What is Opus Dei?

[commenter]

I hate to say it, but most of the posts are wrong.
Opus Dei is very controversial because of their extreme acts of penance.
They believe in intense mortification of the flesh.
This includes fasting, sleeping on the ground, taking cold showers, jumping out of your bed at the first morning alarm, wearing a cilice(A belt with small spikes that poke your skin, THEY HURT), and striking your back with a disciple(Think of the Scourging at the Pillar, but instead you are scourging yourself and the scourge is made of rope).
Here are some of their instruments of mortification:
cilice.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/200x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/i/cilice-1ll-3.jpg
c8.alamy.com/comp/DCANMN/a-discipline-used-for-mortification-by-many-traditional-catholics-DCANMN.jpg
grammarparty.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/hairshirt.jpg

All religious orders have mortification of the flesh as part of their heritage. Read up on St. Francis, he went way, way beyond Opus Dei. If Francis is too medieval for you, consider Mother Teresa. Christ, and many if not all saints, practiced this (remember the 40 days in the Gospel?) The Church calls all Catholics to mortification of the flesh during Lent. At a minimum, there are fast and abstinence regulations.

Like Franciscans, Opus Dei members practice only what they choose, for their spiritual welfare, on many different levels of involvement. Would you say Franciscans are “controversial” since their heritage emphasizes mortification of the flesh as much as Opus Dei? Check up what Pope Paul VI and St. JP II said about it. Is it subject to possible abuse? Sure, so is reading, preaching, study, and everything else. That is why they need spiritual directors. But that’s not an issue specific to Opus Dei.

 

[Edward_H]

I hate to say it, but most of the posts are wrong.
Opus Dei is very controversial because of their extreme acts of penance.
They believe in intense mortification of the flesh.
This includes fasting, sleeping on the ground, taking cold showers, jumping out of your bed at the first morning alarm, wearing a cilice(A belt with small spikes that poke your skin, THEY HURT), and striking your back with a disciple(Think of the Scourging at the Pillar, but instead you are scourging yourself and the scourge is made of rope).
Here are some of their instruments of mortification:
cilice.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/200x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/i/cilice-1ll-3.jpg
c8.alamy.com/comp/DCANMN/a-discipline-used-for-mortification-by-many-traditional-catholics-DCANMN.jpg
grammarparty.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/hairshirt.jpg

This is an unfortunate characterization of mortification. I am a supernumerary member of Opus Dei.

We all should be ‘on the search’ for small acts of offering or mortification for Our Lord, always. We should offer Him all our day, all our work, all contradictions of life, annoyances…flat tires, dirty diapers, hard jobs, things that break, schedules that change, uncooperative weather, etc.

All of these moments should be and can be real and intimate encounters with Christ. We meet Him in the ordinary. This is the message and spirit of Opus Dei.

Gaining more self mastery over our appetites and passions isn’t a bad thing…isn’t an Opus Dei thing…all Catholics should strive for a greater dominance of our intellect and our will over our passions and appetites. This dominion was lost by virtue of Original Sin, and will always be a struggle for us. We will be tired and not very eager to love others when we are tired, or our body rebels, wanting us to turn inward.

Mortification is wrongly considered as “whips and cilice”…there are many many forms of mortification.

Fasting is a form of mortification. Smiling when we don’t want to is another one!!

In Opus Dei, only the numerary members of Opus Dei are typically allowed to engage in stronger means of mortification, always under the direction of their Spiritual Director.

As celibates and without spouses their “journey” is a harder one, little ‘compensation’ or ‘consolation’ is afforded by their chosen (their own freedom) vocation. They need greater self mastery.

The life of a numerary member is also much more demanding, apart from the celibacy commitment. Numerary members hold “real jobs” (corporate lawyers, professors, medical doctors, engineers, scientists, teachers). They work hard all day long, turning all the work into prayer, and then they return to their Center and give classes in the evening, give spiritual directions, prepare talks, attend to their own further formation, and other “work”. Long days, but for them very happy and joyful days…because they have learned how to pray through their work. “Unity of Life”.

