Every June 26, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y Albás (1902-1975), Spanish priest, founder of Opus Dei, and author of Camino (1934), a work of great spiritual benefit for millions of Catholics and which has been translated into dozens of languages. Today marks 49 years since this saint left for his definitive encounter with the Lord.
“God does not tear you away from your environment, he does not remove you from the world, nor from your state, nor from your noble human ambitions, nor from your professional work… but, there, He wants you holy!” These words summarize very well a good part of the inspiration that Saint Josemaría received to move the hearts of many, and call them to sanctify themselves and sanctify the world today. For this reason, he is known as ‘the saint of the ordinary’, a nickname he receives for having perfectly understood what the life of a Christian today is about: making the ordinary – everyday life – something extraordinary.
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In the footsteps of Christ
Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer was born in Barbastro, Huesca (Spain) in 1902, into a deeply Christian family. From a young age, he had to experience suffering: his three younger sisters died when they were very young, his father’s business went bankrupt and the family had to leave their land to move to Logroño in search of a better situation.
One day, Josemaría saw the footprints of bare feet in the snow. Just thinking about who could have left them chilled him to the core. Who can walk on ice without shoes? It seemed crazy to him. But when he found out that they were the footsteps of a religious man, his appreciation of the fact changed completely. Those footprints – he thought – have been left by someone extraordinary, who does equally extraordinary things. Thinking that someone was capable of doing something like that could only be explained by a great purpose, something typical of a different plane. Josemaría then senses that perhaps God was sending him a message: perhaps God wanted something from him.
Little by little, his mind became clearer: Christ wanted him to follow in his footsteps closely, as a priest.
A boy like few others
Josemaría was characterized by his generous and cheerful character, while his simplicity and serenity made him very loved among his fellow students. He showed dedication to prayer, discipline and love for study. He unwittingly became a reference for those around him. Later would come the days of seminary training.
On March 28, 1925, Saint Josemaría Escrivá was ordained a priest. Years later, with permission from his bishop, he would move to Madrid to obtain a doctorate in law. Once the Spanish Civil War broke out, he was forced to interrupt his studies; which he alone could conclude after the conflict. After finishing his doctorate in Law, he added another in theology, this time, outside of Spain, at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.
Definition of one’s own path
On October 2, 1928, in his own words, God made him “see” what he wanted from him: to carry the message of the universal call to holiness throughout the world.
What the Spirit of God had stirred up in the heart moved him to form a community, a family within the Church: the Opus Dei; whose purpose lies in promoting sanctification among its members in the midst of ordinary life, particularly through work. Saint Josemaría defines with these words what Opus Dei should be: “A mobilization of Christians who knew how to willingly sacrifice themselves for others, who made the human ways of the earth divine, all of them, sanctifying any noble work, any clean work.”
Christ must return to the university cloisters
In 1933 the saint conceived the idea of creating a university academy with a Catholic spirit. Josemaría understands that this is imperative, since the world of culture and science are decisive areas for the evangelization of every society. Unfortunately, the outbreak of the civil war in 1936 unleashed religious persecution that forced the saint to take refuge in various places in Spain, until he was able to settle in Burgos.
After the war ended in 1939, Saint Josemaría returned to Madrid to finish his doctorate studies in civil law at the Central University. His fame as a spiritual man led him to lead spiritual exercises at the request of bishops and religious superiors. In 1946, he moved to Rome and obtained definitive approval from the Holy See for his most important work, Opus Dei.
At the pace of the renewal of the Church
In the sixties he followed the Second Vatican Council closely, establishing apostolic ties with many council fathers and opening new doors to make Opus Dei grow and spread its message. The growth of the spiritual family forces him to dedicate all his efforts to it. He travels through various countries in Europe and America with the aim of promoting and consolidating the apostolic work of “the Work.”
“There where your brothers men are, where your aspirations, your work, your loves are, there is the place of your daily encounter with Christ,” declared, with endless spirit, Saint Josemaría Escrivá.
The “saint of the everyday” left for the Father’s House on June 26, 1975 as a result of cardiac arrest. He died assisted by due graces and at the feet of a painting of the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe. He was canonized by Saint John Paul II in 2002.
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