In the Creed, we profess our belief in the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God revealed Himself as one God in the Pentateuch of the Old Testament, and as three Persons in the New Testament. The word “nature” answers “what are you?”; the word “person” answers “who are you?”. What is the Holy Trinity? God. Who is the Holy Trinity? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Every spirit has the capacity to understand and love and God is pure spirit. The Father begot His understanding as His Son and their mutual love became the Holy Spirit. These two acts are eternal and why all three Persons of the Trinity have always existed. St. Augustine was once perplexed by pondering this mystery and saw a child scooping the seawater into a hole at the beach, so he said to him, “There is so much water in the ocean. How can you fit it in the hole?” The child replied, “How about you? Do you think you can fit the Holy Trinity in your limited mind?” Because God is not solitary, He is the source of all human organizations: families, countries, and the Church. In all these, when we act with self-giving love, we reflect the inner life of God.

“I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” Time is a measure of change, but God is perfect and unable to become better or worse. God is not within time, but time is within God. As for God’s omnipotence, we can see it in the depths of the ocean, the heights of the mountains – these are things that humans cannot make. In the orderliness of the universe, we can see God’s wisdom; and in the growth of creatures, we can see God’s goodness. Since God is wise and omnipotent, He has plans for His creatures and is able to carry them out – this is known as Providence. Irrational creatures are necessarily led by God, but rational creatures – i.e. angels and humans – may choose to either cooperate with or rebel against God. Even evil, the absence of good, is permitted by God in His wisdom so that all things might find their fulfillment in Him. All the saints have only done great deeds by trusting in God’s Providence.

In 1939, St. Josemaría Escrivá successfully escaped Communist territory and when the Spanish Civil War ended, he returned to Madrid. Opus Dei was criticized for being a secret society, so they received recognition from the Archbishop of Madrid in 1941 and from Pope Pius XII in 1950. Opus Dei had laity, married persons, and even some “co-operators”, some of whom were not even Catholics. These people helped Opus Dei in its ministries, like education and cultural works. Although persecution of Opus Dei continued, St. Josemaría responded not with enmity but prayer, and in 1951, he consecrated the families of all Opus Dei members to the Holy Family and the entire Opus Dei to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He sent Opus Dei members around the world to spread the Gospel. He knew that the period of Vatican II would be a turbulent time, so he distributed Rosaries, asking for prayers for the Church, and went to Marian pilgrimage sites, praying for the Church himself. The saint passed away in 1975, hopeful of helping more people in Heaven, and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002. He taught us that everyone has a vocation to holiness and has apostolic work.

In 1937, St. Josemaría Escrivá and his companions waited in the forest to be smuggled out of Communist territory. They made good use of their time in hiding – they would wake up at 7am, pray at 7:15am, celebrate Mass at 7:30am, pray the Rosary, and meditate. He assigned jobs to his companions: collecting wood, cleaning, keeping records, leading prayers, and giving talks on their occupations. One day, the time came to leave and St. Josemaría retrieved the Eucharist from a silver cigarette case for them to adore. On Sunday, they were climbing a mountain and decided to celebrate the Mass on the mountainside. The flat stone that served as the altar was so low that St. Josemaría had to kneel to celebrate Mass and needed his companions to shield the Eucharist from being blown away. They reached mountaintop before sunset thanks to St. Josemaría’s encouragement. But the next day, they had to climb another mountain, and his breathing became hurried. His companions had to carry him, but he said, “I have come not to be served, but to serve.” They began praying the Rosary, but with their hands occupied with climbing, they lost count. Some decades had 20-30 Hail Mary’s. Then, they reached the mountaintop.

In 1937, St. Josemaría Escrivá and his companions were smuggled out of Barcelona. Not long after, the Communist police cracked down on the place they had been staying at. During their escape, they stayed in a farmhouse and celebrated Mass with a glass as the chalice and a notebook as the Missal. There was still a risk of capture, so they moved to an abandoned rectory nearby. St. Josemaría began having doubts whether it was the will of God that he leave Madrid and escape Communist-controlled territory. He prayed to the Virgin Mary to give him a rose as a sign that he was doing the will of God. One day, as he told his companions that he would not be celebrating Mass, he went to an abandoned church and emerged ecstatic. In his hands was a wooden rose – he would celebrate Mass that day. At another time, they had to hide in a cabin in the woods to wait for more refugees before continuing. St. Josemaría named it St. Raphael’s Cabin and prayed for the angel’s intercession. As a witness later recounted, the Mass that he celebrated in the forest was very sacred. The priest was recollected and focused and the singing of birds added to the atmosphere.

