Opus Dei

Beginning with the evolution of work throughout history, this article offers reflections on its dignity and importance in human life. Inspired by St. Josemaría’s teachings, it presents work as a place of encounter with God and a means of sanctification.

Our work, besides cooperating in the divine plan of creation, can also share in the work of redemption; it becomes a means of sanctification and transformation of the world when carried out, in Christ, with charity and a priestly soul.

This article, the fourth in the series, presents St. Josemaría’s vision of work as a participation in God’s creative work, in continuity with the biblical tradition and the Church’s magisterium. Human work is seen as an active cooperation in perfecting the created world.

St. Josemaría taught that work is a divine vocation and a means of personal sanctification and apostolate. Inspired by the mystery of the Incarnation and the pages of Sacred Scripture, he spread a Christological vision of work, integrating it into the spiritual life without separating the secular from the sacred.

Address given by Msgr. Mariano Fazio, auxiliary vicar of Opus Dei, during the second edition of Be Do Care, in Sao Paolo (Brazil), on 10 October 2024.

This second article in the series preparing for the centenary tries to deepen our understanding of the purpose and mission of Opus Dei, based on the personal reflections and teachings of its founder.

From 10 to 12 October 2024, São Paulo, Brazil, is hosting BeDoCare 2024, focusing on the legacy for future generations. Key conferences are being livestreamed (in Spanish and Portuguese) and will be available on YouTube.

During this time of preparation for the centenary, which we have begun with regional assemblies, the Prelate invites us to reflect on Opus Dei’s identity, history, and mission. The purpose of this series is to delve deeper into the charism by focusing on one of its essential aspects: the sanctification of work. This first article explores the specific role of the Work within the Church and develops the concepts of vocation and mission in the context of ordinary life.

This letter, which bears the number 29 in the collected works of St. Josemaria, speaks of the work of St. Gabriel, one of the apostolates (perhaps the most extensive today) that Opus Dei develops among people who have already passed their youth and who, in general, feel called to follow the path of holy matrimony.

Thanks to Scepter (U.K.) Ltd. and the Fundación Studium, here is a digital version of Letter 6 from The Collected Letters, volume II, in which St. Josemaria wrote about some aspects of the vocation and mission of the Work, speaking particularly about secularity.