Inside Opus Dei Catholic

Here is an interesting article on Opus Dei that may well be of interest to those that study the groups within the Catholic Church.


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Inside Opus Dei

The movie, The Da Vinci Code, starring Tom Hanks and based on Dan Brown's mega-million best seller, opens at Ulster cinemas this weekend. But is Opus Dei, which features heavily in the book, the dark and secretive sect Brown makes it out to be? Deborah Dundas talks to an Ulster member of the ultra-conservative Catholic organisation.
19 May 2006

A social misfit wearing a spiky leather strap around his thigh beats himself with a knotted rope. both draw blood that trickles down his back and legs. it is an intense ritual of mortification and his tolerance for the pain is alarmingly high.

Meanwhile, misguided priest Bishop Aringarosa unleashes a chain of horrible events in his desire to keep Opus Dei in favour with the Vatican.

Both are members of the ultra-conservative Catholic organisation Opus Dei, according to Dan Brown's best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code.

And, reading about them, you would be forgiven for thinking that Opus Dei is a secretive, power-grabbing, monied group that confirms the darkest rumours about the Catholic Church.

"It's grossly over-exaggerated," says Charles Tindal (69), who has been a member of Opus Dei for the last 45 years or so. He is a farmer in Donegal and co-ordinates Opus Dei activities in Londonderry.

Despite all of the apparent negative publicity The Da Vinci Code has given the organisation, he says the book is also giving members an opportunity to come out and tell more about themselves.

Opus Dei has about 86,000 members worldwide, 800 of them in Ireland. There are Opus Dei centres dotted across the island - in counties Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Meath. There is no centre in Northern Ireland, but there are members here.

While the numbers may not seem that big, with its outreach activities, it's estimated that Opus Dei actually reaches millions of people, helping them to become more spiritual, and live more holy lives through organising retreats, conferences, youth groups and other activities.

Like the majority of Opus Dei members, Tindal is an ordinary person with an ordinary life: he's a farmer and businessman, is married (to Rosemary) and has seven children and 12 grandchildren (none of whom belong to Opus Dei).

What is unusual about him is that he has signed up to a lifelong commitment to Opus Dei, a commitment he describes as a vocation, demanding a lot of his time and a lot of self-discipline.

"It involves being available for God in one's everyday life," he says.

It also gives him "a great sense of happiness".

Opus Dei was founded in 1928 by Spanish priest St Josemaria Escriva, who was beatified in 2002 by Pope John Paul II. He felt that all lives could be lived in a more holy way.

Says Tindal: "He, like us all, was searching. He realised something was wrong because it wasn't necessary for lay people to be holy. But he felt that it was possible for everyone to be holy."

Living that way, in Opus Dei terms, means imitating Jesus Christ in thoughts, feelings, words and deeds.

It also means that any work can be made holy - what matters is the love that's put into it, not its perceived importance.

It also means constantly striving to attain holiness.

Tindal's call to Opus Dei occurred when he was in his early 20s. He had just finished two years' National Service in the Royal Marines. When that finished, he went into the management side of newspapers, first for the Daily Mail and then for The Economist, later moving into banking in the City.

These were, he said, his "bachelor days", a time when he was living "a loose and easy life, but it wasn't satisfying". Like many young people, he says, he was searching for something.

He grew up in a very Catholic family and was introduced to Opus Dei through a family friend. "That was in the early days of Opus Dei," he says, "and it was far from being elite."

He was hooked from the first meeting - what is called a "formational circle".

During the meeting, he says, "the hat was passed around and we all put in something for some old people we were going to visit."

He continued going to the circles, which are held once a month or so, and where the members talk about spiritual issues like mass or guardian angels. When he realised he was ready for the lifelong commitment of Opus Dei, he was asked to write a letter saying he wanted to join. Then, he says, "there is a six-month cooling off period - that's very important. People can think it's something it's not."

This is where the rumours come in, with people thinking that, perhaps, it's a high-powered group of people. Tindal denies this: "There are members who are very high-powered ? but it's a cross-section of society."

The young, old, powerful and ordinary join Opus Dei in one of four levels of commitment: supernumerary (they can marry, have children, and lead otherwise normal lives); numerary and associate (who practise celibacy and do not marry); and priest (about 2% of male numeraries and associates are ordained).

"All members, no matter what their level, have the same vocation," says Tindall. "The vocation is to live one's ordinary life - whether you're retired, a priest, a housewife or a student - and to do everything as well as possible. To do one's best."

The mission to become more holy is reflected in every member's everyday life. "My day is much the same as anybody else's," says Tindal, "but I try to set aside periods during the day to talk to our Lord. I go to mass every day - which is getting slightly more difficult because of the shortage of priests."

Just in case you're wondering, the cilice spoken of in The Da Vinci Code - the leather strap with barbs - is worn by some in Opus Dei, those who are numeraries and upwards. It's not a blood-letting gadget, rather it's worn in order to create discomfort so that the wearer can better understand the pain Jesus Christ suffered.

Tindal does not wear one of these. But his devotion to becoming closer to Christ means that, along with attending mass every day, he sets aside half an hour in the morning and, again, later in the day to pray. In addition, there are meetings once a week with other members of Opus Dei, as well as others.

"I have several friends who live in Derry," he adds. "We get together once a month and give a circle. It's a doctrinal circle - so there is commentary on the Gospel, and then we have a talk on a subject, last week it was 'prayer.'

"We then take time and examine ourselves, and ask ourselves 18 questions - for example, Do I waste time? So we literally take a look at our lives. We take three to four points each month that we try to improve on.

"Every six months there is a Day of Recollection, where a priest will give talks, and opportunities to go to confession. It's an opportunity to pray, to take another critical look at yourself and examine specifics.

"For example, around Easter we were talking about small mortifications and the resurrection."

He says that he "lives with the Lord" every minute of the day. In the way he conducts himself, for example, by engaging in small mortifications - things like smiling and being cheerful to people, even when he doesn't want to; or going to visit an elderly person when, really, it's the last thing in the world he wants to do that day.

It's a way of living that appeals to a lot of people. Membership is growing and their work is bringing others into the fold. It seems to appeal to a more conservative trend within Catholicism that introduces more structure to one's life, requiring people to live life in a disciplined way.

"Our work is very strong in certain parts of the world, says Tindal. "The bishops in Scandinavia, for example, asked us to come. It's a region where, traditionally, there are not a lot of Catholics. And now we're in Scandinavia, Norway and Finland."

Being apostolic (spreading the word as the apostles did) is an important part of Opus Dei. Tindal says: "I would be interested in finding out about what people think about the important things of life: what are we going to make of our lives? Are we out for just a good time, money, or do we take things more seriously?"

He quickly points out that, while living in this more holy way "would lead to looking more closely at one's life, having a more critical look" there is an emphasis on not becoming too introspective.

Tindal adds:"We encourage a good sense of humour. And we try to understand that not everyone is like us."

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=691651