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Justin_Mee
Guest
Thanks. I am a professional but retired. If they are interested in youth, I’m not in their target group.
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Mrs_Sally
Guest
No, they are not just interested in youth. They are interested in offerring additional help on the road to sanctity. Just like every other private devotion or group (KofC, Legion of Mary, etc.), no one has to join Opus Dei. And like those other groups, they don’t have any age restrictions. You may find that the group in your area skews one way or the other based on general demographics or interest. Around here they all seem to be married people from 30s to 50s. But that may be because I fit in that category so those are all the Opus Dei people I’ve met!
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damooster
Guest
I did not mean to suggest that that’s all Opus Dei is about. But the website for the local website mentions, several times, that the programs are geared towards young men and professional men. It does make me wonder if there’s a place for me in Opus Dei; I’m just a simple salesman.
I just found my email exchanges with the Director and I do still plan on checking them out. I was just sharing my initial experiences and observations.
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Justin_Mee
Guest
I have found excellent videos on Opus Dei here: opusdei.us/art.php?p=16736
As a new Catholic, I don’t know if this is for me yet. I will pray that I will some day be able to meet their high standards and goals.
As a new Catholic, I don’t know if this is for me yet. I will pray that I will some day be able to meet their high standards and goals.
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Mayita30
Guest
I wouldnt say it is a cult.If it were a cult , the pope wouldnt have canonized its founder. St. Josemaria Escriva. Based on my experience, they give spiritual formation and retreats to all age group. It is as what I understand a conservative order/prelature in the catholic church
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Rence
Guest
I only have a little bit of experience with only one group of opus dei, so you must know that one person’s experiences aren’t the beginning and end of it all.
My family was not in a good place at the time my mom met someone from opus dei. They encouraged us to join them but worked harder on my mom than on me. All of the people there were single, and lived in the same building and contributed all their money to a common pot. They had the Sacrament in their building, and you had access to the Sacrament for prayers and adoration anytime you wanted. They had mass daily and they had scheduled prayer meetings. Not sure if they were required of the residents, but I know they were available. I know we were invited. I remember riding in a car with her friend once. I don’t remember where we were going, but she seemed pleasant and normal enough. We prayed the Rosary together in the car. I wasn’t sure why they were approaching my mom because she had a family, and as far as I know the residents were all single. I don’t know if there were any families involved outside the opus dei residence.
My mom confided in her opus dei friend that her husband (my father) was verbally and mentally abusive. That he lost his job a few years before she met her friend from opus dei, and decided to open up a business with mom’s parents. He cheated my grandparents out of a lot of money, never paid back his loan to them, ran illegal tax work through the place, had prostitutes and rough bikers though the place, and was dating a toothless hooker on crack. Not an exaggeration. My brother was also attending a seminarian preparatory high school, which my father made him quit so that he could work at the store. Eventually, the store was in a state of almost-bankruptcy, so my father was no longer contributing to any bills, food, etc. and left that burden to my mother alone. Mom found out about Dad’s girlfriend via an anonymous phonecall a few weeks after her father died.
My mom confided in her OD friend that she had dated my father for about a year before marrying him in the Church and upon their honeymoon in his hometown in Italy was told that she was HIS wife now and would be living in Italy now. He took away her passport and ID and kept her a prisoner there against her will. He told her that he never intended to return to the states. The American Embassy said that because she was married to my dad was considered an Italian citizen and they couldn’t help her leave without her ID and passport. Mom got pregnant (with me) on her honeymoon, and told her mother-in-law that she was going to get back to the US anyway she could and if it meant getting herself and the baby inside her killed, then so be it. So Nanna gave mom back her ID and passport and told my dad “you married an american, now go back to america with your family”.
