Rodolfo Valdes (Ed.)
Scepter Publishers
2021
100 pages
This little book consists of translations and adaptations of eight articles which are to be found on the Opus Dei website, www.opusdei.org.
In the foreword, Rodolfo Valdes sets the scene with the quotation from St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians that in Christ God chose us “before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy”; that in him we are baptised to share in his death and resurrection (see Rom. 6:1-14) and that in Him we become a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). Life in Christ is a gift that we receive in a particular way by participating in the sacraments, and which translates into an existence guided by the Holy Spirit marked by love.
The titles of the articles are:
- In the Joyful Hope of Christ
- Paths of Contemplation
- Reaching the Entire Person: The Role of the Emotions
- The Most Supernatural Reason
- Gratitude Spurs to Struggle
- Beloved, Called, Sent Out: A Sense of Mission
- Apostles in the Middle of the World: A Sense of Mission
- Pleasing God.
The centrality of Christ is a theme throughout the various articles. St. Paul tells us that to be Christian is to live in Christ, to live our life with him and in him, and to live his Life in ours. Christ must be the starting point and the guiding thread of every Christian life. He must be our anchor, our focus, and our ultimate desire. Everything we do, we do for his glory.
Every aspect of our humanity must converge in Christ: our life of prayer, the formation of our every dimension, our spiritual struggles, our sense of mission. We must fully grasp that our freedom as children of God and Christ’s unconditional love are the strong foundation of our efforts and goals. We want to live our life in him, to live his life in ours, as he is our source of hope-filled joy. As well as helping our prayer life, guiding us along paths of contemplation, the book opens up the panorama of the Christian’s apostolic mission in the world of today.