From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   On Trust in God in all Trouble   
      
   The mind of man is often deceived in its judgement, and worldly men   
   are deceived in their concern for material things alone. Is any man   
   made the better for being highly honoured by his fellows? When one man   
   flatters another, then one deceiver deceives another; the vain   
   deceives the vain, the weak deceives the weak; and the higher the   
   flattery, the deeper the shame it brings in its train. For, `what   
   every man is in Your sight, 0 Lord, that he is and nothing more', says   
   the humble Saint Francis.(St. Bonaventura, Life of St. Francis, Ch. 6)   
   --Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Bk 3 Ch 50   
      
   ===============   
   June 26: - Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer   
      
   Today, June 26, we commemorate the feast day of Saint Josemaría   
   Escrivá de Balaguer (1902-1975), priest, modern-day saint, and founder   
   of Opus Dei, a Catholic institution dedicated to “helping people turn   
   their work and daily activities into occasions for growing closer to   
   God, for serving others, and for improving society.” Pope John Paul II   
   said of this holy man, “Saint Josemaría was chosen by the Lord to   
   proclaim the universal call to holiness and to indicate that everyday   
   life, its customary activities, are a path towards holiness. It could   
   be said that he was the saint of the ordinary."   
      
   Josemaría Escrivá was born in Barbastro, Spain, the son of pious   
   parents. He received a deep Christian education in the home, and the   
   family turned to God during times of need, especially following the   
   deaths of three of his five siblings in infancy and childhood. When   
   Josemaria was a teenager, the family moved to Logrono, as his father   
   needed employment, and it was there that he first sensed his calling   
   to vocation. Moved by the sight of footprints left in the snow by a   
   barefoot friar, he sensed that God was asking something of him, though   
   he did not know exactly what it was. He began to prepare for the   
   priesthood, first in Logrono and later in Saragossa.   
      
   Josemaria was ordained in 1925, serving in rural parish, as well as   
   Saragossa for a few years. In 1927, having received permission from   
   his bishop, he traveled to Madrid to earn his doctorate in law. It was   
   while studying in Madrid that Josemaria received from the Lord the   
   purpose of his life: to found Opus Dei--a way of sanctification in   
   daily work and in the fulfillment of the Christian's ordinary duties.   
   Not limited to religious, this inspired society would be comprised of   
   laity and religious, and would provide a template for bringing the   
   Lord into the daily lives of its members. From that moment on,   
   Josemaria’s life changed. He worked continuously toward his new goal,   
   all the while continuing his studies, ministering to his congregation,   
   and spending time in service to the poor and the ill.   
      
   The Spanish Civil War created a challenge to the saint’s mission. When   
   the war broke out in Madrid, religious persecution forced Josemaría to   
   go into hiding, ministering to his flock in secret. Eventually, he   
   left Madrid, and after a harrowing escape across the Pyrenees, took up   
   residence in Burgos. In the years after the civil war, he was able to   
   return to Madrid and complete his doctorate in Law, all the while   
   giving many retreats to laity, priests, and religious.   
      
   Saint Josemaria moved to Rome, obtaining a doctorate in Theology, and   
   establishing Opus Dei as an institution. In 1950, it was officially   
   approved by the Holy See. He was appointed by Pope Pius XII as a   
   consultor to two Vatican Congregations, as an honorary member of the   
   Pontifical Academy of Theology, and as an honorary prelate. He was   
   also elevated to the position of Monsignor. In his later y ears,   
   Josemaria traveled the world, preaching, and spreading the message of   
   Opus Dei, bringing large numbers to holiness. By the time of his death   
   in 1975, Opus Dei had begun in dozens of countries and had touched   
   countless lives. After his death thousands of people, including more   
   than a third of the world's bishops, sent letters to Rome asking the   
   Pope to open his cause of beatification and canonization.   
      
   Josemaria is remembered for saying, "The ordinary life of a Christian   
   who has faith, when he works or rests, when he prays or sleeps, at all   
   times, is a life in which God is always present.” Through his work in   
   Opus Dei, we are further reminded, "We find the invisible God in the   
   most visible and material things." Today, Opus Dei has around 87,000   
   members, both men and women, of which 98% are laypersons. The mission   
   of Opus Dei is as follows: “It is in the midst of the most material   
   things of the earth that we must sanctify ourselves, serving God and   
   all mankind. The family, marriage, work--all of our activities--are   
   opportunities for dealing with and imitating Jesus Christ, trying to   
   practice charity, patience, humility, diligence, integrity,   
   cheerfulness and all the other human and Christian virtues.” Members   
   are called to lives of sanctifying work, prayer and sacrifice,   
   charity, and unity of life--the blending of our interior personal   
   relationship with the Lord with our exterior professional and personal   
   lives.   
      
   In his 2002 address, in praise of Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer,   
   founder of Opus Dei, Pope John Paul II proclaimed:   
      
   “In the Founder of Opus Dei, there is an extraordinary love for the   
   will of God. There exists a sure criterion of holiness: fidelity in   
   accomplishing the divine will down to the last consequences. For each   
   one of us the Lord has a plan, to each he entrusts a mission on earth.   
   The saint could not even conceive of himself outside of God's plan. He   
   lived only to achieve it.   
      
   Saint Josemaría was chosen by the Lord to announce the universal call   
   to holiness and to point out that daily life and ordinary activities   
   are a path to holiness. One could say that he was the saint of   
   ordinary life. In fact, he was convinced that for those who live with   
   a perspective of faith, everything is an opportunity to meet God,   
   everything can be an incentive for prayer. Seen in this light, daily   
   life reveals an unexpected greatness. Holiness is truly within   
   everyone's reach.   
      
   Escrivá de Balaguer was a very human saint. All those who met him,   
   whatever their culture or social status, felt he was a father, totally   
   devoted to serving others, for he was convinced that every soul is a   
   marvelous treasure; indeed, every person is worth all of Christ's   
   Blood. This attitude of service is obvious in his dedication to his   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)