Today we celebrate the birthday of the patron saint of Embers, Saint Josemaria Escriva. Our new chapel is dedicated to this faithful saint of everyday holiness.
He was born in Barbastro, Spain, on January 9, 1902 and ordained to the priesthood on March 28, 1925. On October 2, 1928, by divine inspiration he founded Opus Dei. On June 26, 1975 he died suddenly in Rome, after a final affectionate glance at a picture of our Lady in the room where he worked. Pope St John Paul II canonized St. Josemaria in Rome on October 6, 2002. His liturgical feast is celebrated on June 26.
The life of St. Josemaria Escriva, priest and founder of Opus Dei, was a life of faith, a life holy and full of God—a life dedicated to doing God’s will and bringing to the world the message God entrusted to him:
“Sanctity is not for a privileged few. The Lord calls all of us. He expects love from all of us—from everyone, wherever they are; from everyone, whatever their state in life, their profession or job. For the daily life we live, apparently so ordinary, can be a path to sanctity: it is not necessary to abandon one’s place in the world in order to search for God…because all the paths of the earth can be the occasion for an encounter with Christ” (Letter 24-III-1930, no. 2).
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