Upon returning to the States, her parents encouraged her to stay with her husband “for the baby”, and besides, it was a “sin” to get divorced. They were very conservative and though they loved what they perceived to be the Church, they didn’t really know a lot of the teachings, especially that mom had grounds for an annullment. So she remained with him for the next 18 years. My home was a constant battlefield. I would hide in my room all day or night when my mom was at work. My brother couldn’t stand to be home, so he just didn’t come home. Often mom would fight with my brother about breaking curfew and dad told him not to pay attention to mom cuz she didn’t know anything. My grandparents were verbally and emotionally tormented by my dad (especially my grandmother), but they never ever knew the extent of what was going on at home. Mom didn’t want to burden them with it. But she told her friend from OD of it.
Her opus dei friend said that she had to “offer up her sufferings” and that her husband “was her way to salvation”, that she “had to stay with him, or risk going to hell” because marriage is sacrament and is forever. They continued to counsel her for about a year. Mom was scared of going to hell and afraid of doing the wrong thing, so she listened to them and ignored the people around her who told her that one day he was going to kill her.
One day dad came home drunk, put some meat in the broiler, and fell asleep and almost caused a fire. Mom and him got into it over the incident and he pinned her down and started choking her. I beat on him with all my strength and got him off her, called the police, had him escorted out and told mom, it was either me or dad. I kicked him out, my brother made sure he didn’t come back, and mom followed the directions of the responding officers and went to court the next day for an order of protection. Needless to say, he never step foot in our home again, and thankfully I haven’t seen him in years…and since her annulment with the help of a priest, we haven’t seen neither hide nor hair of her opeus dei friends.
Now, there are opus dei houses all over the country. And while I’m quite sure they’re not all crackpots like the ones who counselled my mom and probably knew better than to try to counsel me, I’d rather not have anything more to do with them myself… the group I met appeared to be like a cult in nature. The opus dei representatives that I knew took advantage of a scared, abused woman who never felt so alone, and needed a friend and good counsel at the worst time of her life, and worked her over until she thought she would be deserving of hell by protecting herself and her kids from danger. I just thank God that a good priest was introduced in her life who plucked her out of the hole she was living in for years.
My family was not in a good place at the time my mom met someone from opus dei. They encouraged us to join them but worked harder on my mom than on me. All of the people there were single, and lived in the same building and contributed all their money to a common pot. They had the Sacrament in their building, and you had access to the Sacrament for prayers and adoration anytime you wanted. They had mass daily and they had scheduled prayer meetings. Not sure if they were required of the residents, but I know they were available. I know we were invited. I remember riding in a car with her friend once. I don’t remember where we were going, but she seemed pleasant and normal enough. We prayed the Rosary together in the car. I wasn’t sure why they were approaching my mom because she had a family, and as far as I know the residents were all single. I don’t know if there were any families involved outside the opus dei residence.
My mom confided in her opus dei friend that her husband (my father) was verbally and mentally abusive. That he lost his job a few years before she met her friend from opus dei, and decided to open up a business with mom’s parents. He cheated my grandparents out of a lot of money, never paid back his loan to them, ran illegal tax work through the place, had prostitutes and rough bikers though the place, and was dating a toothless hooker on crack. Not an exaggeration. My brother was also attending a seminarian preparatory high school, which my father made him quit so that he could work at the store. Eventually, the store was in a state of almost-bankruptcy, so my father was no longer contributing to any bills, food, etc. and left that burden to my mother alone. Mom found out about Dad’s girlfriend via an anonymous phonecall a few weeks after her father died.
My mom confided in her OD friend that she had dated my father for about a year before marrying him in the Church and upon their honeymoon in his hometown in Italy was told that she was HIS wife now and would be living in Italy now. He took away her passport and ID and kept her a prisoner there against her will. He told her that he never intended to return to the states. The American Embassy said that because she was married to my dad was considered an Italian citizen and they couldn’t help her leave without her ID and passport. Mom got pregnant (with me) on her honeymoon, and told her mother-in-law that she was going to get back to the US anyway she could and if it meant getting herself and the baby inside her killed, then so be it. So Nanna gave mom back her ID and passport and told my dad “you married an american, now go back to america with your family”.
