Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
JOSEMARA
ESCRIV
de
BALAGUER
Report
by
Isabelle
Masbate
YR
11
Religion
2A/B,
Ms
Kania
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
WHO
WAS
ST.
JOSEMARA?
Pg.
3
EARLY
YEARS
Pg.
3
HUMBLE
BEGINNINGS
Pg.
4
WAR
AND
TRIALS
Pg.
4
CARVING
THE
WAY
Pg.
5
LAST
YEARS
Pg.
5
SAINTS
OF
ORDINARY
LIFE
Pg.
6
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Pg.
7
WHO
WAS
ST.
JOSEMARA?
Provide
a
summary
of
your
person,
and
the
purpose
God
intended
for
him.
St
Josemara
Escriv
was
known
as
the
saint
of
ordinary
life.
He
is
the
founder
of
Opus
Dei,
Latin
for:
The
Work
of
God.
This
apostolate
is
based
on
the
principle
that
God
can
be
found
in
peoples
everyday
lives.
Josemara
had
a
powerful
vision
that
deep
spirituality
could
infuse
every
aspect
of
peoples
lives:
from
daily
work
and
trials,
to
the
most
ordinary
of
everyday
tasks.
People
can
love
and
serve
God
through
everyday
work
their
families
and
friends.
Escriv
spent
his
life
teaching
ordinary
people
that
living
for
God
is
not
just
for
priests
and
nuns,
but
for
anyone
and
everyone.
People
of
every
nation,
culture
and
social
standing
could
live
the
Christian
calling
in
a
new
way,
striving
to
be
holy
in
the
most
ordinary
circumstances
of
life.
Be
holy,
as
my
heavenly
Father
is
holy.
And
he
says
this
not
just
to
those
of
us
who
wear
these
[white
collars],
but
to
everyone,
everyone!
To
husbands,
to
wives,
to
single
people,
to
workers,
to
intellectuals,
to
peasants,
to
all!
(Fr.
Josemara
Escriv,
at
one
of
his
catechetical
talks)1
EARLY
YEARS
What
was
his
childhood
like?
Was
his
family
religious?
Did
he
receive
any
inspirations
or
visions
from
God?
St
Josemara
was
born
on
January
9th
1902,
in
Barbastro,
Spain.
His
family
was
devoutly
Catholic,
and
Josemara
would
recite
throughout
his
life
the
simple
prayers
his
parents
taught
him.
Despite
living
a
happy
childhood,
his
family
suffered
many
hardships
when
he
was
a
child:
his
three
younger
sisters
died,
his
fathers
business
collapsed
and
from
that
they
had
to
move
to
another
city,
where
they
struggled
to
make
ends
meet.
From
these
hardships,
the
Escrivs
drew
from
it
a
deepening
of
their
Christian
faith
and
strengthening
of
their
mutual
love.
When
Josemara
was
fifteen,
he
began
to
sense
that
God
had
a
special
mission
for
him.
After
witnessing
the
bare
footprints
of
a
Carmelite
monk
in
the
snow,
a
question
mark
had
been
put
over
his
life.
Was
God
telling
him
to
become
a
priest?
Not
long
ago,
the
idea
would
have
made
him
laugh.
Josemara
began
1
All
indented
quotations
are
extracted
from
YouTube,
Who
was
Josemaria
Escriv,
viewed
8
March
2014.
<
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2HdieBhQQk>
praying
fervently:
Domine
ut
videam!
Ut
sit!
Lord
that
I
may
see!
Lord,
may
that
thing
be
done,
that
thing
I
dont
know
what
it
is
you
want
me
to
do
(Gondrand
1989,
p.
39)
Josemara
gave
up
his
plans
of
becoming
an
architect,
and
in
1925
he
was
ordained
a
priest,
to
be
ready
for
whatever
Gods
will.
Three
years
later,
during
a
retreat
in
Madrid,
on
2nd
of
October
1928
the
feast
day
of
the
Guardian
Angels
-
God
revealed
to
him
what
God
wanted.
It
was
the
formation
of
Opus
Dei.
HUMBLE
BEGINNINGS
Describe
the
start
of
his
purpose
God
intended
for
him.
There
could
not
have
been
more
challenging
circumstances.
Escriv
was
an
unknown
priest
with
no
funds,
helpers
or
patrons.
Spain
in
the
early
1930s
was
driven
by
anti-clericalism:
priests
were
under
attack
and
churches
and
convents
were
burned.
Nonetheless,
with
the
power
of
prayer,
Escriv
set
out
in
search
for
people
who
could
understand
his
message
and
dedicate
their
lives
to
the
work.
Fr.
Josemara
had
some
difficulty
in
finding
men
who
could
leave
everything
to
follow
Christ,
just
like
the
rich
man
in
the
Gospel.
Souls
slipped
through
his
fingers
like
eels
in
water.
(Godrand
1989,
p.
70)
During
this
period,
he
attended
to
the
needs
of
the
poor,
sick
and
dying
people
in
Madrid.
He
often
had
to
walk
long
distances
during
the
day
to
visit
and
assist
needy
people
across
the
city.
He
walked
so
much
that
his
shoes
quickly
became
dilapidated:
with
holes
in
the
soles
and
the
leather
lining
peeling
off.
Nevertheless,
he
carried
his
work
with
great
sacrifice,
charity
and
humility.
