On the evening of Tuesday 25 June, Bishop Daniel Meagher presided over Holy Mass to honour the feast day of St Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei.

“I didn’t know how many to expect, but we have a cathedral-ful!” he said, before he began the celebration at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney City.

Joined by priests of Opus Dei - including the Regional Vicar, Fr Inigo Martinez-Echevarria - as well as diocesan priests and seminarians, their procession in and out of the church was beautiful and solemn. The congregation was made up of young and old, including many families with little kids.

Bishop Daniel told the congregation that he had prepared for this mass by reading a biography of St Josemaria. Despite the tumultuous context of pre-war 1920s Spain, St Josemaria understood that God was calling him to found Opus Dei.

“Even as a young man, Josemaria had a clear sense that God wanted something of him. In other words, God was real to Josemaria. That was a great gift. He had a living relationship with God and Josemaria had an active expectation that God would reveal His will.”

“God revealed that He wanted people to live their baptismal dignity in the midst of their daily lives… Josemaria saw this as being enfleshed not in religious vocations of the day – but in all the baptised. Women and men - of any age and status – exactly where they are living and working – openly living their Christian vocation.”

“After Vatican II, we are familiar with this vision. It was new in 1928… In every generation and culture, the vision has to be lived.”

Bishop Daniel encouraged the mass-goers to be inspired by the profound prayer life of St Josemaria, and to follow his example of living faith without fear and putting out into the deep.

“Out there in the daily life… Living with courage and faith. Crying daily, ‘Abba Father.’ Christ-bearers. Joyfully so. Humbly carrying out the will of God.”

The actual feast of St Josemaria was the following day – 26 June. But as Fr Inigo said in his closing remarks, it probably wouldn’t have been the best idea to celebrate this mass on the same night as the State of Origin!

This year, along with Sydney city, masses have been celebrated in honour of St Josemaria in Penrith, Newcastle, Albury, Wagga Wagga and Canberra; as well as Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Perth and Hobart. It was the first time that a mass for St Josemaria was celebrated on the Gold Coast, with about 30 people attending.