St. Josemaría Escrivá had evaded capture thus far in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War, but his friends knew that it was a matter of time before he was caught by the Communists. They brought him to some smugglers in Barcelona, who would take him to the Nationalist-controlled area. St. Josemaría had an influential friend in Barcelona, an old classmate while studying law, and an atheist. Upon arrival in Barcelona, the friend invited him over for dinner and tried to convince him to accept a legal career to save his life. But St. Josemaría was adamant that he would not abandon his priestly vocation. Seeing this, the friend told him, “If you ever get captured, tell them you are my brother, and I will see what I can do.” In 1937, Barcelona suffered famine and in their apartment, a starving dog was so hungry that it ate the belt and sock of St. Josemaría’s travelling companion. Nonetheless, St. Josemaría gave his food to the poor children and when that ran out, he played with them, giving them love and concern.

During the Spanish Civil War, St. Josemaría Escrivá hid in the Honduran Consulate; not wanting to waste his time, he continued to celebrate the Mass, pray the Rosary, and meditate with fellow refugees. They also studied other languages in the hopes of spreading the Opus Dei around the world after the war. He personally wrote prolifically and read the classics and theological works. He also sought Confession from other priests once a week. A follower, named Isidoro, used his Argentine citizenship to transit freely in and out of Communist-occupied Madrid. He served as St. Josemaría’s messenger, carrying spiritual reflections and the Eucharist to others. However, as all priests in Madrid had either fled or were in hiding, many people died without receiving the Sacraments. St. Josemaría decided to leave the Consulate, carrying fake documents and dressed as a civilian. He prayed many Rosaries on the streets, heard Confessions, consoled people, and preached secretly. Sometimes, he would narrowly evade capture, saved only by the careful attention of his sympathizers.

For five months in the Spanish Civil War, St. Josemaría Escrivá hid from the Communists in an insane asylum. Many of the “patients” were actually refugees; as many of the medical staff had Communist sympathies, they would report suspected refugees to the secret police. However, some doctors taught St. Josemaría how to imitate an insane person. Assigned to him were three nurses – two of whom were Communist sympathizers and one, the head nurse María Luisa, who was a reliable person. St. Josemaría told her that he was a Catholic priest and asked her to stand guard as he celebrated Mass in his room. In 1936, due to the severe religious persecution, the Holy See exempted priests in Spain from the usual requirements of an altar, liturgical vessels, and vestments for celebrating the Mass. Every day, St. Josemaría secretly celebrated the Mass and brought the Eucharist to other political refugees in the asylum. He would also write letters to encourage the other patients, using codewords to disguise their contents: “Don Manuel” meant Jesus, “Don Manuel’s mother” meant Mary, and grandfather meant God the Father. St. Josemaría wrote his letters like a grandfather to his grandchildren. In 1937, he moved to hide at the Honduran Consulate; before leaving, he gave the Eucharist to the other refugees wrapped in paper so they could receive without touching it with their hands. Because consulates enjoy diplomatic immunity, they sheltered many Catholic refugees, although they suffered overcrowding and starvation. He would offer Mass every day on luggage cases as an altar, with a crystal glass as a chalice, and with a suit and tie as vestments.

