Opus Dei

Bishop Javier Echevarría highlights three reasons to be especially joyful this month: the joy of the Easter season, the beatification of John Paul II, and the beginning of the month dedicated to Mary.

The Prelate expresses his hope that, with the upcoming beatification of John Paul II, "the Holy Spirit will awaken many souls to a deep conversion and bring them close to God once again."

The upcoming weeks of Lent are an important opportunity to undertake "the daily changes that lead us to come closer to God, to share more fully in Christ’s life," the Prelate urges us in his letter.

As we see in our Lady, "being near to God necessarily leads to being near to others," the Prelate tells us in his letter this month.

Echoing the Pope's message for the new year, the Prelate reflects on the importance of freedom in our endeavor to love God and all mankind.

The Prelate urges us to prepare our hearts to receive our Lord at Christmas, and speaks about the recent Apostolic Exhortation of the Holy Father, "Verbum Domini."

The Prelate invites us to grasp more deeply the reality of the Communion of Saints, by strengthening our union with the members of the Church in heaven, in purgatory, and on earth.

The Prelate speaks about devotion to the guardian angels, whose feast is celebrated by the Church on October 2nd. This is also the day on which Opus Dei was founded.

From Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, "flow all the graces that God dispenses to mankind," the Prelate reminds us. Therefore, we have to "unite ourselves, in our heart and in our deeds, with the Holy Cross."

The feasts dedicated to our Lady during August and the Marian year in Opus Dei form the thread of the Prelate's letter this month.