Opus Dei spirituality involves daily living of faith

Published: 2006-03-22

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Opus Dei, a church-approved organization with more than 87,000 members around the world, asks all its members to adhere to a substantial daily spiritual program that is designed to help them see their faith as permeating every aspect of their lives. Russell Shaw, a Catholic journalist in Washington, described himself in an interview as "a fairly mediocre Catholic" before he joined Opus Dei in 1980. Asked by Catholic News Service to describe his routine of spiritual exercises now, he said it includes daily Mass and Communion, a daily period of reading Scripture and some spiritual reading, daily rosary and two daily periods of mental prayer. Shaw said he also attends a yearly Opus Dei retreat and weekly meetings of about 45 minutes to an hour with a small group of other Opus Dei members, for prayer and self-reflection. He meets with a spiritual director "every two weeks or so," he said. He estimated the time he devotes to spiritual practices runs "about two to two and a quarter hours" on the average day. "Once you become accustomed to it, it's quite satisfying," he said.

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