Best-selling author: St Josemaria Escriva writes "The Way"

On June 26, we celebrated the feast of St. Josemaria Escriva, the Catholic priest and founder of Opus Dei. It is an organization of laypeople and priests, who seek everyday holiness. At his canonization in 2002, Pope John Paul declared that St. Josemaría should be "counted among the greatest of Christianity witnesses." A simple and down-to-earth priest, Fr. Escrivá held doctorates in civil law from the University of Madrid and Theology from Rome's Lateran University.

Fr. Escrivá's best-known publication is The Way, now translated into 43 languages selling several million copies. He claims: "the 999 points were written with yearnings to see Christ, as the Light of the World. Anyone who reads it with these same yearnings, will not have opened this book in vain."

These simple phrases are hacks to open newsletters, lectures or focused meditations. The Way is based on gospel applications for everyday life. Most quotes represent actual advice given as spiritual direction. While it isn't practical to mention all 999 points, below is a taste. A Vatican newspaper reviewer from Osservatore Romano (3/24/1950) wrote: "Monsignor Escrivá has written more than a masterpiece; he has written to us, straight from his heart." Grab a cup of coffee or glass of wine and together, let us find our "Way." Please enjoy these snippets from our local Book Club's favorite chapters.

Preface: Fr. Josemaria speaks directly, as our brother. about nothing new. He seeks to revive peaceful memories by adding love; to edify our lives, enrich prayer time and nourish our souls.

Catechism Chapter: Repentance

Jesus poured out His heart so we might pour out our hearts to Him.
Charity covers a multitude of sins.
Prayer, fasting and almsgiving is the truest sign of repentance.
Pick up your cross every day to show your sincerity. You can always put it down at night, while you sleep.
Holy Eucharist is the fastest way to free us from our faults and preserve us from mortal sins.
Every sincere act of worship revives our conversion, repentance and leads us to the forgiveness of our sins.
The prodigal son's ring, robes and banquet reveal our Father's heart for forgiveness. He watches for our return.

Chapter 3: Prayer

Prayer grows in value with sacrifice.
First prayer, then atonement, and very much last: action.
Consider what you say, to whom and why. For hurried talk without reflection, is empty noise
However much you move your lips, others may not call it prayer.
Prayer & meditations should be liturgical: based on psalms and saints, rather than contemporary rhetoric.
"Not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God," says the Lord. Bread and word, Host and prayer...Otherwise, there is no supernatural life.
If you seek friends to make life bearable, they may let you down. Rather, seek the company of the greatest Friend who will never let you down.
Don't know how to pray? Place yourself in God's presence and say, "Lord, I don't know how to pray!" Rest assured, that you are well on your way.
The fire of love comes through meditation. Seek to be a living bonfire, a flame that gives light and heat to the world.
Embers dying? If you cannot burn sweet-smelling cedar poems, throw twigs of ejaculations or prose and you will not have wasted your time.
He came to us as a small child, so we can approach Him with confidence.
In what human venture are greater guarantees of success, than with prayer?
Persevere in prayer, even when it feels dry. Every prayer is fruitful with God.
If unable to pray, don't worry or force it, such moments are for listening.
If some holy phrase strikes you, repeat it throughout the day to find its blossoming nectar.
If you don't keep in touch with Christ in prayer and His Body, how can you make Him known to others?
There is no such thing as a saint without prayer.
The prayer of a Christian is never a monologue.
Spiritual reading is the seed for growing saints.

