Opus Dei and the Pope's visit to Britain

I have to admit I am taken aback by Damian Thompson's attitude to Opus Dei in his latest blog entry .  He does, thankfully, describe Dan Brown's depiction of them in The Da Vinci Code as "ludicrously caricatured" but then goes on to say "I happen to think that the truth about Opus is quite creepy enough without inventing stuff, but that’s just my view."  He does not, of course, give any reasons for his 'view' so one can only guess at what it is he must be thinking.  One also has to wonder - have they really 'swooped in', or have they been called upon by the Holy See?

I work in a parish that is run by the Prelature of Opus Dei.  I am not a numerary, supernumerary or a cooperator but I have developed a great respect for the Prelature based simply on the reverence that they have for the Blessed Sacrament and their total obedience to the Holy Father.  I have, for just over a year now, attended their monthly Recollections at which one listens to a reading from one of St Josemaria's works (which are excellent, by the way), one is given a meditation by an Opus Dei priest, one is allowed time to make an examination of conscience and is given the opportunity to go to confession and then one listens to a talk on a particular spiritual topic by an Opus Dei numerary.  The Recollection then comes to a close with a Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament which I always find quite beautiful.  At NO time have I ever been pushed or forced to do anything by anyone in Opus Dei.  If you read some of the 'testimonials' of ex-numeraries and supernumeraries you would swear that you are dealing with the Catholic version of 'the Moonies'.  All I can say is that if one does come across such things, one should read such them with a great deal of common sense and discernment, especially if you have had no previous contact with Opus Dei.  There are also always two sides to a story.

Have people had bad experiences with Opus Dei?  Of course, I have no doubt of that.  That is simply life.  No religious Order or Association is perfect because it is peopled by human beings who are weak and given to error.  How many of the saints were badly treated by members of their own order?  St John of the Cross, St Margaret Mary and St Faustina are just a few who immediately spring to mind.  In the end, no matter which Order they belonged to, their sole (soul?) focus was Christ and not their own particular wants, needs or opinions.

Make no mistake, Opus Dei is totally oriented towards Christ and the Church and I am thoroughly tired of people who call them the "Catholic Mafia" or "fanatics".  If being loyal to the Holy See makes you a 'fanatic', then God help Catholicism.

I would like to end with a quote  from St Josemaria Escriva's The Forge which I have always found inspiring:

39.  I see myself like a poor little bird, accustomed only to making short flights from tree to tree, or, at most, up to a third floor balcony… One day in its life it succeeded in reaching the roof of a modest building, that you could hardly call a skyscraper.

But suddenly our little bird is snatched up by an eagle, who mistakes the bird for one of its own brood. In its powerful talons the bird is borne higher and higher, above the mountains of the earth and the snow—capped peaks, above the white, blue and rose—pink clouds, and higher and higher until it can look right into the sun. And then the eagle lets go of the little bird and says: Off you go. Fly!

—Lord, may I never flutter again close to the ground. May I always be enlightened by the rays of the divine sun — Christ — in the Eucharist. May my flight never be interrupted until I find repose in your Heart.

St Josemaría Escrivá and his love and veneration for the Pope

I am always touched when I read of the love and devotion that St Josemaría Escrivá had for the Holy Father. Here is a particularly touching extract from a book on the founder of Opus Dei, by the current Prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarria:

When Saint Josemaría Escrivá was very young he used to dream of getting close to the Pope even for only a few moments, to have the chance of showing him his love and readiness to serve him. Msgr Javier Echevarría says: “His joy when he was actually in the Pope’s presence was immense. I could see that whenever I went with him to an audience with the Pope.” Msgr Echevarría, now the prelate of Opus Dei himself, witnessed Saint Josemaría’s love for the Pope back in the summer of 1950, at Castel Gandolfo, when they were staying near the Holy Father’s summer residence.

From that period I remember how affectionately he used to talk to us about the Pope. He used to get up enthusiastically to go to the roadside to see Pope Pius XII going past, on his way back from Rome to Castel Gandolfo after the Holy Year audiences. Msgr. Escrivá used to ask us to pray very hard for the Pope and love him very much, and show him our affection, because we ought always to see the Pope as the successor of Saint Peter, the dolce Cristo in terra, the “sweet Christ on earth”. And I saw how devoutly he would receive the blessing which the Holy Father gave from his car as he went by.

Before I went back to Spain Msgr. Escrivá asked me to spend two days in Rome to gain the Jubilee and visit the four Basilicas. He asked me to pray with great faith, especially in Saint Peter’s, feeling very united with the Pope, for the holiness of everyone in the Church to increase, and for more conversions everywhere. He recommended me not to forget my family, and to add my parents’ devotion to my own, since in a way I could represent them, because they would have loved to have the chance to pray in the Eternal City close to the See of Peter.

I very soon saw how continually Saint Josemaría renewed the offering of his life for the Pope, in readiness to give his life at any moment, with the grace of God. And he repeated that offering on the morning of 26 June 1975.

He would repeat, with absolute conviction, the words of Psalm 35:10, Apud Te est fons vitae et in lumine tuo videbimus lumen! (In you is the source of life and in your light we see light). He used this to increase his unity with Christ’s Vicar on earth. He always firmly believed that his union with the Blessed Trinity would grow still closer, the closer he was united in mind and will to the Pope and his intentions.

On countless occasions I heard him use expressions like “the common Father” or “the house of the common Father”, referring to the Pope or the Apostolic See. These expressions helped him experience the catholicity of the Church. He was made deeply happy by whatever made the Pope happy, and he likewise suffered when the Pope was suffering.

While on this subject, I remember how in October 1958, as soon as he heard that Pope Pius XII was gravely ill, he followed all the official communiqués closely. (…) It was the same when Pope John XXIII was seriously ill. I saw in his face how much he was suffering as he told us what Msgr. Dell’Acqua had said to him. Msgr Escrivá’s heart poured out words and expressions, even sighs, that showed how he was accompanying the common Father, how affected he was by the Pope’s sufferings.

I should make it clear that Msgr Escrivá never got edgy. But when he was in the presence of the Holy Father he was genuinely moved, and he never tried to hide or to overcome that sensation. And he was also delighted when he got permission for me, as secretary, to go and greet the Pope, the Successor of Peter. He always told me the same thing: “Fall on your knees, and make the most of those moments to show your love and veneration, and to increase your prayer for and union with the Pope, the Vicar of Christ.”


Extracts from: Echevarría, Javier y Bernal, Salvador, Memoria del Beato Josemaría Escrivá, Madrid, Rialp, 2000 (1st edition).