Opus Dei

[Red_Meg]

Something came to me. I just realized that Opus Dei is an attempt to bring monasticism, and its social dynamics, into the every day life of secular society, including such things as obedience, mortifications, adherence to a hierarchicy.

God bless,
Ut

Okay, now, Ut, that’s the kind of talk that’s going to get some albino assassin monks coming after you… Just kidding.

Seriously, though, it’s not really accurate to view Opus Dei through the lens of monasticism or religious life. Mortification should be part and parcel of every Catholic’s life, not just consecrated religious. Ditto for contemplative prayer, Mass, etc.

We really are lay from the ground up, and not some kind of modified, altered, or diluted form of consecrated religious. We aren’t a third order or secular institute. Trying to shoehorn the Work into those kinds of categories has never worked very well, looking back at the history of these things. The whole “point” of the Work was to remind everybody that all of us Catholics, not just the religious, are called to radically imitate Christ in every aspect of our lives.

We’re really more shooting for the model established by the early Christians. They didn’t “leave the world” in any sense, they weren’t anything like consecrated religious, yet they lived their faith out in such a way that they were martyred by the thousands for the sake of the Name, and within a few centuries had converted over entire pagan countries.

I did a quick search around and found an article by the late prelate of Opus Dei, Don Alvaro del Portillo that might be worth a read.

I hope the tone of this isn’t too strong-- I’m not trying to shoot you down, just to give you a better sense of what we’re really about.

Best,

Margaret

 

[utunumsint]

Okay, now, Ut, that’s the kind of talk that’s going to get some albino assassin monks coming after you… Just kidding.

Seriously, though, it’s not really accurate to view Opus Dei through the lens of monasticism or religious life. Mortification should be part and parcel of every Catholic’s life, not just consecrated religious. Ditto for contemplative prayer, Mass, etc.

We really are lay from the ground up, and not some kind of modified, altered, or diluted form of consecrated religious. We aren’t a third order or secular institute. Trying to shoehorn the Work into those kinds of categories has never worked very well, looking back at the history of these things. The whole “point” of the Work was to remind everybody that all of us Catholics, not just the religious, are called to radically imitate Christ in every aspect of our lives.

We’re really more shooting for the model established by the early Christians. They didn’t “leave the world” in any sense, they weren’t anything like consecrated religious, yet they lived their faith out in such a way that they were martyred by the thousands for the sake of the Name, and within a few centuries had converted over entire pagan countries.

I did a quick search around and found an article by the late prelate of Opus Dei, Don Alvaro del Portillo that might be worth a read.

I hope the tone of this isn’t too strong-- I’m not trying to shoot you down, just to give you a better sense of what we’re really about.

Best,

Margaret

If anyone should be worried about tone, it should be me.

I showed my wife the passages that were bothering me, and she shrugged, and asked me what I found offensive about them. It made me realize how different our backgrounds are. She went to a Regnum Christi school for the last three years of her Highschool education discerning whether she wanted to become concecrated. It was a highly regemented life with weekly spiritual direction, many opertunities to excercise the virtue of obedience, even long periods of enforced silence. She said she thrived in this kind of structured environment, and I believe her. For her, Opus Dei is a return to this kind of structure, only much more suited for her current state in life (home with 2 kids).

Anyway, I feel like I should stop posting my knee jerk reactions and start trusting the church’s judgement more. Escriva is a canonized saint, and the order does have vatican aproval, so I should really stop worrying about it. My wife is in good hands.

Thanks again for your help,
God bless,
Ut

 

[KingAlfred]

I read somewhere that OD requires a special pledge or oath of loyalty / obedience to the Pope. That’s my only hang-up with it. I don’t see the need for that.

A friend once tried to induct me into a catechumen community. I attended a long, long Mass full of singing and other special ceremonies. In the end, I decided just being Catholic is good enough. What more do I need than the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church?

 

[Navarricano]

I read somewhere that OD requires a special pledge or oath of loyalty / obedience to the Pope. That’s my only hang-up with it. I don’t see the need for that.

A friend once tried to induct me into a catechumen community. I attended a long, long Mass full of singing and other special ceremonies. In the end, I decided just being Catholic is good enough. What more do I need than the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church?

Again, it would be nice to have a reference to the source of information where you read that Opus Dei requires a special pledge of oath or loyalty to the Pope. As far as I know, it does not. None of my close friends who are members of Opus Dei have ever mentioned such a thing, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist either.

I cede to RedMeg’s authority here … she is the participant in this thread who can best answer questions because she has a vocation to Opus Dei, I do not; I can only share my experiences and the knowledge that comes from my friendships with people in the Work.

