Sanctifying our daily ordinary work
Every June 26 each year, we celebrate with a Thanksgiving Holy Mass the Feast Day of Saint Josemaria Escriva at Our Lady of Fatima Parish Church in Las Pinas City. He is the Saint of ordinary life, as Pope Saint John Paul II said when he canonized him in Rome on October 6, 2002.
St. Josemaría taught that any honest work, done well for love of God and neighbor can be sanctified. It can also sanctify us and others as well, by practicing the virtues of diligence, cheerfulness, integrity, order and fortitude, among others. He said that, "God is calling you to serve Him in and from the ordinary, material and secular activities of human life. He waits for us every day, in the laboratory, in the operating room, in the army barracks, in the university chair, in the factory, in the workshop, in the fields, in the home and in all the immense panorama of work. Understand this well: there is something holy, something divine, hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it."
Born on January 9, 1902, in Barbastro, Spain, St. Josemaria Escriva was ordained as a priest on March 28, 1925, in Saragossa. By divine inspiration, he founded Opus Dei, or Work of God, on October 2, 1928.
Marriage is also a vocation he enlightened, as he inspired parents to build bright and cheerful homes. He said that, “the secret of married happiness lies in everyday things, not in day dreams. It lies in finding the hidden joy of coming home in the evening, in affectionate relations with their children, in the everyday work in which the whole family cooperates; in good humour in the face of difficulties that should be met with a sporting spirit; in making the best use of all the advantages that civilisation offers to help us rear children, to make the house pleasant and life more simple.” (www.escrivaworks.org)
The teachings of St. Josemaria are so practical and doable that we can easily identify ourselves with, whatever our calling in life is -- a professional, housewife, laborer, student or retiree. For a student, one hour of study is one hour of prayer, he said. He encouraged the universal call to holiness, that everyone can become a saint by doing well our professional work and daily duties for love of God.
The message of St Josemaria continues to be very relevant today to inspire us to work conscientiously with a spirit of service to others, not for selfish motives, in order for man to be happy.
Thank you.
Very truly yours,
Mrs. Ching D. Aunario
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