This is a very demanding life.

Finally, the more deliberate means of mortification…fasting, cilice, the discipline…really are not the actual preferred means of mortification. They are done for sure, but over time, one should struggle to turn more and more of one’s ordinary circumstances into offerings, “extracting” if you will spiritual value from all annoyances, pains, contradictions of the ordinary day.

Mortification is a positive thing…a cheerful thing…meeting Jesus along His way of Calvary, letting our own bodies…its reflexes and so forth remind us to converse with God.

It seems odd to people…but mortification is badly misunderstood and made into a caricature. We are told in Scripture to “rejoice always”…and so we must learn how. That’s what Opus Dei can teach…how to not run from these difficulties…these meetings with Jesus, but how to unify ourselves with Jesus THROUGH the ordinary circumstances.

So many people diet, punish their body in the gym…and it’s seen as a normal thing…but taking a cold shower, parking farther away, smiling at the beginning of a very hard task…and offering these efforts to God is seen as weird.

 

[babochka]

This is an unfortunate characterization of mortification. I am a supernumerary member of Opus Dei.

We all should be ‘on the search’ for small acts of offering or mortification for Our Lord, always. We should offer Him all our day, all our work, all contradictions of life, annoyances…flat tires, dirty diapers, hard jobs, things that break, schedules that change, uncooperative weather, etc.

All of these moments should be and can be real and intimate encounters with Christ. We meet Him in the ordinary. This is the message and spirit of Opus Dei.

Gaining more self mastery over our appetites and passions isn’t a bad thing…isn’t an Opus Dei thing…all Catholics should strive for a greater dominance of our intellect and our will over our passions and appetites. This dominion was lost by virtue of Original Sin, and will always be a struggle for us. We will be tired and not very eager to love others when we are tired, or our body rebels, wanting us to turn inward.

Mortification is wrongly considered as “whips and cilice”…there are many many forms of mortification.

Fasting is a form of mortification. Smiling when we don’t want to is another one!!

In Opus Dei, only the numerary members of Opus Dei are typically allowed to engage in stronger means of mortification, always under the direction of their Spiritual Director.

As celibates and without spouses their “journey” is a harder one, little ‘compensation’ or ‘consolation’ is afforded by their chosen (their own freedom) vocation. They need greater self mastery.

The life of a numerary member is also much more demanding, apart from the celibacy commitment. Numerary members hold “real jobs” (corporate lawyers, professors, medical doctors, engineers, scientists, teachers). They work hard all day long, turning all the work into prayer, and then they return to their Center and give classes in the evening, give spiritual directions, prepare talks, attend to their own further formation, and other “work”. Long days, but for them very happy and joyful days…because they have learned how to pray through their work. “Unity of Life”.

This is a very demanding life.

Finally, the more deliberate means of mortification…fasting, cilice, the discipline…really are not the actual preferred means of mortification. They are done for sure, but over time, one should struggle to turn more and more of one’s ordinary circumstances into offerings, “extracting” if you will spiritual value from all annoyances, pains, contradictions of the ordinary day.

Mortification is a positive thing…a cheerful thing…meeting Jesus along His way of Calvary, letting our own bodies…its reflexes and so forth remind us to converse with God.

It seems odd to people…but mortification is badly misunderstood and made into a caricature. We are told in Scripture to “rejoice always”…and so we must learn how. That’s what Opus Dei can teach…how to not run from these difficulties…these meetings with Jesus, but how to unify ourselves with Jesus THROUGH the ordinary circumstances.

So many people diet, punish their body in the gym…and it’s seen as a normal thing…but taking a cold shower, parking farther away, smiling at the beginning of a very hard task…and offering these efforts to God is seen as weird.

Beautifully said. Thank you so much.