During the Spanish Civil War, St. Josemaría Escrivá was on the run from the Communists. On August 28, 1936, he hid in the third-floor apartment of a man named Manuel and one of Manuel’s maternal relatives. The troops began searching from the ground floor up and the three men moved up to the rooftop and hid. As the troops neared, St. Josemaría told the relative, “I am a priest. If you wish, you can make a perfect contrition and your sins will be forgiven.” As the relative later recalled, revealing his priestly office was very courageous, for had the troops found them, he could have sold out St. Josemaría to save his own life. St. Josemaría began praying to his guardian angel, encouraged the other two men to do so too, and forgave their sins. They asked, “What will happen if they find and kill us?” He replied, “Then you will go to heaven.” The footsteps neared the door they were hiding behind, then stopped, and turned around. Of all the doors of the apartment, the soldiers neglected to search the one hiding the three men! At another time, St. Josemaría learned that his friend Fr. Pedro had been killed and he wept. Before the war, they had discussed the possibility of being martyred and had agreed that whichever one was martyred first would pray for the other in heaven. A few days before his death, Fr. Pedro said, “Now is the time to study the lives of the early Christians, to know how they worked amidst persecution, obeyed the Church, proclaimed Jesus Christ, prepared for martyrdom, forgave their persecutors. Fr. Pedro was canonized in 2003. Starting from October 1936, St. Josemaría hid in an insane asylum for five months.

St. Josemaría Escrivá would invite a priest known for being difficult to get along with to lunch every Wednesday. He would flag a taxi for him, order him good food, and prepare conversation topics beforehand. As Wednesdays were dedicated to St. Joseph, St. Josemaría would treat the priest as reverently as he would St. Joseph. St. Josemaría also went to lunch with a medical student, who was similarly friendless. At least he can experience some love from us, thought Josemaría. When the student went to university, St. Josemaría would clean his dorm room for him. From 1936 to 1939, Spain was in civil war; in the Communist-occupied regions, priests and clergy were killed and laity were imprisoned for wearing religious symbols. The penalty for hiding a priest or attending a Mass was death. St. Josemaría sent his students home and went into hiding. Many friends did not want to take him in, and one person was executed because of him; St. Josemaría would henceforth pray for his soul at every Mass. During this period, St. Josemaría had no bread and wine to consecrate, so he would pray a “dry Mass”, saying all the prayers of the Mass except for the consecration. With a fervent heart, St. Josemaría made spiritual communion where sacramental communion was impossible.

In 1935, St. Josemaría Escrivá requested the permission of the Bishop of Madrid to retain the Blessed Sacrament in the chapels of his schools. This was approved and St. Josemaría was ecstatic, telling his friend Pedro that God mustn’t feel lonely or forgotten at his schools. On March 1st, St. Josemaría celebrated a Mass in honour of St. Joseph, welcomed the new students and introduced the newest resident – Jesus. He was devoted to the Eucharist and decorated the Tabernacle with flowers, thinking that they were like kisses to call the mind to the presence of God. In 1936, Spain held an election and the leftist parties won, immediately sparking anti-Catholic persecution: Catholics were killed and churches plundered. Despite the danger, St. Josemaría still openly wore his priestly cassock in the streets, unwilling to hide his priestly identity in case someone needed him to administer the Sacraments. Whenever he encountered dangerous situations, he would pray to Mary for protection. In the few weeks before the Spanish Civil War, he met with Fr. Pedro and discussed the possibility that they too would be martyred. But they both agreed that their friendship would not end with death, that if one of them were killed, they would pray for the other in Heaven.

In 1931, St. Josemaría Escrivá served as spiritual director to some Augustinian nuns and would carry their statue of the Child Jesus in his arms. In 1932, the anti-religious Spanish government banned the Jesuit order and the teaching of religion in government schools. Many parents begged St. Josemaría to teach their children catechesis. One of his students, a girl who later became a nun, remembered that he would come twice a week and use pictures as teaching aids. In January, he met a prostitute who repented on her death bed. After giving her Last Rites, he whispered, “Suffering is blessed. Suffering is beloved. Suffering is sanctified. Suffering is glorified.” She repeated these words and died. A month later, he found a stabbed man who wanted to say his confession and on receiving a Rosary, kissed it reverently. Later that year, St. Josemaría visited some Catholic students in prison from an uprising. He exhorted them to continue studying and working, and to frequent Mass and venerate the Blessed Virgin. He also told them to act kindly to the irreligious prisoners and transform them with their good example.

St. Josemaría started to focus on the matters at Opus Dei. He also started to write down his meditation and issued reflection books. One of the books he has written is called 'The Way'. He also later recruited the first woman member of Opus Dei. St. Josemaría continued to care for the sick people and the needy, and his work has gained many support.

