On 27 June 2026, Fr Ralph Valdes, Regional Vicar of Opus Dei for East and South Asia, celebrated the Feast of St. Josemaría at St Joseph's Church (Victoria Street) Singapore, together with six other priests of Opus Dei who concelebrated the Mass with him.
Around 600 people attended the celebration. At the beginning of the Mass, Fr Ralph blessed a newly commissioned statue of St. Josemaría, sculpted by Spanish artist, Diana Garcia Roy.
Fr Ralph preached the following homily:
Reverend Fathers, dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
We gather today with great joy to celebrate the feast of St. Josemaría, the founder of Opus Dei. This year's celebration is especially meaningful because we have also blessed this new statue of St. Josemaría. It is encouraging to see how devotion to the saint whom St. John Paul II called "the Saint of Ordinary Life" has continued to grow here in Singapore.
Fr Joe Lopez recently shared with me that more than 5,000 prayer cards have been distributed since the previous statue of St. Josemaría was installed in this church. Along with that, many people have shared testimonies of favours received through his intercession. These are beautiful signs that God continues to work through his saints.
The Second Vatican Council reminds us that God speaks to us through the saints (cfr. Dogm. Const. Lumen gentium, no. 50). They do not point to themselves; they point us to God. In that sense, the many statues of saints in this church are like God's speakers, constantly reminding us of his presence, his protection and the friendship of those in heaven who intercede for us.
Today, with the blessing of this statue, St. Josemaría has joined the company of God's speakers at St. Joseph's Church. The question we can ask ourselves is: "What message does God want to speak to us through him?"
One answer can be found in the inspiration behind this sculpture. Diana Garcia Roy, the sculptor, explained that she was inspired by the recorded gatherings that St. Josemaría held around the world during the 1970s. In those meetings, people from every walk of life asked him questions about family life, work, prayer and the ordinary challenges of being Christian. He answered them with warmth, simplicity and great spontaneity.
As she watched those recordings, one gesture particularly struck her. St. Josemaría listened with deep attention. He looked at each person with affection, encouragement and a gentle smile. That is the expression she chose to capture in her sculpture.
When we look at this statue, we do not simply see St. Josemaría listening to another person. We are reminded of how God Himself looks at each one of us.
This is one of the central messages of St. Josemaría's spirituality. God is our Father, as the Church teaches us.
In today's second reading, St. Paul tells us: "The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves, bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, 'Abba, Father!'"
The word Abba expresses the trust of a child speaking to a loving father. Through Baptism, we receive the confidence to approach God with that same intimacy. This awareness of being sons and daughters of God was at the heart of St. Josemaría's preaching.
He encouraged people to remember that whatever they were doing, God's loving gaze rested upon them. It is easy to imagine God as distant or as someone who watches us only to judge our failures. But that is not the Father's gaze.
this awareness of being sons and daughters of god was at the heart of st josemaría's preaching.
These days, many people are caught up in World Cup fever. Watching the matches, we see different kinds of supporters. Some quickly lose patience when their team makes mistakes. Others continue encouraging their team even when things are not going well.
God is like the encouraging supporter. He never abandons us. We may stumble, we may have a bad day, but He continues to accompany us. When we take a step forward, he rejoices because He is our Father. He does not reject us when we fail. Rather, He patiently encourages us to begin again.
That is why St. Josemaría often said that the whole spiritual life can be built upon the certainty that we are children of God.
As we receive God's fatherhood, we are also called to reflect it in our own lives.
Many people live this through the vocation of fatherhood and motherhood within the family. But there is also a spiritual fatherhood and motherhood to which every Christian is called. Pope Francis once said that whenever we take responsibility for another person's life, we become, in some way, a father or a mother to that person (cfr. Letter Patris Corde).
We reveal God's fatherhood whenever we listen attentively, encourage others, accompany them in their struggles and help them discover God's presence in their daily lives. Like St. Josemaría, we are called to reflect the loving face of the Father wherever we are.
Finally, St. Josemaría always turned to Our Lady. Wherever he lived or worked, he made a habit of greeting her image with a simple glance, discovering in her smile the reassurance of a mother. It is moving to remember that on the day he died, 26 June 1975, one of his final acts was to look at an image of Our Lady.
May we also learn to turn to Mary with confidence. As she leads us to her Son, may she help us discover ever more deeply the fatherhood of God and live each day with the joyful certainty that we are his beloved children.
Amen.
Read also :
The story behind the statue of St Josemaría at :https://opusdei.org/en-sg/art...
The interview with artist, Diana Garcia Roy at : https://www.instagram.com/p/Da...