Editing Opus Dei (section)

== Spirituality ==

=== Doctrine ===
{{Main|Teachings of Opus Dei}}
[[File:Mons. Ocariz.jpg|thumb|right|[[Fernando Ocariz]], present prelate of Opus Dei]]
Opus Dei places emphasis on certain aspects of Catholic doctrine. A central point of focus in Opus Dei's theology is the lives of the Catholic [[Laity|laypeople]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicity.com/mccloskey/popeandopusdei.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512145601/http://www.catholicity.com/mccloskey/popeandopusdei.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 May 2008 |work=Crisis Magazine |author=Fr. John McCloskey |date=March 1995 |title=The Pope and Opus Dei |access-date=27 November 2006}} ''mirrored on CatholiCity''</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=9319 |work=Opus Dei Official Site |title=Opus Dei's focus on secular life |access-date=28 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nysun.com/article/30310?access=391277 |work=The New York Sun |title='Da Vinci' And Opus Dei |access-date=27 November 2006 |archive-date=28 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428092138/https://www.nysun.com/article/30310?access=391277 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Opus Dei emphasizes the "[[universal call to holiness]]": the belief that everyone should aspire to be a saint, as per Jesus' commandment to "Love God with all your heart" (Matthew 22:37)<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|22:37|NRSV}}</ref> and "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|5:48|NRSV}}</ref> Opus Dei also teaches that sanctity is within the reach of everyone, given Jesus' teaching that his demands are "easy" and "light," as his divine assistance is assured.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|11:28–30|NRSV}}</ref><ref>Escrivá, J, ''Christ is Passing By'', n. 176; ''Friends of God'', n. 28.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5029154 |publisher=NPR |title=A Glimpse Inside a Catholic 'Force': Opus Dei |access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref>

Opus Dei does not have monks or nuns; only a minority of its members are priests.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=19147 |work=Catholic News Service |title=Opus Dei called 'complete opposite' of 'The Da Vinci Code' portrayal |access-date=27 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008233057/http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=19147 |archive-date=8 October 2006}}</ref> Opus Dei emphasizes uniting spiritual life with professional, social, and family life. Members of Opus Dei lead ordinary lives, with traditional families and secular careers,<ref name="Opus Dei 2007" /> and strive to "sanctify ordinary life". Pope John Paul II called Escrivá "the saint of ordinary life".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-05/2006-05-22-voa20.cfm?CFID=2829126&CFTOKEN=35170673 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20060629121920/http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-05/2006-05-22-voa20.cfm?CFID=2829126&CFTOKEN=35170673 |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 June 2006 |work=JoseMaria.info |title=Decree of Canonization |access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> Similarly, Opus Dei stresses the importance of work and professional competence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/furrow-chapter-15.htm |author=Josemaría Escrivá |work=Furrow |title=Chapter 15: "Work" |access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ewtn.com/_saints/escriva/work_holiness.htm |work=Eternal Word Television Network |title=Josemaria Escrivá: Work and Holiness |access-date=27 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060512114142/http://www.ewtn.com/_saints/escriva/work_holiness.htm |archive-date=12 May 2006}}</ref> Opus Dei exhorts its members and all lay Catholics to "find God in daily life" and to perform their work as a service to society and as an offering to God.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paulrich.net/papers/opusdei.html |work=American Political Science Association |title=Opus Dei as a Political Force in Post Cold War Latin America: Civil Society, Associationalism, and Democracy |access-date=27 November 2006 |archive-date=25 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225042825/http://www.paulrich.net/papers/opusdei.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> Opus Dei teaches that work not only contributes to social progress but is a "path to holiness".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93084&page=1 |work=ABC News |title=Interview with Opus Dei National Spokesman |access-date=11 January 2011}}</ref>

The biblical roots of this Catholic doctrine, according to the founder, are in the phrase "God created man to work" (Genesis 2:15)<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|2:15}}</ref> and [[Jesus]]' time as a carpenter in a small town.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/conversations-point-55.htm |author=Josemaría Escrivá |work=Conversations |title=What is the Attraction of Opus Dei |access-date=4 July 2007}}</ref> Escrivá also points to the gospel account that Jesus "has done everything well" (Mark 7:37).<ref>{{bibleverse|Mark|7:37}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/friends_of_god-point-56.htm |author=Josemaría Escrivá |work=Friends of God |title=Working for God |access-date=4 July 2007}}</ref> The foundation of the Christian life, as stressed by Escrivá, is ''[[divine filiation]]'': Christians are children of God, identified with Christ's life and mission. Other main ideals of Opus Dei, according to its official literature, are freedom, respecting choice, taking personal responsibility, charity, and love of God above all and love of others.<ref name="Opus Dei 2007">{{cite web |url=http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=12224 |work=Opus Dei website |title=Message of Opus Dei |access-date=11 March 2007}}</ref>

At the bottom of Escrivá's understanding of the "universal call to holiness" are two dimensions, subjective and objective, according to [[Fernando Ocariz]], a Catholic theologian and prelate of Opus Dei since 2017. The subjective is the call given to each person to become a saint, regardless of their place in society. The objective refers to what Escrivá calls [[Christian materialism]]: all of creation, even the most material situation, is a meeting place with God, and leads to union with him.<ref name="Allen 2005">{{Cite book |author=John Allen |title=Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church |year=2005 |publisher=Doubleday Religion |isbn=0-385-51449-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/opusdeiobjective00alle}}</ref>

=== Prayers ===
{{See also|Interior life (Catholic theology)}}
All members – whether married or unmarried, priests or laypeople – are trained to follow a 'plan of life', or 'the norms of piety', which are traditional [[Catholic devotions]]. This is in order to follow the teaching of the Catholic Catechism: "pray at specific times...to nourish continual prayer".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p4s1c3.htm |work=Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 2697-8 |title=The Life of Prayer |access-date=20 August 2007}}</ref>

=== Mortification ===
{{See also|Mortification of the flesh}}
Public attention has focused on Opus Dei's practice of [[Mortification in Roman Catholic teaching|mortification]] of the flesh. Examples include fasting and remaining silent for certain hours during the day when this is compatible with family or professional duties. Mortification has a long history in many world religions, including the Catholic Church. Popes have endorsed it as a way of 'following Christ', who died of [[crucifixion]] and who, speaking of anybody that sought to be his disciple, said: "let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=7017 |publisher=Opus Dei |title=The Da Vinci Code, the Catholic Church and Opus Dei |access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref>