I’ve just gotten hold of a copy of “Una Luz Encendida” and I’m enjoying it tremendously!

Part of Chapter III ‘The Calling’, says: ” The truth was that Dora was a treasure and gift from God for the Residence. Encarnita Ortega, who was one of the directors of the Administration, explained that “she had a heart of gold, and she worked divinely: she had perfect control of the flat iron and dry cleaning and sewing; she cleaned with extraordinary perfection; she served at table without the slightest failing; she knew the kitchen perfectly well.  In addition, her manner was respectful, natural, and she knew how to teach the other girls with authority yet with a lot of refinement. It’s true that she had quite a strong character but she struggled to have it under control.” ”

I’ve decided to do a provisional translation of the Chapter on her CALLING TO OPUS DEI and put it here. Please click here.

Other links:

• Interview with the author
• Blog on Dora del Hoyo

YOUTUBE VIDEO – BIOGRAPHY OF DORA:

 

Our friend Widodo Budi from Indonesia tells us that the Indonesian edition of “At God’s Pace” is now out. “We wish that from this biography, our apostolate in Indonesia will be more stable and fruitful”, he says.

Our friend Luis Velasquez shares with us the first audiobook (mp3) in English of the meditation “Life in Nazareth” in “In Conversation with God” Thanks, Luis!

Enjoy!

The chapter “The Story of a Founder of the U.S. Hospice Movement” of the book “Women of Opus Dei” focuses on Dr. Josefina “Jo” Magno, an oncologist who established some of the first hospice programs in the United States and helped bring the hospice concept into the medical mainstream.  Jo Magno founded the International Hospice Institute (IHI) which eventually came to be the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC).

Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.  Palliative care: * provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms, * affirms life and regards dying as a normal process. * intends neither to hasten or postpone death, * integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care, * offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death, * offers a support system to help the family cope during the patients illness and in their own bereavement, * uses a team approach to address the needs of patients and their families, including bereavement counselling, if indicated, * will enhance quality of life, and may also positively influence the course of illness, * is applicable early in the course of illness, in conjunction with other therapies that are intended to prolong life, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and includes those investigations needed to better understand and manage distressing clinical complications.

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In Madrid, the “Hospital Centro de Cuidados LAGUNA” has been delivering such palliative care services.  Since 2002, Centennial Year of the birth of St Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei, it has been functioning as an excellent palliative care center, dedicated primarily to the care of terminally ill patients as well as of senior persons suffering from Alzheimer’s and other similar illnesses.

Laguna is dedicated to providing quality of life in old age or prior to death. It arose out of the urgent need to attend to terminally ill persons, taking into account the totality of their needs: psychological, spiritual, social, etc.  Laguna is located along Concejal Francisco José Jiménez Street in Madrid.

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]]> http://opusdeitoday.org/2011/01/hospice-care/feed/ 0 http://opusdeitoday.org/2011/01/peace/ http://opusdeitoday.org/2011/01/peace/#comments Sun, 09 Jan 2011 08:01:22 +0000 Aliza Racelis http://opusdeitoday.org/?p=1071 Religious freedom as the path to peace

Peace is the “tranquility of order”, as defined by St Augustine and explained by St Thomas Aquinas in the Summa.  ”Peace implies a twofold union… The first is the result of one’s own appetites being directed to one object; while the other results from one’s own appetite being united with the appetite of another: and each of these unions is effected by charity–the first, in so far as man loves God with his whole heart, by referring all things to Him, so that all his desires tend to one object–the second, in so far as we love our neighbor as ourselves, the result being that we wish to fulfil our neighbor’s will as though it were ours: hence it is reckoned a sign of friendship if people “make choice of the same things…”

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In his World Day of Peace 2011 Message, Pope Benedict XVI says “I have felt it particularly appropriate to share some reflections on religious freedom as the path to peace. It is painful to think that in some areas of the world it is impossible to profess one’s religion freely except at the risk of life and personal liberty. In other areas we see more subtle and sophisticated forms of prejudice and hostility towards believers and religious symbols. At present, Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith. Many Christians experience daily affronts and often live in fear because of their pursuit of truth, their faith in Jesus Christ and their heartfelt plea for respect for religious freedom. This situation is unacceptable, since it represents an insult to God and to human dignity; furthermore, it is a threat to security and peace, and an obstacle to the achievement of authentic and integral human development.”

The Father, in his January 2011 Letter, makes reference to the words of St Josemaría on freedom, for example, Conversations, no. 44: ““From its foundation Opus Dei has never practiced discrimination of any kind. It works and lives with everyone because it sees in each person a soul that must be respected and loved. These are not mere words. Our Work is the first Catholic organization which, with the authorization of the Holy See, admits non-Catholics, whether Christian or not, as cooperators. I have always defended the freedom of individual consciences. I do not understand violence. I do not consider it a proper way either to persuade or to win over. Error is overcome by prayer, by God’s grace, and by study; never by force, always with charity.”

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Related articles:

• Religious Freedom
• Freedom: UNIV 2011 theme