Feast of St. Josemaría: June 26th

 Every June 26, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei. Hundreds of thousands of people will remember "the saint of ordinary life," as John Paul II called him.

"Following in his footsteps," said the Pope in his homily on the occasion of his canonization, "spread in society, without distinction of race, class, culture or age, the awareness that we are all called to holiness.

If you want to pray before the remains of St. Josemaría, you can go to the church of Santa María de la Paz (Rome).

St. Josemaría and priests

The founder of Opus Dei had the art of knowing how to express great realities in brief and simple words. This happens, for example, when he speaks on the subject of priestly identity, which is questioned and problematized by some, St. Josemaría resolved it categorically: "The priest, whoever he is, is always another Christ.".

"Another Christ, Ipse ChristusThe priest can consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ, offer to God the Holy Sacrifice, forgive sins in sacramental confession and exercise the ministry of indoctrinating people. The priest can consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ, offer to God the Holy Sacrifice, forgive sins in sacramental confession and exercise the ministry of indoctrinating people". (The Way, 6).

St. Josemaría regarded diocesan priests as his brothers and sistersHe used to say to them: "My brother priests," he used to say when addressing them. I felt a brotherly affection for them and to the priests of the Prelature of Opus Dei he invited them to feel like diocesan priests in all the dioceses of the world.

Lived and promoted an authentic love for priests and always gave proof of it. He was an example of zeal for priestly formation.He demonstrated this in the solicitude with which he guided the activity of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, which enables priests from all the dioceses of the world to share their spirituality.

CARF follows this example of St. Josemaría by supporting the priestly formation. That is why the Foundation acts so that, with the help of benefactors, scholarships are provided for priests and seminarians without resources, from dioceses all over the world.The students of the University of the Holy Cross in Rome and in the Faculties of Ecclesiastical Studies of the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, received a solid theological, human and spiritual preparation in the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome and in the Faculties of Ecclesiastical Studies of the University of Navarra in Pamplona.

In addition, promoted the importance of prayer in the life of the priest. "Do not cease to pray for them, that they may always be faithful priests, pious, learned, dedicated, joyful! Entrust them especially to Holy Mary, who will be especially solicitous as a Mother for those who are committed for life to serve her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal Priest".

St. Josemaría's teachings for priests

Bishop Javier Echevarría explains that throughout his long pastoral experience, St. Josemaría continually experienced the need for a strong priestly identityis not true that Christians want to see in the priest The Christian people want the priest to be a priest.

In the words of St. Josemaría, "that the priestly character be clearly emphasized: 'they expect the priest to pray, not to refuse to administer the sacraments, to be ready to welcome everyone without becoming the leader or militant of human factions, whatever they may be; to put love and devotion into the celebration of Holy Mass, to sit in the confessional, to console the sick and the afflicted; to indoctrinate children and adults with catechesis, to preach the Word of God and not any kind of human science which - even if he knew perfectly well - would not be the science that saves and leads to eternal life; to have counsel and charity for the needy. In a word: the priest is asked to learn not to hinder the presence of Christ in him". Homily Priest for eternity, April 13, 1973.

Javier Echevarría, can perhaps sum up the challenge that today's world throws down to sacred ministers. To men and women of all times, the priest must make God presentAnd for this, he must learn to lend Christ his voice, his hands, his soul and his body: all that is his.

This happens mainly when he administers the sacraments or in preaching, but not only in those moments. The dynamics proper to the sacrament of Holy Orders, whose center and culmination is the Eucharist, lead to to give himself entirely, body and soul, to Christ.

Saint Josemaría's words about priests

Short texts about the life and vocation of priests that we remember on the occasion of St. Josemaría's feast day.

• They will be ordained to serve. Not to command, not to shine, but to give themselves, in an unceasing and divine silence, to the service of all souls (Priest for eternity).
• A priest who lives the Holy Mass in this way - adoring, atoning, impetrating, giving thanks, identifying himself with Christ - and who teaches others to make the Sacrifice of the Altar the center and root of the Christian's life, will truly demonstrate the incomparable greatness of his vocation, that character with which he is sealed, which he will not lose for all eternity (Loving the Church, 49).
• Christ, who ascended the Cross with his arms wide open, with the gesture of an Eternal Priest, wants to count on us, who are nothing, to bring to "all" men the fruits of his Redemption (The Forge, 4).
• To be a Christian - and in a particular way to be a priest, remembering also that all the baptized participate in the royal priesthood - is to be continually at the Cross (Forge, 882).
• Priest, my brother, always speak of God, for, if you are his, there will be no monotony in your conversations (Forge, 965).
• When he gave Holy Communion, that priest felt like shouting: Here I give you Happiness! (Forge, 267).