In 1928, God finally answered St. Josemaría Escrivá’s prayer and revealed his mission while he was on retreat. A nearby church bell rang and he clearly saw himself teaching all nationalities and races to attain holiness amidst everyday life. St. Josemaría immediately thanked God despite thinking that, other than the grace of God and a sense of humour, he had nothing. He knew that the best reparation for sin was to do his best in all things. He also practiced self-denial: keeping silent to deny his curiosity, not complaining, not indulging his appetite. In 1930, he realized his mission was also to women and invited women to join Opus Dei. St. Josemaría thought himself useless, so he constantly asked for others’ prayers that he might complete his God-given mission. He also had a bad temper, so he kept a funny picture of his own angry face as a reminder.

In 1924, St. Josemaría Escrivá was ordained a deacon and was struck with awe when he first touched the Eucharist, praying that he would not get used to it. In 1925, he was ordained a priest and his family members moved to Saragossa as well. He was sent to serve at a local parish and he prayed with the parishioners, taught catechesis, visited the sick, and heard confession. When he returned to Saragossa, he was given no pay, so he had to find other means of finding money. However, his uncle, a priest, wanted him to disobey his father’s wish that he study law and take up a priestly position to support his family. He was transferred to Madrid in 1927, where he obtained his doctorate in law of Law and administered the Sacraments to local nuns and convincing the most obstinate to repent. That year, his family members joined him in Madrid. In order to support them, he took up a job teaching law. When the other professor told the students that St. Josemaría spent much time helping the poor, the disbelieving students followed him around the poor districts comforting and administering the Sacraments to the poor and sick.

St. Josemaría Escrivá knew that God was calling him to the diocesan priesthood, so he attended minor seminary as a day student in 1918. In 1920, he attended major seminary in Saragossa. St. Josemaría loved to pray at the chapel and the shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar. But seminary life was not easy – he was made fun of by other seminarians for bathing so often, calling him a “little gentleman”, and that he didn’t smell like a man. Despite all the teasing, he believed that if one cannot praise another, it is best to keep silent. And he later always spoke highly of the virtues of his fellow seminarians, many of whom were martyred in the Spanish Civil War. Once, some girls tried to get his attention, and rumours spread, but he brought the matter to his superior. Before he was ordained a priest, his father died and, lacking the money to bury him, a relative, Fr. Daniel, lent him money. After he became a priest and Fr. Daniel too died, St. Josemaría would pray for him at every Mass.

The parents of St. Josemaría Escrivá taught him how to pray, and he used these methods all his life – he would make his Morning Offering every day to Jesus through Mary and was devoted to his Guardian Angel. In 1912, he received his First Communion and an elderly priest taught him a spiritual communion prayer: “I am willing, my Lord”. When he was younger, St. Josemaría Escrivá was very stubborn – once, he refused to come out of his room because he thought his new suit looked ugly. After his father forced him out, his mother told him, “The only thing to be ashamed of is sin.” He was aware of his stubbornness, but also knew that it could be a good thing too – in spiritual matters, we need to constantly persevere. His parents loved and cared for St. Josemaría Escrivá like friends. But between the ages of eight and twelve, his three younger sisters passed away from youngest to oldest. He cried for his sisters, but his mother told him to be happy, because his sisters were in heaven. He worried that he would die next, but his parents consoled him, saying that they had consecrated him to Mary when he was 18 months old. His mother said, “Before you recovered, you looked more dead than alive. You will certainly do great things.”

St. Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei, loved the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary, and exhorted people to live out their vocations to holiness and evangelization. Born in 1902 in Spain, he was baptized four days later; his name, Josemaría, honours St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary. Aged 18 months, he fell gravely ill and the doctor said he was on the verge of death. His mother prayed to Mary, pledging that if her son was healed, she would bring him to the pilgrimage site of Our Lady of Torreciudad. Little Josemaría recovered quickly and when the doctor returned, thinking to ask the parents about the baby’s time of death, he was shocked to find the baby alive and playing. True to their promise, his parents brought him to Torreciudad, which had housed a statue of Our Lady since the 11th century. When St. Josemaría was an elderly priest, he made the treacherous journey back to Torreciudad to thank the Virgin Mary for her healing and donated his surplus earnings to build a chapel there. In 1970, since the statue was temporarily moved to Madrid, St. Josemaría finally saw the statue again. He saw himself as a pitiful person, but he whole-heartedly loved the Virgin Mary. St. Josemaría Escrivá died in 1975, and the Shrine of Torreciudad was completed not long after.

