The first contact I had with Opus Dei and my acquaintance with St. Josemaría, then Venerable Josemaría Escrivá, dates back to my childhood. My mother used to attend some of the means of formation and from time to time she would bring the Newsletter of his cause of Sanctification. I was always excited by them and used to go directly to read the favours obtained through his intercession and end up by praying the little prayer at the end. Something that fascinated me especially was seeing the far off places the recipients of these favours came from: Guadalupe, Newcastle, Bonn… Unknowingly the first seeds of a deep friendship had been sown.

I would lose contact with Opus Dei for a while. But some time later when I was going through a more difficult time in my life and decided that the time had come to take a decisive stand, my thoughts went directly to St. Josemaría.

I would later lose contact with Opus Dei for a while.    I had an idea that Opus Dei was something good since my mother was so involved in it (mother always knows best), but I didn’t have any more contact beyond that initial one. In my university years, whenever I heard about the Mass in honour of St. Josemaría, I would attend because of our early acquaintance, but that was about it all. However, some time later when I was going through a more difficult time in my life and decided that the time had come to take a decisive stand, my thoughts went directly to St. Josemaría.

Were I to be asked what aspect of the spirit of Opus Dei attracts me most, I would be hard pressed to find an answer. It’s like eating a bowl of ice cream, which I like a good deal. I really couldn’t put a finger on which spoon I liked the most

I immediately found and went to a centre of Opus Dei and after talking with someone I met there I found a lot of peace and tranquillity. If I were to be asked what aspect of the spirit of Opus Dei attracts me the most, I would be hard pressed to find an answer. It’s like eating a bowl of ice cream, which I like a good deal. I really couldn’t put a finger on which spoon I liked the most. Trying to live that Spirit has been a life-changing experience.

It was particularly refreshing to hear that everything I do in my life could have a sanctifying effect, right from brushing my teeth in the morning to taking especial care of my ward rounds later in the day. I learnt that being a saint consists in precisely doing those things in the presence of God and offering them. This was a source of great peace of mind for me and has enabled me to struggle a lot more to live a deep Christian life.

I owe this to my childhood friendship with St. Josemaría.