Even
though
he
was
surrounded
by
the
violence
of
the
political
turmoil,
Fr.
Josemara
refused
to
take
sides
and
taught
his
followers
to
understand
pluralism,
and
to
value
freedom.
Growth
was
slow,
and
within
eight
years
twenty
people
had
joined
Opus
Dei.
In
1936,
war
broke
out.
WAR
AND
TRIALS
While
aspiring
his
purpose
in
life,
were
there
any
difficulties
that
arose?
If
so,
provide
examples.
The
Spanish
Civil
War
brought
fiercer
aggression
and
persecution
to
the
Church.
Priests
and
nuns
were
murdered,
so
Fr.
Josemara
was
forced
to
abandon
his
clerical
dress
and
wear
normal
clothing.
He
went
into
hiding
in
Madrid,
and
frequently
changed
his
locations
to
avoid
persecution
and
death.
At
one
point,
he
hid
in
an
asylum,
pretending
to
be
mentally
ill.
This
was
a
time
of
great
danger
for
all
priests,
but
Fr.
Josemara
felt
he
could
not
simply
sit
out
the
war
in
hiding,
unable
to
carry
out
his
priestly
activities
or
work
at
the
development
of
Opus
Dei.
So
he
decided
to
try
to
escape
to
the
Nationalist
zone,
where
religious
activities
were
permitted.
(John
Coverdale,
Escriv
Biographer)
In
Fall
1937,
Fr.
Josemara
and
a
few
Opus
Dei
members
travelled
to
Barcelona,
where
they
met
their
guide
for
their
expedition
over
the
Pyrenees
to
Andorra.
During
their
night
marches
over
the
mountains,
they
slept
in
caves
or
abandoned
farmhouses
and
Mass
was
said
with
improvised
altars
made
of
stones.
The
group
heard
some
gunshots
as
they
were
crossing
the
border,
but
they
arrived
safely.
For
the
remainder
of
the
war,
Fr.
Josemara
tried
to
re-establish
contact
with
the
members
and
friends
of
Opus
Dei.
During
the
WWII,
Fr.
Josemara
resumed
his
activities
in
Madrid,
hosting
retreats
in
a
number
of
Spanish
dioceses.
At
the
same
time,
Opus
Dei
began
to
grow
rapidly,
spreading
to
other
Spanish
cities.
Opus
Dei
saw
its
first
priests
as
three
lay
members,
all
engineers,
were
ordained
in
1944.
CARVING
THE
WAY
What
did
he
do
to
manifest
Gods
purpose
for
him?
Josemara
saw
that
Opus
Dei
could
be
for
all
people,
for
all
time.
In
1946,
he
travelled
to
Rome
seeking
Vatican
approval,
to
enable
international
growth
and
expansion
of
Opus
Dei.
By
the
1960s
Opus
Dei
began
its
apostolate
in
several
countries,
including
the
US,
Kenya,
Japan,
Portugal,
France,
England,
Ireland
and
Italy.
Opus
Dei
had
spread
across
six
continents,
in
thirty
countries.
Fr.
Josemara
wanted
to
personally
teach
members
from
the
new
countries,
so
a
large
complex
was
constructed
in
Rome
to
be
the
headquarters
of
Opus
Dei.
There,
young
members
could
study
the
Christian
doctrine
and
return
to
their
countries
to
teach
it
to
others,
along
with
the
message
of
Opus
Dei.
He
spent
hours
and
hours
talking
with
his
sons
and
daughters,
and
the
optimism
and
confidence
with
which
he
did
it
was
truly
inspiring.
(John
Coverdale)
LAST
YEARS
Describe
the
last
years
of
his
life.
From
1970,
Fr.
Josemara
went
on
long
catechetical
trips
all
over
the
world,
meeting
with
large
groups
of
Opus
Dei
members
and
friends
to
help
strengthen
them
in
their
faith.
Its
the
sanctification
of
work.
It
is
to
say
to
every
Christian,
whatever
their
job
or
position
in
life
that
there,
wherever
they
are,
they
can
and
should
be
good
children
of
God.
(St
Josemaria,
at
one
of
his
catechetical
talks)
On
June
26th
1975,
Fr
Josemara
gave
up
his
soul,
while
gazing
at
a
picture
of
Our
Lady
of
Guadeloupe
as
he
walked
into
his
office
where
he
usually
worked.
He
passed
away
with
the
same
simplicity
that
characterized
his
whole
life.
He
was
buried
in
the
crypt
of
the
church
of
Our
Lady
of
Peace,
in
Rome.
Monsignor
Alvaro
del
Portillo
succeeded
him
as
the
Prelate
of
Opus
Dei.
SAINTS
OF
ORDINARY
LIFE
Provide
any
other
significant
information
about
your
person.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Escriv,
J.
2011,
The
Way,
Sinag-Tala
Publishers,
Inc.,
Manila,
Philippines.
Gondrand,
F.
1989,
At
Gods
Pace,
Scepter
(U.K.)
Ltd.,
Hounslow,
England
Illanes,
J.
L.,
A
brief
biography
of
St.
Josemara
Escriv
de
Balaguer,
viewed
17
March
2014.
<
http://www.stjosemaria.org/dragons/pdf/BioStJosemariafromISJE.pdf>
YouTube,
Who
was
Josemaria
Escriv,
viewed
8
March
2014.
<
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2HdieBhQQk>