MICHIGAN CITY – Nearly 200 people filled St. Mary the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church to celebrate Mass on the Feast Day of St. Josemaria Escriva on June 26.
Bishop Robert J. McClory was the celebrant of the annual Mass, hosted by Father David Kime.
“Having the Mass here at St Mary’s with the bishop was very special. I know St. Josemaria had a great devotion to Our Lady. So, I thought it was very fitting that this year’s Mass was celebrated at a church in her honor,” said Lucia Bim-Merle, pastoral associate of Queen of All Saints Catholic Church.
Bim-Merle described those in attendance as a “widespread demographic from all walks of life and all different ages,” including priests from across the Diocese of Gary, families, singles, young and old, as well as members from the Shellbourne Conference Center in Valparaiso.
“It was a nice representation of those present to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Josemaria,” she said.
A reception was held following the Mass in the Richard and Louise Scholl Student Center at Marquette Catholic High School in Michigan City.
Hours before the Mass, Father Kime, who has a deep devotion to St. Josemaria, led a Holy Hour for priests and a few seminarians during which he reflected on the life of the saint.
St. Josemaria was born in Barbastro, Spain, on Jan. 9, 1902. He was ordained to the priesthood in Zaragoza, Spain on March 28, 1925. On Oct. 2, 1928, by divine inspiration, he founded Opus Dei. On June 26, 1975, he died suddenly in Rome after a final affectionate glance at a picture of Our Lady in the room where he worked. He was later canonized by Pope St. John Paul II on Oct. 6, 2002.
“It was a beautiful celebration. This is a huge feast day for the founder of Opus Dei,” said Deacon Steven Caraher.”
Opus Dei, which is Latin for “work of God,” is a Catholic organization which aims to encourage people of every sector of society to desire holiness in the secular world.
“A big thing St. Josemaria taught was sanctifying everything each and every day,” said Deacon Caraher. “Sometimes the laity doesn’t realize they’re called to be saints, but the truth is Vatican II taught us very clearly, every single one of us is called to be a saint. St. Josemaria talks about how we’re to offer up everything we do for Jesus.”
He continued, “So, when we’re changing diapers, that’s how we're getting sanctified. When we’re mowing the lawn, that shows we’re getting sanctified. It’s practically offering that work to God and seeing it as divine work.”
As a mother of eight children, Sheryll Werner has a great appreciation for being sanctified when it comes to changing diapers. “I thought, you mean to tell me, I could become a saint for changing 12,000 diapers/ But that was my destiny,” questioned Werner.
Werner became aware of St. Josemaria and Opus Dei during what she describes as a “critical turning point in my life.”
In 1983, Werner met her future husband, Tom, in a laundromat. A Lutheran at the time, she decided to convert to Catholicism before the two were married.
At the Shellbourne Conference Center, she attended a silent retreat, not initially realizing that it would be a life-altering experience.
“Our Lord really spoke to me. The priest’s ability to speak to us during meditations in a matter that stirred my heart helped me understand my calling towards sanctification of our daily work,” said Werner. “It was a critical turning point for me and certainly for the beginning of my journey with Opus Dei in my life.”
Werner is now the operations manager for the Shellbourne Conference Center, which is the Midwest Opus Dei retreat center.
Both Bim-Merle and Werner shared the joy they’ve found since following St. Josemaria’s insight on sanctifying everyday activities.
Bim-Merle said her devotion to St. Josemaria has led to her having a greater love of her vocation. “It has often reminded me to embrace my vocation in life and to do my work with the intention and purpose of glorifying God. It has helped me to live sanctity in everyday circumstances, to love the Lord deeper and it also has helped me increase my prayer life.”
Werner agreed, “There is such a joy to know that everything I do can be turned into an offering to God. That this walk that St. Josemaria so beautifully and joyfully gave the Catholic Church, through focusing on the ordinary things we do in our ordinary work can be sanctified. It turns the gravel of life into the gold offering for God.”