Opus Dei

A homily of St. Josemaria for lent in Kiswahili from Christ is passing by: Uongofu wa watoto wa Mungu.

What events shaped young Josemaría’s life before 1928? How did he discover his priestly vocation? In this article, José Luis González Gullón takes us into the early years of St. Josemaría Escrivá’s priesthood, a key stage in his spiritual journey, when he had not yet founded Opus Dei but already intuited that God was asking something great of him.

“As the eyes of a maid watch the hands of her mistress, even so our eyes look upon the Lord our God until he have mercy on us. Have pity on us, O Lord!” With such words, the Book of Psalms speaks about trusting in God’s mercy. No matter how harshly we may have been denounced for guilty deeds, no matter how shameful the deeds were, no matter how low we has fallen, we should never despair.

The 2025 Jubilee of Hope was officially inaugurated by Pope Francis with the opening of the Holy Door on 24th December 2024. It will run until the Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord on 6th January 2026 and is an opportunity for the faithful around the world to discover the richness of the Jubilee's theme taken from St. Paul: "Hope does not disappoint." Here's a 30-minute guided prayer session (meditation) on the topic.

A homily is preaching by a cleric that unpackages to the faithful attending the Holy Mass, the teachings contained in the Gospel reading of that Mass. Holy Mother Church requires that a homily be preached at all Sunday Masses and Masses on holy days of obligation. Here you have a collection of 4-minute homilies read by Peter James Smith.

The path to the Centenary has sparked a process of reflection, seen in the recently concluded Regional Assemblies held around the world. In this conversation with Isabel Sánchez, secretary of the Central Advisory, she shares some of the key topics discussed.

Valentine’s Day gets its name from a bishop who died on this day centuries ago. The martyr meekly submitted himself to torture rather than renounce his faith in Jesus. How a day famous for someone’s death became an occasion for lovers to exchange Valentines is a long story someone else can tell. Let’s focus instead on the connection between Christian faith and the mystery of romantic love between a man and a woman.

On 14 February, St Josemaría understood that God was also calling women and priests to be and to do Opus Dei. Some resources to celebrate the double anniversary of the foundation of the women's branch of Opus Dei (14 February 1930) and the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross (14 February 1943).

In this episode of Fragments of History, historian Constantino Ánchel traces the history of the first associate of Opus Dei and describes how the vocation to the Work as an associate spread through various Spanish cities over the next few years.

In 2024, the Regional Assemblies of Opus Dei were held, bringing together several thousand people in nearly 70 countries over the course of a year to reflect on the theme "On the Road to the Centenary of the Work." The contributions gathered will help prepare for the Ordinary General Congress of 2025, scheduled for April and May.