Note to God

Loving God with all your mind involves looking for what’s best in others and telling them, “I see something of God’s character in you.”

Whatever is lovely”: Anticipate God’s abundance. The word lovely means not so much “pretty” as “enjoyable.” We all love to enjoy things, to be entertained. To think about whatever is lovely is to let God entertain you. This may sound strange, because entertainment means sporting events, movies, television, plays, and concerts. But couldn’t the greatness, the abundance, the gifts of God entertain you in a different way—in fact, in a much greater way? I’m using the word entertain not in the lowest sense of the word but in the highest—the sense of deeply enjoying something. If you can’t enjoy God with your mind, you’re never going to love him with all your mind. We often fail to realize this truth. Whatever you’re doing—whether with your family or on vacation or at work—enjoy the abundance and the goodness of God. When looking at a blue sky or at the clouds drifting across, take a moment to be entertained by the creativity of God. Enjoy who he really is. 

If you have friends who are fathers, this can be a point to draw to God. This is how God is when he looks upon his children, with such love and joy. God is our father, and just like you, he looks at us from above, with the greatest love for us

In our relationships with others, we cannot just be present. We need to be involved. Being present is like being a Scarecrow in the field, useless in preventing the birds from gnawing at the fruits. We need to be involved, actively, protecting and assuring those around us that we are not only just present, but active to help, to walk, to give. 

Modern civilization is full of a humanitarianism which is not Christian charity, for its motive is not the love of God. It may be a love of man, though it is more often a love of management.  Whatever be its motive, unless it be derived from the love of God, it profiteth nothing. It is on this point that many Catholics—even many Catholic religious—make a fatal mistake that renders much of their works for their neighbor sterile and unprofitable; for their motives are human. To them can be applied that threefold warning of our Lord: Amen, I say unto you, they have received their reward.

Key ideas 1. The Father reminded us that:     a. We all have the same vocation in Opus Dei, and we are Opus Dei in all our activities (not only in the activities we attend). Our first apostolate is our family and our work.     b. We are instruments of the Lord in transforming all things into prayer and an opportunity to serve others. Our  Father used to pray "Let's do things together, Lord!"      c. We should pray for the Pope, for his health, in the midst of much divisions from within the Church. Never speak ill of the Pope, even when he says something we don’t like 2. In response to questions regarding:     a. How to explain the Christian faith to our friends —> know the doctrine and the Gospel well, not primarily to explain the faith, but rather to search for Christ there so that we can be other Christs to our friends. We never stop forming ourselves, otherwise we will never be Christ-like enough. Our formation is for them and for ...

Rocío, a mother of three teenage children, asked how to combine successfully all the tasks she has to get to each day. “ Our life is not made of watertight compartments: spiritual, professional, family, sports... No. Everything is the same: every moment is the life of Christ in us.

The vocation to Opus Dei, the Father  said, is “an all-encompassing mission that entails the responsibility to always be apostles -- at work, when resting, in one’s family, at the university...” For the faithful of the Work, “the whole day is Opus Dei,” since by offering the events of each day to God “everything is an opportunity to find Jesus and everything can be transformed into prayer.” Imagine a life without Opus Dei.. for me, there will be this void which the church isn't able to strongly reach even though it preaches it. The presence of Opus Dei, through its formation, through the norms, allows me to live my life in accordance to God's will and to love Jesus better. Hence, I know this is my vocation. 

We are very lucky, we really are.  People long to see what we see, hear what we hear. To be able to be in contact with the formation and understand Opus Dei!  Formation is not about taking a course, but shit learning so much we can split into our daily lives, to grow in knowledge of Jesus which is a pearl of great with. But not just know, but discover, improve and be present. Not just going for formation, but really about how to love my lord much more. Our formation is aimed at making what Saint Josemaría said an ever clearer reality in our life: that we become Ipse Christus, Christ himself. But Christ, for us, is not only an external model. Rather, since we have the Father and the Holy Spirit within us, the moment will come when we will be Christ himself; we will have the same sentiments as Jesus, the same way of reacting to the circumstances in our own lives

 Mere human objectivity can lead us to discouragement and pessimism. It can cause us to forget the radical optimism which is part and parcel of the Christian vocation. As popular wisdom would have it: He who fails to include God in his reckonings does not know how to add. He does not know how to add because he leaves out the most important factor. The Apostles made a very precise count of their resources. They counted up the exact number of loaves and fishes available. But they forgot to consider that Jesus was at their side. And this fact radically alters the situation. The real reality is something different from objective reality. In apostolic undertakings it’s very good - it’s a duty - to con-skier what means the world has to offer you (2 + 2 = 4). But don’t forget - ever - that your calculations must fortunately include another term: God + 2 + 2. To neglect this reality is to misread the true situation. To be supernaturally realistic, we need to count upon the grace of God whi...

Where am I to find meat to give to all this people, when they come worrying me so tearfully and say, “Give us meat to eat”? I am not able to carry this nation by myself alone; the weight is too much for me. If this is how you want to deal with me, I would rather you killed me! If only I had found favour in your eyes, and not lived to see such misery as this!’ Numbers 11:4-15

charity is that virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and by which we love our neighbor for God.