By the way, a specific pledge of loyalty to the Pope and the Church’s magisterium does exist in some organizations in the Church. I do not see that as unnecessary or at all inappropriate or odd, given that there are plenty of ostensibly Catholic organizations which actively undermine or deny the Church’s authority on any number of issues. Even the Jesuits have a “fourth vow” in which they profess particular loyalty to the Pope.

 

[aimee]

I’ve enjoyed being a cooperator. It’s provided me spiritual support. My only complaint is that it is a long drive away! Its effect in my life has only been positive, an encouragement to a deeper spiritual life. From my very first contact (a priest of Opus Dei gave me a copy of The Way), I found that it spoke to me in just the tone I needed.

It doesn’t have to be a large time commitment. I get out of it what I put into it. Their priests are great confessors.

Please explain in what way the priests are great confessors?

 

[aimee]

Again, it would be nice to have a reference to the source of information where you read that Opus Dei requires a special pledge of oath or loyalty to the Pope. As far as I know, it does not. None of my close friends who are members of Opus Dei have ever mentioned such a thing, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist either.

I cede to RedMeg’s authority here … she is the participant in this thread who can best answer questions because she has a vocation to Opus Dei, I do not; I can only share my experiences and the knowledge that comes from my friendships with people in the Work.

By the way, a specific pledge of loyalty to the Pope and the Church’s magisterium does exist in some organizations in the Church. I do not see that as unnecessary or at all inappropriate or odd, given that there are plenty of ostensibly Catholic organizations which actively undermine or deny the Church’s authority on any number of issues. Even the Jesuits have a “fourth vow” in which they profess particular loyalty to the Pope.

given that there are plenty of ostensibly Catholic organizations which actively undermine or deny the Church’s authority on any number of issues

Pax Christi is one…I know there are good intention people in this org but I find the org seem to undermine authority / magisterium

 

[Pug]

Please explain in what way the priests are great confessors?

First, let me say that there are so many great priests out there who are not in Opus Dei, too, of course. A big hand for all our priests :clapping: Every priest is a gift to the Church.

I’ve found that the Opus Dei priests are very warm/welcoming/attentive in confession, creating an atmosphere that helps me share what is on my mind, in addition to my sins. They challenge me to grow in faith and closeness to Jesus every time I go in there. They make specific recommendations that are obviously tailored to me. They hit a mark that seems well designed to not be out of reach, and yet still be something I need to do. Maybe it is like they offer more direction. I don’t know. Perhaps part of what I feel is driven by my type of spirituality being a match to the priest, because we both are inspired by Saint Josemaría Escrivá. I’ve never tried to quantify it before. Thanks for making me try.

Also, and please don’t take it the wrong way, every word out of their mouth is so, oh, solid, so non-wishy washy, so in accord with everything I hear when I read papal encyclicals, and stuff. But this could just be a reflection on me, not them, I suppose.

 

[utunumsint]

First, let me say that there are so many great priests out there who are not in Opus Dei, too, of course. A big hand for all our priests :clapping: Every priest is a gift to the Church.

I’ve found that the Opus Dei priests are very warm/welcoming/attentive in confession, creating an atmosphere that helps me share what is on my mind, in addition to my sins. They challenge me to grow in faith and closeness to Jesus every time I go in there. They make specific recommendations that are obviously tailored to me. They hit a mark that seems well designed to not be out of reach, and yet still be something I need to do. Maybe it is like they offer more direction. I don’t know. Perhaps part of what I feel is driven by my type of spirituality being a match to the priest, because we both are inspired by Saint Josemaría Escrivá. I’ve never tried to quantify it before. Thanks for making me try.

Also, and please don’t take it the wrong way, every word out of their mouth is so, oh, solid, so non-wishy washy, so in accord with everything I hear when I read papal encyclicals, and stuff. But this could just be a reflection on me, not them, I suppose.

This jives with what my wife tells me. They do not have parishes. Opus Dei members go to their own parishes. Their vocation is to make you better Christians so you can better serve in your parish, at work, and in your community at large. They arn’t inward focused.

Spiritual direction is their thing. I once asked my parish priest if he did spiritual direction, and he said he would never be able to find the time to do that, what with all the other activities going on in his parish. He even recommended Opus Dei to me.

God bless,
Ut

 

[Pug]

to make you better Christians so you can better serve in your parish, at work, and in your community at large

I have very much found that what I hear is oriented to encourage me as a Christian who serves in my own parish and in whatever type of work or position I happen to be in. They encourage you to be faithful to the duties that you have, like being a father or a musician or a hairdresser or whatever, and to be a faithful witness to Christ. Also, they really encourage prayer.

 

[utunumsint]

I have very much found that what I hear is oriented to encourage me as a Christian who serves in my own parish and in whatever type of work or position I happen to be in. They encourage you to be faithful to the duties that you have, like being a father or a musician or a hairdresser or whatever, and to be a faithful witness to Christ. Also, they really encourage prayer.

