This biographical documentary, Everyday Holiness: The Life of Fr. Joseph Muzquiz, has been produced by Emmy Award-winning John Paulson of Paulson Productions. Using hundreds of photographs and dozens of interviews with people who knew him during his lifetime, the 55 minute film traces the quiet but fruitful life of Fr. Joseph from his birth in Spain to his death in Boston, MA.
The DVD is available through Scepter Publishers and Ignatius Press.
Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Boston: “We are blessed that the cause of sainthood for Father Joseph Muzquiz, the priest who brought Opus Dei to the United States, is taking place here in the Archdiocese of Boston. We need to hear more about priests, religious and lay people who faithfully lived their vocation to holiness in contemporary times. Father Muzquiz showed us that the virtue of everyday heroism can be achieved by all people of good faith who open their heart and soul to the gift of God’s graces. This wonderful documentary chronicles Father Muzquiz’s holy and productive life, I pray that it will inspire many people to seek God in their lives."
Scott Hahn, Author, Theologian, Apologist: “The news media would have us believe that history is made up of manufactured events involving celebrities. God knows differently, and so does every Christian. The true history of salvation turns on the unnoticed actions in the quiet lives of ordinary men, women, and children. Father Joseph Muzquiz lived one such quiet life filled with the light of the Gospel, and it shines through every second of this documentary. We won't all be celebrities, and thank God for that. But we can all be saints. That was Father Joseph's message. That was the message of his life.”
Archbishop José Gómez, Los Angeles: “The Servant of God Joseph Muquiz was a holy priest and a true evangelist of our times. Long before the Second Vatican Council spoke of the "universal call to holiness," Father Joseph was proclaiming it and teaching it to lay people throughout the United States. This excellent documentary will help us to know his story and live his message of seeking holiness in everyday life.”
From the back cover of the DVD:
In 1949 Fr. Joseph, a young Spanish priest, arrived in Chicago to start Opus Dei’s activities in the United States. He spoke little English, had only a few dollars in his pocket, and Opus Dei was almost totally unknown. But, encouraged by St. Josemaría Escrivá, he worked with quiet determination for many years. Through his influence many young Americans committed their lives to spreading Opus Dei’s message of finding and serving God in everyday life. With his death in 1983 there began an outpouring of testimonies from people of all ages whose lives he had profoundly shaped. In 2010 his cause for canonization was opened in the Archdiocese of Boston.
EVERYDAY HOLINESS tells the inspiring story of this talented young engineer whose life was transformed when he met a saint. Through numerous interviews with people who knew him and worked with him the film documents his youth in pre-civil war Spain, his encounter as a student with St. Josemaría, his work as a professional engineer, his ordination as one of the first three priests of Opus Dei, and the years of intense activity that laid the foundation for Opus Dei’s apostolates in the United States, Canada, Japan and Switzerland. It also explores the revolutionary message he received from St. Josemaría and passed on to countless souls. No one who sees the example of Fr. Joseph will fail to be inspired to find God in their own everyday lives.