Holiness Through Work
9781594173738Edited by Maria Ferrari
Work is a fundamental element of human life which claims much of our time. Consider Jesus’ 30 years as a carpenter under the tutelage of St. Joseph! Our natural tendency can be to often curse or shirk its presence in life, instead of recognizing its true value as a source of personal development, improvement of society, and means of holiness and apostolate.
The core part of the book is dialogue between numerous scholars and Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz about the message of St. Josemaría Escrivá, one of the great teachers of modern spirituality, who has taught us to sanctify work, to sanctify oneself at work, and to sanctify others through work.
Use these words to reflect on the meaning of work in your own life and to learn how to change your perception of work as a burden into work as a source of sanctification.
Fernando Ocáriz, born in 1944, is the Prelate of Opus Dei, an institution of the Catholic Church founded in 1928 by St. Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) to spread the universal call to holiness and the sanctification of the ordinary work and daily life of lay people and diocesan priests. From the 1960s Msgr. Ocáriz worked closely with St. Josemaria and his successors. Since 2017 he has also been the Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome. He is the consultor of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and author of numerous theological writings.
Maria Ferrari is a professor of Special Ethics at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome). Born in Brazil, she studied journalism (São Paulo, 1980) and obtained a PhD in Philosophy in Rome, where she now lives. She has published articles in numerous magazines and collaborated in collective works on political philosophy issues.