St. Dominic Savio was born in Italy in 1842, the second of ten children. He learned to serve Mass at age five and received First Communion at age seven, despite the customary age being twelve, since he grasped catechesis so well. If he arrived at church before it was unlocked, he would kneel outside the doors in prayer. On the day of his First Communion, he wrote down some promises: (1) to go to Confession and receive the Eucharist as often as possible, (2) to sanctify Sundays and feast days, (3) to be friends with Jesus and Mary, and (4) to rather die than sin. In 1854, 12-year-old Dominic met 38-year-old St. John Bosco and joined his Oratory. That year, Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and Dominic renewed his First Communion vows before a statue of Mary. He loved to teach catechesis and once, a boy retorted, “Why are you doing this?” Dominic replied, “Because Jesus died for us, and hence we are all brothers and ought to love each others’ souls.” At New Year, he received many prizes and over the holidays, he gifted them to children who had answered correctly at catechesis class or gone to Mass willingly. Every day, he would bring children to adore the Blessed Sacrament. In order to increase spiritual fruits and retain his zeal, he would keep a series of dedications and prayer intentions: Sundays were for the Holy Trinity, Monday for spiritual benefactors, Tuesdays for his patron St. Dominic and his guardian angel, Wednesdays for the conversion of sinners and for Our Lady of Sorrows, Thursdays for the souls in purgatory, Fridays for the Passion of Jesus, and Saturdays for Mary and her protection at the hour of death. In 1857, 14-year-old Dominic Savio died – his last words were “Oh, what wonderful things I see …”.

St. Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868) went to Eucharistic Adoration daily with his mother as a child, and one of his first memories were of the golden monstrance. Once, he heard from a Carmelite that friends never pass one another without speaking. Peter Julian felt it rude to pass by the Blessed Sacrament without stopping to pray. His path to the priesthood was not easy – his father was only convinced to give his consent after hearing a preacher of the Oblates of Mary. Peter Julian found Latin difficult and fell gravely sick after studying too hard. He prayed to God that he be able to offer at least one Mass as a priest before dying. God let him recover and in 1834, he was ordained a priest. He was known for spending as much time in church as in the rectory. He obtained permission from his bishop to become a religious in the Marist congregation and eventually served as provincial. He promoted Eucharistic devotions with success, especially the Forty Hour Devotion. Fr. Eymard knew that every mystery of the Faith had a congregation dedicated to it, except for the Real Presence. With the permission of the Pope and his Marist superiors, he founded a new congregation to adore the Blessed Sacrament. The order faced many problems, but Fr. Eymard had faith that if this was God’s work, it would be done, and the congregation began to flourish with orders for male and female religious, parish priests, and lay people. Fr. Eymard died in 1869, was beatified in 1925, and was canonized in 1962.

Blessed Manuel González García was born in Spain in 1877, the fourth of five children, to a well-off family. He loved to make reparations for Jesus, forgotten in the Eucharist, and entered the seminary with his parents’ support, but he had to work to support himself. In 1901, he was ordained a priest and in his newly-appointed church was told about the poor state of the administration. Manuel prayed before the Tabernacle and felt Jesus tell him about the many issues he would face, and the even more things demanded of him. Three years later, Blessed Manuel was transferred to another parish to combat the indifference of the parishioners. In 1910, he invited a group of women to imitate Mary and the other few companions of Jesus at His Crucifixion, and console Jesus in the Tabernacle. Over time, the group grew into male and female religious orders. In 1915, he was consecrated a titular bishop and was consecrated a diocesan bishop of Málaga in 1920. He built many diocesan schools and seminaries. In 1931, he was attacked by revolutionaries who lit his episcopal palace on fire and was moved in 1932 to administer from Madrid until 1935, when he was appointed bishop to another diocese. His wrote about prayer, the Eucharist, and pastoral work. In later years, his health worsened but through patience and sacrifice maintained his joyful spirit. In 1940, he died and requested to be buried in the Cathedral. His wish was: “I ask to be buried next to a tabernacle, so that my bones, after death, as my tongue and my pen in life, are saying to those who pass: there is Jesus! There it is! Do not leave him abandoned!” In life and death, Blessed Manuel brought people before the Tabernacle to be united with God.

