The first and the great work of a Christian is about his heart. Do not be content with seeming to do good in “outward acts” while your heart is bad, and you are a stranger to the greater internal heart duties.
Jonathan Edwards

Opus Dei

Opus Dei

OPUS DEI Opus Dei, which means “the work of the Lord” is a lay order founded by Msgr. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer y Albas in Madrid, Spain in 1928. It received approval by the Pope in 1950, and in some areas of the country is a Catholic Crusade with almost Jesuitic fervor. Msgr. Balaguer calls it “a way of sanctification in daily work and in fulfillment of the Christian’s ordinary duties.” It has “opened up to the faithful a new way to sanctify themselves in the world, in carrying out their ordinary work and in fulfilling their personmal, family and social duities.

At the time of the death of Msgr. Balaguer in 1975, Opus Dei had 60,000 members.

POST VATICAN II Because of what some consider the loss of zeal among the Jesuits in defending papal Romanism, Opus Dei is sometimes championed as their successors.

SECULAR JOURNALS From DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER, 3/14/90. “OPUS DEI OPENS NEW UNIVERSITY IN ROME. A college formed in 1985 by Opus Dei has been upgraded to a University, the first institution of such rank to be created in Rome in 50 years.

“Opus Dei – Latin for God’s Work – is an international organization of about 75,000 lay members and 1,300 priests. All members are guided by the organization in their spiritual activities.”