Chapter 6: Mortifications

You will never be a soul of prayer without denying yourself.
Interior mortification is biting back a questionable remark on the tip of your tongue, smiling cheerfully at someone who annoys you, friendly conversations
with boring or tactless persons, overlooking irritations in family members, and perseverance.
Spin your thoughts from, "That person gets on my nerves," to "That person sanctifies me.
In petty things, don't waste an opportunity to be kind rather than be right. It's hard but so pleasing in the eyes of God!
Choose mortifications that don't mortify others.
Virtues grow with self-denial.
Drink every drop of your chalice of pain now. How does it matter when heaven is forever?
If you guard your eyes, you guard your heart.
Life is a paradox: to live we must die.
Anything that does not lead you to God leads you backwards.
Man's treasures on earth are hunger, thirst, heat, cold, pain, dishonor, poverty, loneliness, betrayal, slander...
The 2 friends most at odds are the body and the soul.
Give the body less or it will turn on you.
If a grain of wheat does not die, it remains unfruitful. May Jesus bless your wheatfield!
Ash, gall, and vinegar tastes better than the damnation of sin.
Give thanks for all exclusions that come your way.

Chapter 9: Resolutions

Let your resolutions not be fireworks that sparkle for a moment but live forever in the dustbin.
Youth is like a ship setting sail. Unless deviations are corrected, the destination is unreachable.
"Tomorrow" is an adverb of the defeated, since it may never come.
Remember your shame and praises: the shame is yours; the praise belongs to God.
Now is never too soon to return to God.
With God, painful wounds become joyful peace. Without God, painful wounds are painful wounds.

Chapter 46: Perseverance

Consider how many flowers blossom in the spring and how few grow into fruit.
Persevere and you will rise. Even a bird whose wings are caked in mud will try.
Say yes to grace and you can rejoice in God's victory for you.
You have lame excuses. God has great plans.
Work out of love, rather than enthusiasm. We will be judged by our love, not our enthusiasm.
When the saints had isolation, trials and tribulations, they conquered them with prayer, sacraments and sacrifices.
There would be no ripe fruit, orchard blossom or floral scent without the drudgery of time.
Fall in love with Him and you will never go astray.

Chapter: on the 3rd Commandment, how to keep holy the Lord's Day

This day of rest is for rejuvenation and rejoicing in the Lord. Moreover, it is a day of protest against the servitude and the worship of money.
The sabbath was made for man, not God. We see Jesus performing miracles at the horror of the Pharisees. Christ rebukes them declaring the sabbath is for
do good not harm, for saving lives rather than killing through inaction.
Jesus rose on a Sunday; hence we celebrate the day He separated the darkness from the light.
Sunday is a day of physical refreshment but provides time for spiritual healing. Take this time to confess sins, repent in prayer, be present for the sacrifice and divine liturgy. Let us squeeze every drop of grace that we can into our souls.
Parishes are where shepherds feed their lambs and tend their sheep, as when Jesus asks St. Peter three times about love.
You cannot pray at home as at church. There is where a multitude of hearts melt into the heart of Jesus in His flesh and blood.
The day of rest is to strengthen our familial, cultural, social love and not just our religious love.
Every Christian should avoid making demands on others that hinder their observing the Lord's Day and Holy Days.
Sundays are our day of deliverance, let us rejoice in our God who made it so.

Summary. Holiness starts with prayer, based on a tiny seed of faith that blossoms into sanctity. Sanctity is not for the privileged few, the Lord calls us all. It is not necessary to search for God in the dessert, pilgrimages, or anywhere that He has not planted us. All paths are occasions for encounters with Christ. Every day is an opportunity to become a saint. Let us use daily struggles to reassess our interior life for growth opportunities. Find holiness hidden in the ordinary: the lab, the ER, the army barracks, the fields, the factories, at home and everywhere God waits for us. Let us devote our whole day to worship, as an extension of the Holy Mass to love God and neighbor. Then, everyday life becomes our mission to encounter Christ. Let us combine fortitude, cheer and optimism while giving the Lord all our obstacles. If He made us for a purpose, He must provide the tools. Perhaps our struggles are His tool (a ladder) by which we climb to sainthood.

St Josemaria Escriva, pray for us.

Blessed Mother Mary, pray for us.

Jesus, we trust in you!

Sources:

7 lessons in everyday holiness from St Josemaria Escriva | Catholic Exchange

St Josemaría Escrivá - Wikipedia

The Way - Wikipedia

The Way | St Josemaria Escriva