My dear children: may Jesus watch over my daughters and sons for me!
In my October 28 letter, I reminded you that we are approaching the centenary of the Work – a special opportunity to renew our desire to serve God, the Church and the whole of society.
The health crisis that we are experiencing around the world has confirmed for us the need to care for one another, with a far-reaching vision, seeking the good of all men and women. We can provide this care with our prayer, with our ordinary work (and our extraordinary work, when necessary and possible), in the midst of the varied circumstances of each day. To do so, let us strive to live more closely united to our Lord and seek to serve all mankind. What a marvelous panorama we constantly have before us!
The centennial celebration will take place from the 2nd of October 2028 to the 14th of February 2030, the hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the apostolic work with women in Opus Dei. Hence, as an expression of unity, it will be a celebration with two dates. While there is still some time to go, at the proposal of the Central Advisory and the General Council, an initial committee has been set up to begin preparing for this celebration.
I would like all of us to take part in preparing for it. Therefore, over the next few years this committee will dedicate itself above all to listening to the faithful of the Work and many other people. The suggestions they receive will help them to plan better for the celebration.
The centenary will be a time of reflection on our identity, our history and our mission. This should lead each of us to give thanks, to ask for forgiveness, and to make resolutions to improve. We will do so with the approach we learned from our Father: trying to live the present moment with love, with personal and collective humility, serving in the ordinary.
This event will also be a propitious moment to consider the challenges faced by the Church and society and to reflect on how we can better contribute to help solve them. It will be a good time to look to the future and to consider together – you who are youngest will play a fundamental role here – how to bring Opus Dei forward during the next hundred years. It is an opportunity to rejuvenate ourselves, to recognize God’s love in our lives and bring this love to others, especially the most needy.
Continue supporting with your prayer the territorial restructuring of some circumscriptions of the Prelature, particularly the new region erected in Central America, which unites the former regions of Northern Central America, Southern Central America, and El Salvador.
Your Father blesses you with all his affection,
Rome, 10 June 2021