 

[RPRPsych]

This is an unfortunate characterization of mortification. I am a supernumerary member of Opus Dei.

We all should be ‘on the search’ for small acts of offering or mortification for Our Lord, always. We should offer Him all our day, all our work, all contradictions of life, annoyances…flat tires, dirty diapers, hard jobs, things that break, schedules that change, uncooperative weather, etc.

All of these moments should be and can be real and intimate encounters with Christ. We meet Him in the ordinary. This is the message and spirit of Opus Dei.

Gaining more self mastery over our appetites and passions isn’t a bad thing…isn’t an Opus Dei thing…all Catholics should strive for a greater dominance of our intellect and our will over our passions and appetites. This dominion was lost by virtue of Original Sin, and will always be a struggle for us. We will be tired and not very eager to love others when we are tired, or our body rebels, wanting us to turn inward.

Mortification is wrongly considered as “whips and cilice”…there are many many forms of mortification.

Fasting is a form of mortification. Smiling when we don’t want to is another one!!

In Opus Dei, only the numerary members of Opus Dei are typically allowed to engage in stronger means of mortification, always under the direction of their Spiritual Director.

As celibates and without spouses their “journey” is a harder one, little ‘compensation’ or ‘consolation’ is afforded by their chosen (their own freedom) vocation. They need greater self mastery.

The life of a numerary member is also much more demanding, apart from the celibacy commitment. Numerary members hold “real jobs” (corporate lawyers, professors, medical doctors, engineers, scientists, teachers). They work hard all day long, turning all the work into prayer, and then they return to their Center and give classes in the evening, give spiritual directions, prepare talks, attend to their own further formation, and other “work”. Long days, but for them very happy and joyful days…because they have learned how to pray through their work. “Unity of Life”.

This is a very demanding life.

Finally, the more deliberate means of mortification…fasting, cilice, the discipline…really are not the actual preferred means of mortification. They are done for sure, but over time, one should struggle to turn more and more of one’s ordinary circumstances into offerings, “extracting” if you will spiritual value from all annoyances, pains, contradictions of the ordinary day.

Mortification is a positive thing…a cheerful thing…meeting Jesus along His way of Calvary, letting our own bodies…its reflexes and so forth remind us to converse with God.

It seems odd to people…but mortification is badly misunderstood and made into a caricature. We are told in Scripture to “rejoice always”…and so we must learn how. That’s what Opus Dei can teach…how to not run from these difficulties…these meetings with Jesus, but how to unify ourselves with Jesus THROUGH the ordinary circumstances.

So many people diet, punish their body in the gym…and it’s seen as a normal thing…but taking a cold shower, parking farther away, smiling at the beginning of a very hard task…and offering these efforts to God is seen as weird.

Thank you for sharing this.

 

[Vic_Taltrees_UK]

Because of their strange categories of membership, and their recruiting by their own choice of whom to invite only, in my opinion they are not of any relevance to any of the rest of us.

 

[Edward_H]

If I may ask what do you mean by strange categories of membership?

All vocations to Opus Die are really the same, just differing in the amount of availability one has to give to Opus Dei.

Opus Dei priests are first numerary members
Numeraries by their own free choice commit total availability. They can be moved to a different country if “the Work” needs them there.

Supernumeraries commit to the same plan of life (Norms of Piety) as a numerary but by virtue of their desire and vocation to married life are less available.

All give all they have to give. Same vocation in this sense.

Your recruiting point is an urban myth. The door to get in isn’t easy. To leave one simply “doesn’t renew”. A huge and wide open exit door.

Very different from the myth you pass on.

 

[ccmcmg]

I participated in the activities of Opus Dei (weekly, spiritual direction & confession, and weekly meditations), and it was the best spiritual and life-changing experience. They teach and live what it means to do apostolate (giving example to others by the way you live), mortification ( to offer a small sacrifice to God for a particular intention), to live a unity of life ( not living a double life like being in Church this kind of person, and a different person outside of Church), and to recognize the presence of God everywhere. It helps grow in spirit and in virtue.

