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What Is Opus Dei?
The best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code, has brought under scrutiny a powerful and influential movement within the Catholic Church - Opus Dei. This institution, often charged with excessive secrecy, has had many critics. What is Opus Dei? offers a comprehensive profile of Opus Dei, and of its founder, St Josemaria Escriva. In this rigorous and well-documented book, its inspiration, history, sprituality, organisation and activities are all clearly detailed. Here are the answers to so many questions, authoritatively presented. Opus Dei, founded in 1928 by St Josemaria Escriva, proclaims that lay people can and ought to seek holiness in the context of their ordinary life. Through daily work, at home and in the family, men and women can spread the Gospel in the world in which they live. Flourishing both before and since the Second Vatican Council, Opus Dei anticipated what were to be the great pastoral themes of the Church at the beginning of the third millennium.
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 15, 2023
A BRIEF OVERVIEW/OUTLINE OF THE ORGANIZATION
Author Dominique Le Tourneau wrote in the Introduction to this 1984 book, ‘The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei,’ better known simply as Opus Dei… proclaims that lay people can and ought to seek holiness in the context of their ordinary life, through the free and responsible exercise of their everyday work, and through an apostolate carried out within the ordinary structures of society… This book takes a look at the lifestyle of members of Opus Dei: it describes their apostolic activities… it studies the statutes of the Prelature and the writings of its founder, Monsignor Escriva… I have tried to identify the main features of Opus Dei and the kind of contribution it might be expected to make in building a more Christian world.”
He says of the founder, “A few days after he had written, ‘There will never be any women in Opus Dei, no fear!’… a new, divine inspiration from God made him realize that he had to spread the message of holiness in the middle of the world to women as well as men. From then on, Opus Dei had two sections, one for men and one for women, inspired by the same spirit.” (Pg. 12-13)
He recounts, “the founder had been trying to work out how to have priests in Opus Dei… he saw the solution: it would be through the ordination of lay members… they would make it much easier for the apostolate to expand… Thus the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross was born. It represented a new PASTORAL phenomenon in the Church (men with university degree and already practicing a profession…) … and it was also something of a new JURIDICAL development (the fact of becoming a priest within Opus Dei does not involve a change in God’s calling to respond, with the greatest possible perfection, to the Christian vocation to sanctity).” (Pg. 14-15)
He says of Opus Dei’s expansion, “when members find work in a place where the message of the Work is as yet unknown, they begin their personal apostolate, making friends and organizing formation talks in their homes. Vocations arise and a small nucleus us built up little by little. A priest of Opus Dei visits them regularly, with the approval of the local bishop. Soon it becomes necessary to find temporary premises, and eventually a recognized center is established.” (Pg. 20)
He states, “The impo0rtant thing to notice is that Mgr Escriva was not content with proclaiming the doctrine of sanctification in the midst of the world in an abstract way, as a theory. He encouraged specific individuals to search for holiness and to carry out apostolate in and through their secular duties.” (Pg. 25)
He explains, “For man-in-the-world work becomes the hinge on which the whole task of sanctification turns. This is what led the founder of Opus Dek to sum up life on earth by saying that one must ‘sanctify work and sanctify others... through one’s work. The three things are interconnected: personal sanctity … and apostolate… are not things one can achieve just by ‘using’ work, or operating in a working context, as though work were juxtaposed with them and separable from them.” (Pg. 31)
He says, “One of the characteristics of the spirit of Opus Dei … is the high regard for freedom. This love of freedom is closely connected with Opus Dei’s inherently secular outlook. It means that in al professional, political, social and similar matters, each member act according to the dictates of a well-formed conscience and accepts responsibility for all consequences of his decisions and actions. He learns not only to respect but positively to love and promote true pluralism, the variety of everything human.” (Pg. 38)
He states, “For most members of the Prelature, their involvement in politics is exactly the same as that of the majority of their fellow citizens… it is meaningless to say when referring to a person’s political preferences (or his political activity if he is a politician) that he is a member of Opus Dei.” (Pg. 45)
He explains, ,”Personal prelatures are juridical structures which have a clearly personal character… and they are secular. They are set up by the Holy See to carry out specific pastoral activities within a region, a country, or throughout the world.” (Pg. 68)
He outlines, “there is a variety of types of members… (a) the NUMERARIES are priests and laypeople who have received a call from God to live apostolic celibacy… (b) the ASSOCIATES are lay faithful… [whose] long-term personal, family or professional circumstances lead them normally to live with their own families. (c) the SUPERPUMERARES are lay faithful… who give themselves fully to God in their particular state of life… (d) There are also CO-OPERATORS, who are not actually members of Opus Dei, They help its apostolic activities with their prayers, donations, gifts, and even their work.” (Pg. 75)
He notes, “Being ordinary Christians, not religious, members dress like anyone else in their position, with nothing odd or eccentric about them, adapting their timetable to the demands of their activities, usually living with their families, and so on.” (Pg. 84)
He says, “The entire teaching of Mgr Escriva is marked by one very profound conviction---that man is a child of God. He himself experienced this very vividly one day in the summer of 1931 on a tram in Madrid. He was asking himself how he could carry out the mission God had given him years earlier, and there and then he received a very clear reply which was to remain engraved in fire upon his soul.” (Pg. 105)
Mgr Escriva “said of himself that he was a priest who spoke only of God. He felt this was the basic mission of every priest… he regretted that there were ‘some priests who instead of speaking about God (which is all they ought to be talking about) speak about politics, sociology and anthropology… they get it wrong, and .. our Lord is not happy about this.” (Pg. 118-119)
This book will interest those seeking a brief, sympathetic view of Opus Dei.