OK. Here is an important question for me: Do they let you read Raymond Feist books?

God bless,
Ut

 

[Red_Meg]

Wow-- I was actually up way too late last night balancing the checkbook, and the thread was so quiet… Wake up the next morning and BANG!

I’m going to jump through a bunch of things as quickly as I can if that’s okay, rather than writing a slew of individual posts. In reverse order:

Here is an important question for me: Do they let you read Raymond Feist books?

Who is Raymond Feist? Seriously.

Please explain in what way the priests are great confessors?

Pug’s answer very much agreed with my own experiences-- the priests tend to be, for one thing, very *practical *in confession. Trying to be a saint is not a hypothetical exercise: it’s carried out in the here and now. Not procrastinating on the laundry, not staying up too late at night (see above!) such that I can’t work hard the next day or stay cheerful with my family, remembering to show my appreciation to my husband for all his efforts, etc. are the kinds of things I need to be reminded of, rather than vague pop-psych platitudes.

They do not have parishes. Opus Dei members go to their own parishes.

I misread you at first, Ut-- I thought you were saying that there were specific Opus Dei-only parishes or something like that. On the re-read, though, I think you’re saying that we go to whatever our ordinary parish would be, and that is correct. In my case, it’s not my geographical parish because dh & I are fortunate enough to have his parents nearby (but in a different parish) so most Sundays we can meet up with them and the kids get to spend time with their grandparents.

I read somewhere that OD requires a special pledge or oath of loyalty / obedience to the Pope. That’s my only hang-up with it. I don’t see the need for that.

As Navarricano, it could be part of some group’s charism to have a special oath to the Pope-- why not? But that simply isn’t the case with Opus Dei. We make no special pledge or oath to the Pope.

However, some of the media reports circulating a few years back because of the Da Vinci Code may have given that suggestion. I think it’s because for most secular reporters, the very idea that a Catholic (any Catholic, mind you) actually believed and followed the Church’s moral teachings was so strange to them that it must surely be indicative of some secret, special allegience to the Pope (cue sinister music.) Obviously, such a reporter would not have spent any amount of time hanging around CAF or he would have discovered how many “orthodox” Catholics there are of every stripe-- Opus Dei is a tiny minority here, but there are also many good people from more orders and apostolates and institutes than I could try to name, plus many more good people who are “just” ordinary Catholics in the pew. But so many reporters have only had contact with Cafeteria Catholics that I think it overloaded a few circuits for them when they met people that weren’t. That’s my theory, anyway…

Best,

Margaret

 

[Pug]

OK. Here is an important question for me: Do they let you read Raymond Feist books?

God bless,
Ut

Well, they haven’t made me get rid of my stash so far. Its been so long since I read magician: apprentice. Maybe I should dig around in my attic tonight. My sci-fi and fantasy are mostly up there for lack of space. Don’t worry, though, it is alphabetized. I ought to be able to find it.

Seriously, they don’t force cooperators to get rid of books, not that I know of. Though, I do voluntarily control what I read (avoid nasty stuff, try to read the saints, don’t read as much fiction, etc.)

I just noticed your post, Margaret. “Pug” is a character in a Feist novel. I mean, *I’m *not a character, but my screen name is. I’m sure Ut wished to tease me a little.

 

[Red_Meg]

Ahh, I get it… All this time I thought you were calling yourself after a breed of dog.

With a few notable exceptions, my preferences run more towards the sci-fi and alternative/speculative history end of things than fantasy (the notable exceptions being Tolkien, of course, Lewis and Rowling.)

The topic of books does raise an interesting question, though. I certainly would consult other knowledgable people in the Work before reading a book that I was concerned had questionable content-- the Da Vinci Code, for instance. This isn’t so much an “Opus Dei” thing as much as an “I’m a Catholic who doesn’t want to needlessly imperil my faith with damaging books” thing. I actually did end up needing to read DVC, because I was asked to give a lot of talks in my local area to different parishes and groups, explaining the real historical content that was so badly mangled in the book-- the council of Nicaea, Mary Madgalene, gnosticism, etc…

But for ordinary fiction reading, there are just soooo many titles out there, both classics and new stuff, that it would be nearly impossible for me to actually find somebody inside the Work who was already familiar with it and who could give me some guidance on any red flags. Thanks to the internet, however, it’s pretty easy to spend about five or ten minutes reading the 5-star and 1-star reviews on Amazon to get a feel for the book in question. I’ve also found some of the St. Blog’s sites to be good leads on good reads, since a very high percentage of the bloggers seem to be sci-fi buffs.

And since this has now veered wildly off-topic, I think I’ll shut up.

Stay cool! (It’s 100+ where I am!)

Margaret