Abriendo Horizontes. Semblanza de Jose Maria Hernandez Garnica

By: Jose Carlos Martin de la Hoz

BookNo.: r038

Asunto: highlights

Fecha: 16/03/12

• Very brief biography.
• Madrid 1913- Barcelona 1972
• Joined Opus Dei in 1934 or 35, few days after Don Alvaro.
• Civil war: prisoner, suffering, condemned to death, saved by a whisker.
• Days of darkness in San Sebastian. (vocation, fidelity)
• Fully given to Opus Dei.
• 40's: director, Engineering studies, trips, priestly studies.
• Ordained in 1944.
• The work with women of Opus Dei in Spain, then France, Rome, Germany, throughout Europe.
• Capacity and eagerness to adapt himself. (self-giving, generosity)
• Never gave up looking at the difficulties of apostolic task... God would put the rest. (apostolate , fortitude)
• "Secret of Christian life is that the more you give, the more you have" (self-giving, generosity)
• Utter fidelity to St Josemaria's spirit... He would dissappear next to him.
• Respect for freedom... Long hair people.
• Suffering due to illness, especiallywhen no more celebrating the Holy Mass... Increased intensity of norms of piety...
• He would complain of the expenses and say he was a bad investment... But would allow others to take care of him. (docility, poverty)
• Tags: Garnica, Chiqui, Fidelity, Opus Dei, Suffering, Fortitude, Apostolic expansion, cheerfulness
• Listen to audio file.

Olor a Yerba seca (dry grass aroma)

By: Alejandro Llano

BookNo.: r027

Asunto: highlights

Fecha: 23/11/11

• This book are the author's memoires from childhood till late 90's. It is originally written in Spanish. I don't knownif there are any translations available.
• Although mostly very simple it is generally quite amusing, entertaining and even thought provoking.
• Most of the annecdotes he narrates show a life which hasn't been too extraordinary, although the author is certainly quite gifted intellectually and has lived an interesting period of the history of Spain with a very eventful life also due to his own struggling character. These seem to be family traits.
• Some interesting highlights from the concluding chapter:
• My vocation to philosophy and what has brought me to get closer to Jesus Christ, have the same origin, and in a way, the same direction. It is about searching for the truth and a fulfilled life without any conditions, without too many sensible attachments, forgetting about the absorbing and selfish self. One vocation helps and gives support to the other one. There is no opposition between faith and reason. [faith and reason, faith, reason, vocation, philosophy ]
• At the foundations of research in humanities there is always a large amount of reading. Whatever is read becomes part of a sort of humus where personal ideas can grow. There is no clash between originality and the knowledge of what others have written. On the contrary, if you read little, end up falling in the most worn out topics which, due to lack of information, you consider as yours. It is important not to confuse ideas with 'ocurrencias' (spontaneous thoughts). [reading, thought, philosophy, culture]

Rugby Club

http://www.josemariaescriva.info/article/san-josemaria-rugby-club

Funny article about a Rugby team with great devotion to St. Josemaria Escriva.

Friends of God, chapter 2

By: St. Josemaria

Ch. 2. Freedom, a gift from God

• Lord do not depart from me for w/o you I can do no good at all.
• In all creation only man can decide whether to give or deny glory to God.
• This is the light n shade of human freedom
• The fruit of the best freedom of all is deciding in favor of God
• Freedom is used properly when is directed towards the good; and misused when turned away from the Love of loves.
• It should lead to ask, what do you want from me Lord?
• Truth will make you free.
• If do not realize is a child of God, is unaware of the deepest truth about himself.
• Freedom is insufficient by itself, it needs a guide. Christ
• Choices that prefer error do not liberate
• Men's supreme dignity lies on this, that they are directed towards the good only by themselves and not by others
• God's love is jelous, not satisfied if we come with conditions.
• Serving Christ involves suffering
• Even when God's will seems painful, it coimcides perfectly with our freedom
• A person who does not choose freely to follow an upright code of conduct, ends up being manipulated by others.
• W/o love of God, individual and reponsible use of freedom becomes impossible
• Is false to oppose freedom and self surrender: the later is consequence of the first
• Freedom can only be given up for love
• Because we love freedom we tie ourselves down. Pride sees such bonds as heavy chains
• The only freedom that can assail faith is a missinterpreted freedom = license.
• Freedom of consciences means nobody can licitly prevent man from worshipping God
• No one is permitted to impose on somebody the practice of the faith he lacks
• Each soul is master of its own destiny
• When man sins he acts against reason, being led by the impulse of another, so anyone who comits sin is a slave to sin
• Wherever there is comitment (to something good or bad) and real passion, the person involved lives enslaved, joyfully devouting himself to fulfill his task
• We will be slaves either way. But if we recognize Love makes us slaves of God, we become then friends, sons. We will then do the same as others do but with peace in our hearts.
• I opt for God because I want to, freely.
• We are answerable to God, no room for anonimity
• We can be forced to many things, but we can only believe if we want to
• Religion is the greatest rebeloion of men, who refuse to live like animals
• Dilemma: children of God or slaves to pride, to sensuality, to selfishness
• Love of God marks out the way of truth, justice n goodness
• When we decide for God we loose nothing n gain everything

BookNo.: r010

Asunto: highlights

Fecha: 30/12/10

Tags:

