On October 2, 2026, the feast of the Guardian Angels and the anniversary of the founding of Opus Dei, we begin to look toward our centennial that is now two years away. This meditation invites each of us in the United States and Canada to take the centennial to heart as something deeply personal and ours.
The centennial is not an event somewhere "out there," in Rome, or something to attend or watch from a distance. Rather, it forms part of our own history, our own identity which we will continue to forge together into the next 100 years. In 1949, Fr. Joseph Muzquiz and a young physics student, Salvador Ferigle, arrived in Chicago with little more than St. Josemaría's blessing and an image of Our Lady, and began the Work in the United States. In 1957, at the invitation of Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger, the first members arrived in Montreal, and the Work in Canada began near the Université de Montréal. Women's apostolic work followed soon after, with Nisa Guzmán from Spain and others beginning the apostolic work with women in both countries. From those small beginnings, the Work spread across North America, person by person and city by city.
Our history was written by ordinary people who said yes, and the next chapter will be written the same way: in our parishes and neighbourhoods, our workplaces and homes, our cities and towns. We are not guests at someone else's celebration. The centennial is ours to take on, as St. Josemaría took on his mission in 1928: with trust, urgency, and a sense of responsibility.
The first step is contemplative prayer: becoming a true personal friend of Jesus and learning to say, “Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will.”
We offer this audio meditation as a companion for that first step, to be read or listened to slowly, in prayer.