Upon returning to the States, her parents encouraged her to stay with her husband “for the baby”, and besides, it was a “sin” to get divorced. They were very conservative and though they loved what they perceived to be the Church, they didn’t really know a lot of the teachings, especially that mom had grounds for an annullment. So she remained with him for the next 18 years. My home was a constant battlefield. I would hide in my room all day or night when my mom was at work. My brother couldn’t stand to be home, so he just didn’t come home. Often mom would fight with my brother about breaking curfew and dad told him not to pay attention to mom cuz she didn’t know anything. My grandparents were verbally and emotionally tormented by my dad (especially my grandmother), but they never ever knew the extent of what was going on at home. Mom didn’t want to burden them with it. But she told her friend from OD of it.
Her opus dei friend said that she had to “offer up her sufferings” and that her husband “was her way to salvation”, that she “had to stay with him, or risk going to hell” because marriage is sacrament and is forever. They continued to counsel her for about a year. Mom was scared of going to hell and afraid of doing the wrong thing, so she listened to them and ignored the people around her who told her that one day he was going to kill her.
One day dad came home drunk, put some meat in the broiler, and fell asleep and almost caused a fire. Mom and him got into it over the incident and he pinned her down and started choking her. I beat on him with all my strength and got him off her, called the police, had him escorted out and told mom, it was either me or dad. I kicked him out, my brother made sure he didn’t come back, and mom followed the directions of the responding officers and went to court the next day for an order of protection. Needless to say, he never step foot in our home again, and thankfully I haven’t seen him in years…and since her annulment with the help of a priest, we haven’t seen neither hide nor hair of her opeus dei friends.
Now, there are opus dei houses all over the country. And while I’m quite sure they’re not all crackpots like the ones who counselled my mom and probably knew better than to try to counsel me, I’d rather not have anything more to do with them myself… the group I met appeared to be like a cult in nature. The opus dei representatives that I knew took advantage of a scared, abused woman who never felt so alone, and needed a friend and good counsel at the worst time of her life, and worked her over until she thought she would be deserving of hell by protecting herself and her kids from danger. I just thank God that a good priest was introduced in her life who plucked her out of the hole she was living in for years.
D
Dorothy
Guest
Thank you for sharing that! The Opus Dei “friend” was ignorant of true Christian charity and was giving spiritual direction he/she had no business giving. Thank God you did what you did and saved your Mom’s life.
I am sure there are very good Opus Dei groups, and that there are some that have some extreme people in them, that are not very knowledgable as they should be about their faith. Discernment should be necessary to keep out people who are not truly called to be there.
I am sure there are very good Opus Dei groups, and that there are some that have some extreme people in them, that are not very knowledgable as they should be about their faith. Discernment should be necessary to keep out people who are not truly called to be there.
Y
Young_Thinker
Guest
I think that Opus Dei is an excellent institution, and it has seemingly become a very powerful force within our faith. In addition, from what I have read, Santo Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer was very much a traditionalist. As for reports of widespread self-mortification among numeraries, some people whom I know feel that it is somehow sadistic, but I do not see at all that is wrong with the practice. Like fasting, it is basically a way of purifying the soul. Admittedly, I am rather fascinated with mysticism(to which I feel ascetic self-deprivation to be directly related).
J
jaaraf
Guest
Rence, I’m sorry about you experience. If I were your Mom’s friend, I would have suggested that she get advice from a canon-lawyer priest about grounds for annulment. If there are no grounds for annulment, I would advice her to get a separation from the husband, Now, this is not tantamount to divorce since the marriage is still recognized by the Church but given the circumstances, both parties have to live separately and cannot marry again unless one of them dies. We cannot also judge your mother’s friend entirely though… She may never have known the extent of the abuse in your household and came to the conclusion that is was manageable.
I’m an associate member of Opus Dei, btw. I live apostolic celibacy but I do not live family life in a Center of Opus Dei like the numeraries of Opus Dei do. I still live at home with my parents, which is a short walk to the hospital where I am currently doing my residency training. 
