Opus Dei

St Josemaria often recalled with gratitude how his parents introduced him step by step to the Christian way of life

It may seem surprising that a little thing like some footprints in the snow was enough to make a teenager make the great decision to give his life to God. But that is the language God often uses to call people, and that is how generous souls who seek God sincerely are capable of responding, with faith.

“I bless human love with both of my hands as a priest,” said St. Josemaría. He also recommended that spouses argue as little as possible and always make up at the end, asking one another for forgiveness (2:32).

Mary Wanjiku, from Kenya, finds the source of St Josemaria's optimism in his understanding of God's love for each individual.

In Seville (Spain), St. Josemaría conversed with a man from the country: “Work makes us brothers,” the saint told him. The farmer’s culture, not learned from books, enabled him to get very close to God.

When speaking with God, St. Josemaría advised, “don’t choose your words. Just as when you speak with your wife and your children, or with people you love… Let your heart go” (2’42”).

Even a broken soup bowl was a topic for St. Josemaría’s prayer. He said he was like a soup bowl, broken by sin and repaired—thanks to confession—to continue serving sound nourishment to others (1:58).

Condoray is a social project in Peru that gives occupational training to rural women, teaching them to sew, to raise crops, to run a small shop.... In this video a Quechuan woman tells St. Josemaría that her friends laugh at her because she goes to Mass (Video: 01’44”).

Sickness or setbacks can make us protest and complain to God. St. Josemaria invites us to trust God, who “is much more than even a good mother.” (01’46”)

Saint Josemaria had an inkling at an early age that God had something important in store for him. This segment from an Italian animated film (with English subtitles) about St. Josemaría's early life presents some episodes from his youth.