Vocation with Opus Dei

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Since I was Confirmed in 2005, I have admired Opus Dei and St. Josemaria, but at the same time skeptical due to negative opinions from the media and others, both secular and Catholic. To be honest, I was especially reserved of the discipline and cilice used by numeraries and supernumeraries. Recently, I have come to understand that God has been calling me to discern joining the Prelature and I have been running from it due to this skepticism and fear of being frowned on by my Anglican parents and sister.

God gave me the grace to see through the fascade of the media and these other misinformed opinions by reflecting on the message of sanctifying work, and a fond memory of an evening meditation I attended last year. I have therefore contacted Opus Dei via email, and look forward to beginning a more active discernment in the near future. A negative anxiety regarding my state in life as a single man trying to discern God’s will has left and a certain being at peace has ensued within - blessed be God - since my decision to say “yes” in discerning with Opus Dei. If you have any fond memories of retreats, days of recollection etc, or you are a numerary/supernumerary, please share your experiences. Also, your prayers would be much appreciated.
 
Yes, thanks to Dan Brown’s asinine portrayal of Opus Dei as a cult of religious fanatics and gun wielding monks, the Work has suffered somewhat.

I have done a few events with Opus Dei, mostly Days of Recollection and book discussions. So, I am not reaching in the dark when I say that Opus Dei is committed to bringing Holiness to the average person. This is why John Paul II himself so loved the Work. If there is one thing our dear late pontiff tried to teach us is that we are all called to Holiness. We are all called to be Saints. This is the charism of Opus Dei, helping people find God in their lives, no matter their vocation.

If this is where you feel God is leading you, please know that the world is desperate for men and women like you. The greatest crisis in the world today is the absence of God in our day to day lives. And Opus Dei is on the front lines of that battle.
 
John Allen, the reporter for National Catholic Reporter [many think he is the only good thing that paper has], wrote a book on Opus Dei a year or two ago. I think most have agreed that it is a fair appraisal.
 
Only numeraries do the physical mortification thing - those are the ones who live single, celibate lives. Supernumeraries do not, and they can be married/get married.

My husband and I have started to get involved with them.

They are not a cult. You will never be taken aside and shown some sort of secret handshake or told about the aliens or anything like that. They stick strictly to completely orthodox Catholic beliefs and practices.

That book by Mr. Allen is quite good. I second the recommendation.
 
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and also for your encouragement. Pax.
 
Hi! I’m an associate member of opus dei, have been so for almost 7 years. 😃
Anyway, I suggest that you try to find out if there is a center of Opus Dei near where you are and attend the formational activities offered. It always works that way, usually one begins attending the activities before one discovers a possible vocation. BTW, only the celibate members (associates and numeraries) use the cilice and discipline.
And, oh, you can read about the quirky way I met the work and discovered my vocation here.
:wave
 
When I first started reading saint Josemaria’s books, I was surprised with how strict he was, how demanding his words sounded. But, it made sense to me in the parts when he talked about influencing others, so I read them again and again and discovered that he was right about everything. It’s not enough not to steal or not to kill. Everyone avoids theft and murder.
We, Christians, should do more, should be the real presence of Christ in this world.

Life has to be about love, and you can’t love without constant sacrifice. And for being a humble and obedient servant of God, you really have to practise a lot.
I have been in contact with Opus Dei for a couple of months. I like the community a lot. There are things that I don’t agree with completely, but nothing that would make me suspect their faithfulness to the Catholic Church. I think they are a true refreshment in this world, because they really try to be holy in every single aspect of their life.
 
From my observations and the talk here:

It is a thing you learn to love.

St. Therese said an unenthusiastic novice is worthless.

Vocations ALWAYS start as a fire.

Never with arridness.
 
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eichenb2:
How do I find an Opus Dei organization in SE Michigan?
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If you send an email to info@opusdei.org with the names of a few of the larger cities in your area, they should be able to put you in contact with someone nearby. There may not be a center in your area-- I’m not sure about that one way or the other-- but there may still be activities like recollections that you could try out.

Merry Christmas!

Margaret
 
I’ve had a spiritual director who was an Opus Dei priest and we met at an Opus Dei house, where several numeraries lived.

I became friends with some of them and they were very reserved. So much so that only years later did I come to know about the physical mortification.

Such practice is not uncommon in the Church even to this day, even if it’s fallen out of taste in the West in the past few decades.

All in all, even if members of Opus Dei may have committed abuses in the zealousness recruiting, they are a most worthy lay organization. Their priests are solidly orthodox and excellent confessors and spiritual directors. You’ll also find that most of its members are joyful Catholics striving for perfection as the Father is perfect. If Opus Dei is what God calls you to, dive in head first.

:blessyou:
 
Follow your heart but keep an open and critical mind. Google them, and read EVERYTHING. Also, read some of the critical reports and see if they are fair and examine - carefully - why they have been criticized. Then, make up your own mind.
 
mongobongo said:
Follow your heart but keep an open and critical mind. Google them, and read EVERYTHING. Also, read some of the critical reports and see if they are fair and examine - carefully - why they have been criticized. Then, make up your own mind.
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Or better yet, get to know them personally. It’s the only way to find out how fair or not they’re treated in Googledom.

:blessyou:
 
Augustine said:
Or better yet, get to know them personally. It’s the only way to find out how fair or not they’re treated in Googledom.

:blessyou:
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GASP! You mean the almighty Google is not always truthful? I’m shocked.
 
Listen. I get worried when members of the Opus Dei said they heard him say bad words all the time.

Makes you think that the joke about the heavy priced payed for the canonization is real. All you need is a little messed up clause and the thing is invalid. But everyone else buys it.

But that is a wild, crazy, silly and extreme hypothesis.

As for me, I follow what the Church says. If she says that he is a saint, then I’ll believe it.
 
What’s funny about all of these posts is the fact that when I first heard about Opus Dei I was in the military discerning a vocation to the priesthood again after holding back because of a bad experience with a shameful priest in the seminary my first year. I left before I should have. I ended up marrying a Christian woman 9 years later and Opus Dei’s spirituality had already graced my lfie…before I knew what it was. I was relieved to find that there was such an order in the Church with such views. I told my wife that if I had remained Catholic it is what I would have probably become. But now we’re hanging onto Franciscan spirituality. I still love Opus Dei though and wish you well. All of us should be living like this anyway.
 
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