Opus Dei is for people of all walks of life. I know members with manual jobs like driving taxis as well as top-level executive. Members join the Work (as Opus Dei is familiarly known) at a young age, middle-aged or in old age. Majority of the numeraries though join in their late teens or twenties, given the fact that they have to receive a lot of formation and are the ones most available to impart formation to members and non-members of Opus Dei as well. I myself discovered my vocation quite young (I was about 20), and I have been in Opus Dei for almost 10 years now. I know associates who have joined the Work in their teens, twenties, thirties, forties and fifties. Our founder St. Josemaria even said that if someone in his 80’s wanted to join the Work as an associate and has the vocation, there is no reason why he can’t be allowed to become a member. Some associates are also widows/widowers who have grown-up children with no more financial obligation to support their families. Male numeraries and associates may be called to the priesthood by the Prelate of Opus Dei to form part of the clergy of Opus Dei. They are secular priests, not religious. Most members of Opus Dei are supernumeraries who are either married with children (or without any) or are widowed/widowers or single and still looking for their lifetime partners (like a few of the supernumeraries around my age that I know
).
Opus Dei’s mission is to help lay persons seek sanctity right where they are: to sanctify themselves, sanctify their everyday work and sanctify others through their work. Activites are separate for men or for women only. They are usually tailored for certain age groups: i.e. separate classes on the doctrine of the Catholic Faith for married people and another one for high school and college girls, which would explain some of your comments. Opus Dei is not at all elitist. I know members in our country who were born into prominent old-rich families as well as those from very simple poor backgrounds. I myself come from a middle-class background. Taxi drivers, farmers, fishermen and laborers have become members of Opus Dei as well as doctors, lawyers and executives.
You can learn about my vocation story here
You can learn more about Opus Dei in the official website: www.opusdei.org.
Anyone is free to pm me for any questions. I will try to answer as soon as I am able to.
I’m an associate member of Opus Dei, btw.
I live apostolic celibacy but I do not live family life in a Center of Opus Dei like the numeraries of Opus Dei do. I still live at home with my parents, which is a short walk to the hospital where I am currently doing my residency training. Opus Dei is for people of all walks of life. I know members with manual jobs like driving taxis as well as top-level executive. Members join the Work (as Opus Dei is familiarly known) at a young age, middle-aged or in old age. Majority of the numeraries though join in their late teens or twenties, given the fact that they have to receive a lot of formation and are the ones most available to impart formation to members and non-members of Opus Dei as well. I myself discovered my vocation quite young (I was about 20), and I have been in Opus Dei for almost 10 years now. I know associates who have joined the Work in their teens, twenties, thirties, forties and fifties. Our founder St. Josemaria even said that if someone in his 80’s wanted to join the Work as an associate and has the vocation, there is no reason why he can’t be allowed to become a member. Some associates are also widows/widowers who have grown-up children with no more financial obligation to support their families. Male numeraries and associates may be called to the priesthood by the Prelate of Opus Dei to form part of the clergy of Opus Dei. They are secular priests, not religious. Most members of Opus Dei are supernumeraries who are either married with children (or without any) or are widowed/widowers or single and still looking for their lifetime partners (like a few of the supernumeraries around my age that I know
).Opus Dei’s mission is to help lay persons seek sanctity right where they are: to sanctify themselves, sanctify their everyday work and sanctify others through their work. Activites are separate for men or for women only. They are usually tailored for certain age groups: i.e. separate classes on the doctrine of the Catholic Faith for married people and another one for high school and college girls, which would explain some of your comments. Opus Dei is not at all elitist. I know members in our country who were born into prominent old-rich families as well as those from very simple poor backgrounds. I myself come from a middle-class background. Taxi drivers, farmers, fishermen and laborers have become members of Opus Dei as well as doctors, lawyers and executives.
You can learn about my vocation story here
You can learn more about Opus Dei in the official website: www.opusdei.org.
Anyone is free to pm me for any questions. I will try to answer as soon as I am able to.
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