Yes, numeraries (single members) of Opus Dei do practice mortification of the flesh. These are not forced upon anybody, but individuals take upon themselves these mortifications as part of their own path to holiness, as many, many saints have done before them.

I’ve often attended their days of recollection. Although their spirituality isn’t a great fit for me, their priests are excellent confessors and I have always benefited from the recollections.

They have a reputation for elitism and extreme recruiting methods. I have experienced neither in my many years of casual involvement with them, though I imagine it must exist somewhere, thus the reputation.

They exist because we are all called to be saints. They teach a path to holiness. They are entirely orthodox in their teaching. They have been granted the status of the only personal prelature in the Church and were a favorite of Pope John Paul II (who was also said to practice corporal mortification, by the way). In fact, we should all practice some form of corporal mortification from time to time, even if it is simply the minimum of fasting required by the Church.

This is an unfortunate characterization of mortification. I am a supernumerary member of Opus Dei.

We all should be ‘on the search’ for small acts of offering or mortification for Our Lord, always. We should offer Him all our day, all our work, all contradictions of life, annoyances…flat tires, dirty diapers, hard jobs, things that break, schedules that change, uncooperative weather, etc.

All of these moments should be and can be real and intimate encounters with Christ. We meet Him in the ordinary. This is the message and spirit of Opus Dei.

Gaining more self mastery over our appetites and passions isn’t a bad thing…isn’t an Opus Dei thing…all Catholics should strive for a greater dominance of our intellect and our will over our passions and appetites. This dominion was lost by virtue of Original Sin, and will always be a struggle for us. We will be tired and not very eager to love others when we are tired, or our body rebels, wanting us to turn inward.

Mortification is wrongly considered as “whips and cilice”…there are many many forms of mortification.

Fasting is a form of mortification. Smiling when we don’t want to is another one!!

In Opus Dei, only the numerary members of Opus Dei are typically allowed to engage in stronger means of mortification, always under the direction of their Spiritual Director.

As celibates and without spouses their “journey” is a harder one, little ‘compensation’ or ‘consolation’ is afforded by their chosen (their own freedom) vocation. They need greater self mastery.

The life of a numerary member is also much more demanding, apart from the celibacy commitment. Numerary members hold “real jobs” (corporate lawyers, professors, medical doctors, engineers, scientists, teachers). They work hard all day long, turning all the work into prayer, and then they return to their Center and give classes in the evening, give spiritual directions, prepare talks, attend to their own further formation, and other “work”. Long days, but for them very happy and joyful days…because they have learned how to pray through their work. “Unity of Life”.

This is a very demanding life.

Finally, the more deliberate means of mortification…fasting, cilice, the discipline…really are not the actual preferred means of mortification. They are done for sure, but over time, one should struggle to turn more and more of one’s ordinary circumstances into offerings, “extracting” if you will spiritual value from all annoyances, pains, contradictions of the ordinary day.

Mortification is a positive thing…a cheerful thing…meeting Jesus along His way of Calvary, letting our own bodies…its reflexes and so forth remind us to converse with God.

It seems odd to people…but mortification is badly misunderstood and made into a caricature. We are told in Scripture to “rejoice always”…and so we must learn how. That’s what Opus Dei can teach…how to not run from these difficulties…these meetings with Jesus, but how to unify ourselves with Jesus THROUGH the ordinary circumstances.

So many people diet, punish their body in the gym…and it’s seen as a normal thing…but taking a cold shower, parking farther away, smiling at the beginning of a very hard task…and offering these efforts to God is seen as weird.

Because of their strange categories of membership, and their recruiting by their own choice of whom to invite only, in my opinion they are not of any relevance to any of the rest of us.