Sister Consolata Betrone was born in Italy in 1903; when she was 13, she devoutly prayed, “My God, I love You!” and consecrated herself to the Virgin Mary. That day, after receiving the Eucharist, she heard a voice, “Are you willing to belong to me?” She tearfully replied, “I am,” and offered herself totally to Jesus. Over time, she felt God’s calling grow stronger but still felt doubts and spiritual dryness. Aged 21, she realized her calling to the religious life and, after being rejected three times by different convents, was accepted to the Capuchin Order’s Convent of the Poor Clares in 1929. In 1934, she professed her religious vows and was assigned to work as a portress, kitchen helper, secretary, and nurse. At this time, Jesus revealed a special ejaculatory prayer to her: “Jesus, Mary, I love you! Save souls!” He explained that the “souls” included those in Purgatory, those in the Church Militant, even those of atheists. Each prayer, when said all day long, would save one soul. Jesus also told her, “The souls I love most are those who love Me most.” And again, “The more you love Me, the happier you will be.” He told Sister Consolata, “Do not limit your trust in Me, and I will not limit My graces to you. Once suffering is accepted with love, it is no longer suffering, but joy.” In 1945, Sister Consolata fell sick and passed away – she had dedicated her life to praying for sinners.

21, he entered the seminary and loved the lifestyle, but theology was taught in German and Latin, so he struggled, and eventually his superiors suggested that he enter a religious order. He applied to the Jesuits, Franciscans, and the Capuchins and all three orders accepted him, so he prayed a novena with his mother and sister, hearing Mary distinctly tell him on the last day, “Go to Detroit”, the headquarters of the Capuchins. After journeying through a snowstorm, he fell asleep at the door of St. Bonaventure Friary. Awoken by bells, he joined the procession to Christmas Midnight Mass. He joined the Capuchins as Friar Francis Solanus, but as his grades were so poor, his superiors ordained him in 1904 as a “simplex priest” – one who can say Mass but not preach or hear confessions. He also served as porter to the Friary and was able to console the sick and the poor. Fr. Solanus supported the Seraphic Mass Association, which would pray for donors to the Capuchins, and every time he enrolled a donor, miracles would occur. Fr. Solanus died in 1957, having served God with the little gifts given to him. His last words were “I give my soul to Jesus Christ.”

Born in 1876, the “Marian Pope” Venerable Pius XII was ordained a priest and then consecrated bishop on May 13, 1917 – the day of the first Fatima apparition. In 1939, he was elected Pope and, following Mary’s command at Fatima, consecrated the world and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1942 and 1952 respectively. Sister Lúcia believed that this consecration helped end the Second World War. Throughout the war, he worked for peace and helped the Jewish people escape Nazi atrocities. In Rome, an important rabbi was so moved by this that he was baptized into the Church as “Eugenio Maria”, the Pope’s birth name. In 1950, he defined the dogma of the Assumption and saw the Sun dance miraculously four times. In the aftermath of the war, many bodies were never recovered, and the dogma of Mary’s bodily assumption into Heaven reminded people of God’s promise to resurrect the bodies of all the dead, thus consoling the grieving families. Pope Pius instituted two important Marian feasts. First, he instituted the Feast of the Immaculate Heart in 1944, to bring about world peace, freedom to the Church, and conversion of sinners. Then in 1954, he established the Feast of the Queenship of Mary, for the veneration of Mary’s mercy and motherly authority. The same year, he instituted a “Marian year” and in a message to the Philippine people proclaimed the Rosary their “national Marian devotion” and their country the “Kingdom of the Rosary”. He also wrote an encyclical to promote the praying of the Rosary in families, and so promote a devout spirit of prayer and family unity. Pope Pius XII loved Mary deeply and brought the Church “through Mary to Jesus”.