The purpose of the seminar was to introduce the life of St. Josemaría, his works and teachings to people who do not know much about him. The seminar lasted from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., and had around 220 participants. “It was a day of celebration for the saint who put so much grandeur into ordinary life,” said one of the participants.

The first talk was: “Josemaría Escrivá: The Man and His Works” by Margaret Teo, a lawyer. The half-hour presentation discussed the life of St. Josemaría and the divine inspiration he received to found Opus Dei, and included a brief summary of his writings.

The next talk was by Fr. Alfred Chan, a diocesan priest of Singapore. He talked about “The Role of the Laity and Vatican Council II.” Fr. Chan gave a brief presentation of certain Vatican Council documents that emphasized the laity’s role in the Church and the universal call to holiness. He gave special mention to “The Way” as a spiritual work that inspired and helped him during his seminary years.

A talk followed on “Sanctification of Ordinary Life,” given by Monica Lim, a mother of six and Managing Director of Parents for Education (PAFED), a Singapore-based parents’ organization promoted by some members of the Opus Dei Prelature and their friends. She gave interesting and concrete advice, with good examples while relating her personal experience, on how to seek holiness in ordinary life.

Another talk was “Married and Saintly: a realizable ideal?”, presented by Joann and John Ooi, parents of six children. They related life experiences, struggles and triumphs of their marriage. Their sincere sharing was a delight to the participants and the audience learned how to be married while maintaining an interior life and intense professional work. Afterwards, they and Monica Lim welcomed questions related to marriage, bringing up children and Christian parenthood. To round off the seminar, a video entitled “The Joy of Holiness” was shown.