**
I’m going to go with actual experiences over rumor and a secular and biased world with an agenda view of them.**

 

[commenter]

Because of their strange categories of membership, and their recruiting by their own choice of whom to invite only, in my opinion they are not of any relevance to any of the rest of us.

How “strange”?
How are they different from other religious orders with their cloistered religious, apostolic religious, priests, sisters, Third Orders, lay employees, “Associates”, lay affiliates, and so on? Different levels or kinds of involvement, you choose what level for you.

Don’t you think other religious orders are selective? They choose certain types of people who fit the apostolic and spiritual program of this particular community. Some people are rejected because they are not considered good candidates for Christian growth at this time, other persons are rejected because of they would not fit into this community (Franciscans, Dominicans, etc).

All religious orders are selective, some may have lapsed their standards in recent years. If so, that was a mistake.

 

[Vic_Taltrees_UK]

I see - it’s an order - I thought it was just an association. Thank you!

 

[Edward_H]

I see - it’s an order - I thought it was just an association. Thank you!

Actually it’s not an order and was only for some period an association. It’s now what is called a “personal prelature”. It exists to provide additional pastoral help to persons, beyond what one would normally be able to get in a parish/diocesan structure.

It exists to provide formation of different types to persons: formation in the human virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude, cheerfulness, generosity, etc), spiritual formation (mental prayer, making resolutions, getting more out of Holy Mass and Confession, building a lively interior life with God, more constant conversational prayer), doctrinal formation, apostolic formation, etc.

 

[Wampa]

OP, for a rigorously even-handed portrayal, you can check out John Allen’s book: “Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church”. It’s about $4 used on Amazon.

Allen’s one of the most well-rounded and fair-minded Catholic journalists out there (IMO) and he gives a thorough airing to the arguments for and against Opus Dei. He comes at it from a neutral perspective and really gets at the heart of all the issues (and ends up coming away with a surprisingly positive view). I am thoroughly glad I read it.

As personal background, I’ve been tempted to look into Opus Dei for years now, but so far I haven’t progressed past a few e-mail inquires, due to family complications.

 

[mommy_k]

A question to ask yourself is that if opus dei is bad,why is the founder --josemaria escriva a saint?

Why is this questioned knowing this fact?

 

[Bookcat]

What is Opus Dei?

here from about it here: opusdei.org/en-us/

 

[Edward_H]

A question to ask yourself is that if opus dei is bad,why is the founder --josemaria escriva a saint?

Why is this questioned knowing this fact?

A good question. There are probably several reasons for the negative press and urban myths. There is often resistance to suggested paths of holiness.

We don’t like to face the fact that we have defects, that we need help, daily help from God. We don’t want struggle. We like our life more or less at it is; we don’t want to do quiet apostolate.

But I looked into Opus Dei a lot, and found something “solid” and good, helpful. Made my already wonderful marriage a truly great marriage; a whole life of happy giving to my Bride of more than 30 years. OD helps me in work, fatherhood, friendships.

The approach to apostolate is marvelous. No “evangelization”. no apologetics as such, but better and more generous friendships. Slow help to help them get closer to God. But formation is constant.

Opus Dei in 3 words: Prayer, Work, Smile.

 

[commenter]

A question to ask yourself is that if opus dei is bad,why is the founder --josemaria escriva a saint?

Why is this questioned knowing this fact?

I strongly support Opus Dei.

However

Just as a precaution, most religious orders were founded by saints or blesseds. A minority of these orders have departed a little, a lot, or horribly, from the ideals, goals, sanctity of their founder. There may even be families of independent religious orders (e. g. Franciscans, Dominicans) that trace back to the same founder, that vary wildly in terms of current fidelity to the Church. (We can’t judge the persons in those orders).

One Irish bishop suggested decades ago that every religious order should be disbanded 40 years after the death of its founder. By that time the original charism would have faded, and, dangerously, it might now be going on momentum alone. I think this was said half seriously, half jokingly.

That being said, I think Opus Dei is faithful to the vision of its founder.