Author Dominique Le Tourneau wrote in the Introduction to this 1984 book, ‘The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei,’ better known simply as Opus Dei… proclaims that lay people can and ought to seek holiness in the context of their ordinary life, through the free and responsible exercise of their everyday work, and through an apostolate carried out within the ordinary structures of society… This book takes a look at the lifestyle of members of Opus Dei: it describes their apostolic activities… it studies the statutes of the Prelature and the writings of its founder, Monsignor Escriva… I have tried to identify the main features of Opus Dei and the kind of contribution it might be expected to make in building a more Christian world.”
He says of the founder, “A few days after he had written, ‘There will never be any women in Opus Dei, no fear!’… a new, divine inspiration from God made him realize that he had to spread the message of holiness in the middle of the world to women as well as men. From then on, Opus Dei had two sections, one for men and one for women, inspired by the same spirit.” (Pg. 12-13)
He recounts, “the founder had been trying to work out how to have priests in Opus Dei… he saw the solution: it would be through the ordination of lay members… they would make it much easier for the apostolate to expand… Thus the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross was born. It represented a new PASTORAL phenomenon in the Church (men with university degree and already practicing a profession…) … and it was also something of a new JURIDICAL development (the fact of becoming a priest within Opus Dei does not involve a change in God’s calling to respond, with the greatest possible perfection, to the Christian vocation to sanctity).” (Pg. 14-15)
He says of Opus Dei’s expansion, “when members find work in a place where the message of the Work is as yet unknown, they begin their personal apostolate, making friends and organizing formation talks in their homes. Vocations arise and a small nucleus us built up little by little. A priest of Opus Dei visits them regularly, with the approval of the local bishop. Soon it becomes necessary to find temporary premises, and eventually a recognized center is established.” (Pg. 20)
He states, “The impo0rtant thing to notice is that Mgr Escriva was not content with proclaiming the doctrine of sanctification in the midst of the world in an abstract way, as a theory. He encouraged specific individuals to search for holiness and to carry out apostolate in and through their secular duties.” (Pg. 25)
He explains, “For man-in-the-world work becomes the hinge on which the whole task of sanctification turns. This is what led the founder of Opus Dek to sum up life on earth by saying that one must ‘sanctify work and sanctify others... through one’s work. The three things are interconnected: personal sanctity … and apostolate… are not things one can achieve just by ‘using’ work, or operating in a working context, as though work were juxtaposed with them and separable from them.” (Pg. 31)
He says, “One of the characteristics of the spirit of Opus Dei … is the high regard for freedom. This love of freedom is closely connected with Opus Dei’s inherently secular outlook. It means that in al professional, political, social and similar matters, each member act according to the dictates of a well-formed conscience and accepts responsibility for all consequences of his decisions and actions. He learns not only to respect but positively to love and promote true pluralism, the variety of everything human.” (Pg. 38)
He states, “For most members of the Prelature, their involvement in politics is exactly the same as that of the majority of their fellow citizens… it is meaningless to say when referring to a person’s political preferences (or his political activity if he is a politician) that he is a member of Opus Dei.” (Pg. 45)
He explains, ,”Personal prelatures are juridical structures which have a clearly personal character… and they are secular. They are set up by the Holy See to carry out specific pastoral activities within a region, a country, or throughout the world.” (Pg. 68)
He outlines, “there is a variety of types of members… (a) the NUMERARIES are priests and laypeople who have received a call from God to live apostolic celibacy… (b) the ASSOCIATES are lay faithful… [whose] long-term personal, family or professional circumstances lead them normally to live with their own families. (c) the SUPERPUMERARES are lay faithful… who give themselves fully to God in their particular state of life… (d) There are also CO-OPERATORS, who are not actually members of Opus Dei, They help its apostolic activities with their prayers, donations, gifts, and even their work.” (Pg. 75)
He notes, “Being ordinary Christians, not religious, members dress like anyone else in their position, with nothing odd or eccentric about them, adapting their timetable to the demands of their activities, usually living with their families, and so on.” (Pg. 84)
