What is Opus Dei?
Opus Dei is a personal Prelature of the Catholic Church that helps ordinary lay people seek holiness in and through their everyday activities, especially through work.
It was founded in 1928 by a 26-year-old Catholic priest, Josemaria Escriva, who died in 1975, and was canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 6, 2002.
Currently over 80,000 people from every continent belong to the prelature. Its headquarters, together with its prelatic church, are in Rome.
What does Opus Dei - as an organization - do?
It helps ordinary people live up to their Christian calling in their day-to-day affairs by giving them the spiritual support and formation they need to achieve this. It promotes an awareness of the universal call to holiness - the radical idea that every person is called by God to be a saint - especially holiness in and by means of one's ordinary work and daily routine. This goal is pursued through retreats, mornings/evenings of recollection, courses in philosophy and theology, personal spiritual guidance, for members first of all, but also for others who wish to avail themselves of these spiritual services.
What do individual members do?
For the most part they do their job and live their family and social lives like everyone else, doing exactly what they would do if they were not in Opus Dei. The spirit of Opus Dei encourages them to make these daily tasks worthy to offer to God and a better service to family, friends and society. In this way they try to grow in Christian virtue in and through their work and other day-to-day activities and encourage others to do likewise.
To achieve this they frequent the sacraments and give some time each day to prayer, spiritual reading and other acts of devotion. They try to practice Christian self-denial, especially in small things - at work, in family life, putting others first, paying attention to detail, and so on. They attend a yearly retreat, as well as classes or courses on the faith and on aspects of developing a spiritual life.
Opus Dei is a "personal Prelature." What is that?
A personal Prelature is a jurisdictional entity within the Church's hierarchical structure, presided over by a prelate, answerable to the Sacred Congregation of Bishops, and to which laity and clergy can belong. It is established by the Holy See for specific pastoral or organizational purposes, and it is governed by statutes given it by the Holy See. The word personal indicates that it is defined by persons, whereas, for example, dioceses and parishes are defined by geographical areas.
What relationship do members have with the local bishop and other church structures?
The relationship of lay members of Opus Dei with their parish priest, bishop and the Pope is exactly the same as that of other Catholic faithful. Like other Catholics they are bound by diocesan regulations and follow the teachings and guidelines of the bishop and participate fully in the life of the parish according to their circumstances. Their commitments to Opus Dei are complementary commitments which begin where the authority of the bishop leaves off and relate to areas (for example, spiritual development and apostolic commitment) in which the faithful are free to follow whatever path to holiness they choose.
Mission and characteristics
The Second Vatican Council taught that all the baptized are called to follow Jesus Christ, by living according to the Gospel and making it known to others. The aim of Opus Dei is to contribute to that evangelising mission of the Church. Opus Dei encourages Christians of all social classes to live consistently with their faith, in the middle of the ordinary circumstances of their lives, especially through the sanctification of their work.
In order to fulfil this mission, the prelature offers spiritual formation and pastoral care to its members, as well as to many others. With the help of this pastoral attention they are encouraged to put the teachings of the Gospel into practice, through exercising the Christian virtues and sanctifying their work.
For the faithful of the prelature, sanctifying work means working according to the spirit of Jesus Christ: with the greatest possible competence, for the glory of God and the service of others, thus contributing to the sanctification of the world, by making the Gospel present in all human endeavours.
The faithful of the prelature carry out their individual task of evangelisation in the various sectors of society in which they live and work. Their apostolic work is not limited to specific fields such as education, care for the sick, or other forms of direct social aid. The prelature seeks to remind people that all Christians, whatever their background or situation, must cooperate in solving the problems of society in a Christian way, and bear constant witness to their faith.
In the Diocese of Johannesburg:
Vicar for South Africa:
Mgr Miguel Gonzalez, LL.M., J.C.D.
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