Friends of God, chapter 1

By: St. Josemaria

Ch. 1. The richness of ordinary life

• Jesus is at our side guiding us like a shepherd
• He has chosen us to be part of his family to be saints
• His invitation obliges us to struggle to the point of heroism
• These world crisis are crisis of saints
• Concern for souls follows from the fact that God has chosen us.
• Success in attracting souls depends on how much interior life we have
• Ppl are not born holy. Holiness is formed by God's grace n man's correspondence.
• Holiness God asks of us is in daily duties, n these will almost always consist of small realities.
• You will not lack opportunities to show love of God in the small n ordinary things around you.
• We are few n worth little
• A disciple of Christ calls error error but the person in error he will correct with kindness
• Victory only comes to those who strive to behave as Christians. Thus there are so many who from a human point of view should be happy but aren't. They appear to be, but just scratch the surface and...
• Interior life consists of begining once n again... The struggle is never ending
• Child helping the fishermen...if we come to God like that, knowing our weakness, we shall more easily reach the goal
• You must let yourself be helped by a spiritual director
• Have you been pursuing God's or your own glory in everything you do?
• Ppl who fly to the heights w/o interior life are like that fellow flying on the wings of a plane...frightening
• In work n dealing w others we should maintain dialogue w God which is not audible but does manifest outwards in the care we put in doing things.
• Be of one piece
• The more we advance in interior life, the more we see our own failings
• Saints were ppl like us, with weaknesses who managed to master themselves for love of God.
• Your boat -your talents, achievements, etc- are worth nothing if not left in Christ's hands.
• If we let him take command, how safe the boat will be!
• We want him to do as he pleases with all we posses
• Only in his shelter will we find true happiness

BookNo.: r010

Asunto: highlights

Fecha: 29/12/10

Look up to Mary

By: Antonio Orozco

More lessons from Mary

• Maternal duty
• To say thst the sense of modesty just be strenghthened n informed is not to deny its natural character
• There can be no elegance without modesty
• If the body is everybody's property, then it becomes no one's posetion, leat of all its original owner's
• Without modesty the body looses its soul.
• If we are to elevate woman, we must dress her well: simply, tastefully, modestly. Then we men won't be such brutes.
• The Woman who sums up all enchantments of Creation: holy Mary.
• Fidelity
• While she was spared the inclination to sin, she was not confirmed in grace, she remained perfectly free and as perfectly responsible
• Heeding God's call
• That God calls us to holiness is clearly taught in sacred scripture: Eph 1:4-5
• Best vocation
• Doubtless it's the one I have
• Time for loyalty
• Love is so busy giving that it has no time to calculate or exact its "due"
• Only by being faithful to God can man attain all the good to which he is called
• Accepting hardships might make our hearts grow
• Is the time to look to Mary
• Only by being faithful to God can man attain all the good to which he is called
• All is good
• To say yes to God sometimes means saying no to his creatures
• At times normally good things could be bad
• In gral all pleasure is good, but not for everyone, not at every moment, not at any price
• Sexual pleasure is good, clean and holy in marriage for the right reasons and at the right time, place and mode.
• By dispensing with sexual pleasure (those called for that), we accede to other pleasures, less sensual but higher & deeper
• For them to crave pleasures reserved for marriage would be not just wrong but foolish as well
• No to no
• Every No to God is a Yes to Satan
• Yes to love
• Jesus was used to saying No
• Love asks for love
• One No to God if not mended, can undo a lifetime of Yeses
• We must shout No to No

Close to Heaven's gate

• No one can love the Virgin for you
• Isthere anything more beautiful than a child's love for its mother? Only one thing: a mother's love for her child
•  

BookNo.: r005

Fecha: 01/01/11

El Hombre de Villa Tevere. Chapter XIII

Freedom, it is a right, a virtue which St. Josemaria defended with a lot of energy, because he knew that freedom is essential for people to serve God well.

In 1961, Fernando Valenciano asked openly in the get-together to Dick Rieman from U.S.: "Have you voted for J.F.Kennedy?@ The father, with energy and conviction cut the conversation, there and there, making it clear that that was Dick's own business. In Opus Dei's centres people never speak politics so as to make sure that nobody's freedom is cut short at any moment, and any person is aable to choose whatever political ideollogy he may want to follow, as any other Catholic may do, just following the broad guidelines of the Church.

St. Josemaria asked Father Javier Echevarria if he wanted to be his secretary when he was just 20 years old. This request came just a short time after he had repriminded him strongly for a small-importan fault in which he had slightly 'betrayed' his trust (he took a visiting-card from his desk without permission when he had been told to take nothing from there).

To non-Catholics and non-Christians he always told them that he thought he was right and they were wrong. But he told them that he would even give his own life for the respect of their freedom.

Respecting freedom is very important for people who may want to join Opus Dei. Javier Cremades before joining Opus Dei was 'taking care' of himself because he thought they were 'after' him. Once he met St. Josemaría and he spoke so much about freedom that Javier realized that nobody was 'after' him and he decided to join the Work.

Talking about himself and everybody's freedom, St. Josemaria said:

If I wear this "umbrella cover" [referring to his black cassock] is... because I want to! I told once to God: "I give you my freedom". And with his grace I've been able to keep the promise.