is no better lover / than he who has suffered much. Go about your professional duties out of Love: carry out everything out of Love, I insist, and you will see -precisely because you love, even if you taste the bitterness of misunderstanding, injustice, ungratefulness and even human failure itself- the wonders that your work produces. Tasty fruits, seed of eternity!".
Ernst Burkhart and Xavier delve into detail; thus, they ask: What does it mean that profane activities are not "exclusively profane", but hide "a divine something"? These authors provide a detailed and profound theological explanation, addressing the topic in a comprehensive manner: The quid divinumThis "something holy" that it is up to each one of us to discover is like the imprint that God has left on all things by creating them in Christ and for Christ; an imprint that entails a call to cooperate freely with God in order to orient everything to Christ. Let us look at it in steps. The "something holy" is not only the divine presence of immensity, with which he sustains all creatures in being, although St. Josemaría undoubtedly alludes to this presence when he writes that we find this invisible God in the most visible and material things. The "something holy" also refers to God's designs concerning human activities that have earthly realities as their object.
However, this is not the only thing that quid divinumeven though it embraces it. When the Christian deals with temporal realities in his professional, family or social activity, he can discover, with the light of faith, "their ultimate supernatural destiny in Christ," as it says in the quoted text. It is not that there is something supernatural in things, but that the Christian can order to the supernatural end (the only ultimate end) the activities that have created realities as their object; he can discover that God calls him to place Christ in the exercise of these activities, to order them to his Kingdom. For this, of course, he must strive to carry them out with perfection, in accordance with his own laws. But this is not enough. Ultimately, he must seek his own perfection as a child of God in Christ through these activities: he must strive for identification with Christ through love and the virtues informed by love. Then it can be said that he has found the quid divinumHe is putting Christ at the summit of his work, because he puts Him at the summit of his own heart, which is where He wants to be elevated and to reign.
Elements of that divine something
We have, therefore, two elements of the quid divinum. One is perceptible with the light of reason and is in the object of every temporal activity: its own laws, willed by God, with its immediate end. The other presupposes the previous one, but is only perceived with the light of faith, because only faith allows us to "see its ultimate supernatural destiny in Jesus Christ.
They go on to say that "That something holy is discovered by the love that the Holy Spirit pours into hearts. When this happens, the very activity that is being carried out becomes a matter of prayer, of dialogue with God. A dialogue that can sometimes take place with words and concepts, considering the "something holy" that has been discovered. But at other times it may not need words or concepts: it can be contemplative prayer that transcends the quid divinum. Let us recall once again some words of St. Josemaría: We recognize God not only in the spectacle of nature, but also in the experience of our own work (Christ Is Passing By, 48).
This "something holy," says St. Josemaría, is "hidden," as if it were hidden behind common situations or had the same color as them, so that we need to make an effort to discover it. The quiddivinum is an opportunity for sanctification (and apostolate) that often does not shine to human eyes. It is right in front of us, in the heart of what we do, but it is necessary to look for it with interest, as one looks for a treasure. And much more than an earthly treasure, because sanctity is at stake here.
Other explanations of the expression quid divinum Professor Ana Marta Gonzalez points out that "This corresponds to another crucial aspect of St. Josemaría's message: the appreciation of contingency as the privileged place for the manifestation of God, precisely because it is there, in that space of contingency, that man exercises and materializes his freedom. Both of these things are contained in St. Josemaría's invitation to find the quid divinum that is enclosed in the details, and that it is up to each one to discover.
It is not just a pious recommendation, but a matter of noticing the kairos, the opportunity and the value of the present moment, in which God's presence becomes material and in some way visible to us: to do well the things we have in hand is no longer just an ethical requirement, derived from our position in human society, but the concrete opportunity offered to us to correspond to God's gift and to materialize his presence in the world of mankind, showing that not because it is ordinary does it cease to be transforming.(World and the human condition in St. Josemaría Escrivá. Christian Keys to a Philosophy of the Social Sciences. Romana, No. 65, July-December 2017, p. 368-390)
Another exhibition can be found at the Opus Dei website: "That quid divinum that it is up to each one to discover, thus helping others to be encouraged to discover it, is simply "the will of God in those small and large details of life", that is, what gives value and transcendent meaning to ordinary life is that, in and from it, God says what he expects from each one".
The presence of God for a Christian and the call he makes to cooperate with his plans are two sides of the same coin, inseparable and linked. And this is where what St. Josemaría indicated when he said, "God waits for us every day," comes into play. We are present to him and we have him present to respond to his permanent call.
But waiting for God is not like our waiting, which can be static; God does not spend his time "doing something else" while waiting for our response. God is present in the life of each person in a dynamic way, he always offers love and asks for love, he gives himself to us and asks us, he is a gift and a task.
This is also stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church when it teaches us that "in all his works, God shows his benevolence, his goodness, his grace, his love; but also his reliability, his constancy, his faithfulness, his truth".
Conclusions
Taking into account the various explanations it can be concluded:
Discovery of Divine Love: Discover the quid divinum involves recognizing God's love manifested in all aspects of life, from people and circumstances to efforts and difficulties.
Hidden in the Commonplace: According to St. Josemaría, the "something holy" is "hidden" behind common situations and requires a conscious effort to discover it. It is not always evident to the naked eye and requires an active search.
Prayer and Dialogue with God: The activity discovered as "something holy" becomes a means for prayer and communication with God. This dialogue can manifest itself in words and concepts, or it can be a contemplative prayer that transcends the understanding of the quid divinum.
Personal Perspective: The perception of the quid divinum as an expression of divine love is a personal vision, not a universally established truth of faith.
Mutual Inspiration: By discovering the "quid divinum", one not only finds value and purpose in one's own life, but can also motivate others to seek the same.
Will of God: The quid divinum represents the will of God manifested in both the small and the great aspects of life, giving ordinary existence a transcendent value and meaning.
