Year of Faith, Indian bishop: Like St. Escrivá, bringing Christ into daily life
Mumbai (AsiaNews) - Bringing the Word of God in the context in which we live, speaking of Christ and what he represents for us with our families and with those who are part of our daily lives. For Msgr. Percival Fernandez, emeritus auxiliary bishop of Mumbai, these are the teachings of Saint Josemaría Escrivá on which we must build on the Year of Faith. In honor of the founder of Opus Dei, whose liturgical feast falls on June 26, the bishop celebrated a Mass in the church of St. Andrew in Bandra (Mumbai) on 28th June.
Canonized by John Paul II on
October 6, 2002, St. Josemaria
Escriva de Balaguer founded the Personal Prelature of Opus Dei in 1928. The
Spanish priest preached the universal call to holiness, affirming the
importance of work as a means of personal holiness and apostolate, when lived
in union with Christ.
According to Msgr. Fernandez,
former secretary general of the Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), the most
significant lesson that the founder of Opus Dei has left us is his being
"a saint of ordinary life." In
times "afflicted with a secularization of society, by a crisis of faith, by
a religious indifference and relativism, St. Josemaría Escrivá teaches all of
us to seek and find God in our lives, in our work, in our families and in our
friendships, to live the Gospel in a simple way. "
"Because
we are in the middle Year of Faith - said the prelate to the faithful - we pray
for the intercession of St. Josemaría, to help us not only to hear the Word of
God, but to live it in a genuine way in our communities".