He says, “The entire teaching of Mgr Escriva is marked by one very profound conviction---that man is a child of God. He himself experienced this very vividly one day in the summer of 1931 on a tram in Madrid. He was asking himself how he could carry out the mission God had given him years earlier, and there and then he received a very clear reply which was to remain engraved in fire upon his soul.” (Pg. 105)
Mgr Escriva “said of himself that he was a priest who spoke only of God. He felt this was the basic mission of every priest… he regretted that there were ‘some priests who instead of speaking about God (which is all they ought to be talking about) speak about politics, sociology and anthropology… they get it wrong, and .. our Lord is not happy about this.” (Pg. 118-119)
This book will interest those seeking a brief, sympathetic view of Opus Dei.
October 27, 2017
This is a very short, yet very informative book! I wondered about the mission and history of Opus Dei, and I found the book enlivening.
The book begins with the order’s founder JoseMaría Escrivá from his childhood, to his studies in law and civics, to his mission to have an order which would fulfill the mission of the Christian church, but would include ordained, professional lay people as well as working as labor classes, from every walk of life, and throughout the world, who would work in tandem with, but not in conflict with, the church’s canons and regulations for its priests, to fulfill Christ’s mission throughout the world.
That’s quite a mouthful, but that is what the book is about.
Father Escrivá’s humble, careful, yet thoughtful endeavors to this end are profoundly outlined in this simply written book. The book also lists reference materials and contact information for one to obtain additional information and to of course, conduct one’s own further research on the order, including video, as Father Escrivá passed away on June 26th, 1975 . Crucial to the order is its not conflicting with the church’s mission, but also not interfering with the sanctity of work toward teaching lay people professional skills, but also bringing souls to Christ through this interactive fellowship and education. Professionals are not to use their expertise nor influence to gain favor, privilege nor advantage in the church, nor is the church to use any professional for its own gain, influence advantage nor prestige. This is a very normal thing to guard against for the church’s interests as well as the populace at large – each side wishes to maintain its sovereignty and expertise in ones respective affairs. Yet, each side also wishes to partake in spiritual enlightenment and human fellowship. Again, it’s a simple, yet very profound, and continuing idea.
The book begins with the order’s founder JoseMaría Escrivá from his childhood, to his studies in law and civics, to his mission to have an order which would fulfill the mission of the Christian church, but would include ordained, professional lay people as well as working as labor classes, from every walk of life, and throughout the world, who would work in tandem with, but not in conflict with, the church’s canons and regulations for its priests, to fulfill Christ’s mission throughout the world.
That’s quite a mouthful, but that is what the book is about.
Father Escrivá’s humble, careful, yet thoughtful endeavors to this end are profoundly outlined in this simply written book. The book also lists reference materials and contact information for one to obtain additional information and to of course, conduct one’s own further research on the order, including video, as Father Escrivá passed away on June 26th, 1975 . Crucial to the order is its not conflicting with the church’s mission, but also not interfering with the sanctity of work toward teaching lay people professional skills, but also bringing souls to Christ through this interactive fellowship and education. Professionals are not to use their expertise nor influence to gain favor, privilege nor advantage in the church, nor is the church to use any professional for its own gain, influence advantage nor prestige. This is a very normal thing to guard against for the church’s interests as well as the populace at large – each side wishes to maintain its sovereignty and expertise in ones respective affairs. Yet, each side also wishes to partake in spiritual enlightenment and human fellowship. Again, it’s a simple, yet very profound, and continuing idea.
December 2, 2008
An interesting factual book about Opus Dei. I learned a bit more about the founder, St. Josemaria, and a lot more about the spirituality of Opus Dei. Its an "insider account" so obviously not very critical, but it does mention some of the early criticisms of Opus Dei.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews