Opus Dei

In the past, many people called it the Holy Mafia, and considered it as some kind of catholic conspiracy to rule the world . The OPUS DEI is one of the Catholic Church's so-called seculiar institutes, an oganisation dedicated to good woks and service. For some time it has enjoyed the blessing of the Pope, who has even presided over the beatification of its Spanish founder.

Opus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is an organization of the Catholic Church that emphasizes the Catholic belief that everyone is called to become a saint and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity.The great majority of its approximately 87,000 members are lay people.

Opus Dei is Latin for "Work of God", and the organization is sometimes known simply as "the Work"

The other three classes of members, numeraries, associates, and numerary-assistants, are celibate, and often live in special centers.

Supernumeraries, the largest type, currently account for about 70% of the total membership Typically, supernumeraries are married men and women with careers, devote a portion of their day to prayer, in addition to attending regular meetings and taking part in activities such as retreats. Due to their career and family obligations, they are not as available to the organization as the other types of members, but they typically contribute financially to Opus Dei, and they lend other types of assistance as their circumstances permit.

Numeraries, the second largest type of members of Opus Dei, comprise about 20% of total membership.They are celibate members who usually live in special centers run by Opus Dei. Both men and women may become numeraries, although the centers are strictly gender-segregated.They generally have careers and devote the bulk of their income to the organization.

Opus Dei was founded in Spain in 1928 under the name Community of Priests of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, by a young Roman Catholic priest, Josemaría Escrivá,who was particularly enthusiastic about the idea of sainthood, on 2 October 1928 in Madrid, Spain. Initially, Opus Dei was open only to men, but in 1930, Escrivá created a women's branch.
In 1939, Escrivá published The Way, a collection of 999 maxims concerning spirituality.In the 1940s, Opus Dei found an early critic in the Jesuit leader Wlodimir Ledochowski, who told the Vatican that he considered Opus Dei "very dangerous for the Church in Spain," citing its "secretive character" and calling it "a form of Christian Masonry."

COMMANDMENTS of the founder

He drew 999 maxims for the members to follow. Here are some:
1. Do not posrpone your work for the morrow.

2. You yourself are your greatest enemy.

3. To be a good example is to sow a good seed.

4. If obedience does not bring you peace, the reason is that you are arrogant.

5. It is my wish that you are happy on earth. This you will only be when you have freed yourself from the fear of suffering.

Corporal mortification

Much public attention has focused on Opus Dei's practice of mortification — the voluntary offering up of discomfort or pain to God. It has been endorsed by Popes as a way of following Christ's advice: "renounce yourself, take up the cross daily, and follow me."

Cilice: a spiked chain worn around the upper thigh for two hours each day, except for Church feast days, Sundays, and certain times of the year. This is perhaps the most shocking of the corporal mortifications, and generally Opus Dei members are extremely hesitant to admit that they use them. It is a painful mortification which leaves small prick holes in the flesh, and makes the Opus Dei members tentative about wearing swim suits wherever non-Opus Dei members may be.

Discipline : a cord-like whip which resembles macrame, used on the buttocks or back once a week. Opus Dei members must ask permission to use it more often, which many do. The story is often told in Opus Dei that the Founder was so zealous in using the discipline, he splattered the bathroom walls with streaks of blood.

Cold Showers : Most numeraries take cold showers every day and offer it up for the intentions of the current Prelate.

Meals : Numeraries generally practice one small corporal mortification at every meal, such as drinking coffee without milk or sugar, not buttering one's toast, skipping dessert, not taking seconds, etc. For the most part, eating between meals is not practiced. Opus Dei members fast on the Church's prescribed days for fasting, but otherwise must ask for permission to fast on their own. The Heroic Minute : Numeraries are encouraged to jump out of bed and kiss the floor as soon as the door is knocked in the morning. As they kiss, they say "Serviam," Latin for "I will serve."

Silences : Each night after making an examination of conscience, numeraries do not speak to one another until after Holy Mass the following morning. (They do not say "Good morning" to anyone as they are getting ready.) In the afternoons, they try to avoid speaking until dinnertime. On Sundays, numeraries generally do not listen to music, especially in the afternoons.

Critical Voices

Opus Dei has been called "the most controversial force in the Catholic Church".Critics say that Opus Dei is either a "cult", or at least "cult-like". Concerning the group's role in the Catholic Church, critics have argued that Opus Dei's unique status as a personal prelature gives it too much independence, making it essentially a "church within a church".Many think that the community enjoys too much independence and powerOthers acuuse it of supporting military dictatiship in latin america and take offence in its sympathetic stance towards the right wing in Spain.


Beatification

Inspite of the criticism, Opus Dei has developed into an inmportant constituent of the roman catholic church.Through the backing of the Holy Father , it enjoys specia protection and can no longer be reffered to as the holy mafia.In 1992 it recieved an even higher blessing : after a prepotory period of over 10 years , the organisation's founder was beatified on May 17 ot that year.Pope John Paul II said : 'Josemaria Escriva was an exemplary priest who succeded in opening new apostolic horizons foe missionary and evangelical work'.