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Conversations with Saint José Maria Escrivá de Balaguer

Since 1928 my preaching has been that holiness is not something for the privileged, that all paths on earth can be divine, because the hinge of the specific spirituality of Opus Dei is the sanctification of ordinary work. We must reject the prejudice that ordinary faithful can do no more than limit themselves to helping the clergy, in ecclesiastical apostolates. And warn that, to achieve this supernatural end, men need to be and feel personally free, with the freedom that Jesus Christ won us.

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Opus Dei is as comfortable in England as in Kenya, in Nigeria as in Japan; in the United States as in Austria, in Ireland as in Mexico or Argentina; in each place it is a theological and pastoral phenomenon rooted in the souls of the country. It is not anchored in a certain culture, nor in a specific time in history. In the Anglo-Saxon world, Opus Dei has, thanks to God’s help and the cooperation of many people, apostolic works of various kinds: Netherhall House, in London, which pays special attention to Afro-Asian university students; Hudson Center, in Montreal, for the human and intellectual formation of young girls; Nairana Cultural Center, which is aimed at students from Sydney… In the United States, where Opus Dei began to work in 1949, we can mention: Midtown, for workers in a neighborhood in the heart of Chicago; Stonecrest Community Center, in Washington, dedicated to the education of women who lack professional training; Trimont House, residence hall in Boston, etc. One last warning: the influence of the Work, to the extent that it exists in each case, will always be spiritual, of a religious order, never temporary.

Regarding religious freedom, Opus Dei, since it was founded, has never discriminated: it works and lives with everyone, because it sees in each person a soul that must be respected and loved. They are not just words; Our Work is the first Catholic organization that, with the authorization of the Holy See, admits non-Catholics, Christians or not, as Cooperators. I have always defended the freedom of consciences. I don’t understand violence: it doesn’t seem to me suitable either to convince or to win; the error is overcome with prayer, with the grace of God, with study; never with force, always with charity

The spirit of the Work and that of its partners is to serve the Church, and all creatures, without making use of the Church. I like that the Catholic leads Christ not in name, but in conduct, giving real testimony of Christian life.

I have always thought that the fundamental characteristic of the process of evolution of the laity is the awareness of the dignity of the Christian vocation. God’s call, baptismal character and grace make it possible for every Christian to fully embody faith. Every Christian must be alter Christus, ipse Christus present among men. The Holy Father has said it unequivocally: «It is necessary to give all its importance once more to the fact of having received holy Baptism, that is, of having been grafted, by means of that sacrament, into the mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church… Being a Christian, having received Baptism, should not be considered indifferent or worthless, but should deeply and happily mark the conscience of every baptized person»

The Work was born to help those Christians, inserted in the fabric of civil society -with their family, their friends, their professional work, their noble aspirations-, to understand that their life, just as it is, can be an occasion for an encounter with Christ: that is, it is a path of holiness and apostolate. Christ is present in any honest human task, the life of an ordinary Christian – which may seem vulgar and petty to some – can and should be a holy and sanctifying life.

In other words: to follow Christ, to serve the Church, to help other people to recognize their eternal destiny, it is not essential to abandon the world or move away from it, nor is it necessary to dedicate oneself to ecclesiastical activity; the necessary and sufficient condition is to fulfill the mission that God has entrusted to each one, in the place and environment desired by his Providence.
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