This episode will talk about how we should treat our wealth. The hosts will share with us we are only a custodian of our wealth, therefore we need to properly handle the use of our wealth.

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.

The first episode of the brand new segment "Theme Park" will talk about the recent trend of facebook and Instagram posts of Ten Year Challenge. What are the changes that are good? what are the changes that are bad? Are there things that would not change?

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.

Fr. Francis will address questions about old testament.

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.

This episode will talk about the relationship with our children. The hosts will share with us how should we communicate with our children, and build a good relationship with them so we can guide and accompany their growth.

Arnold and Rebecca share with us their trip to Taize in France. They will describe how they can experience communion among Christian through this special place.

In February 1933, St. Josemaría Escrivá began to teach catechism to university students. He brought an image of Mary to class which he had found on the floor of an anti-religious place, ripped from a catechism textbook. In a spirit of love and reparation, he dubbed it “Our Lady of the Catechism” and framed it. After class, he took his three students to a chapel for Benediction – ten years later, he described feeling that God was blessing not just those students, but innumerable people of all races. More students came and they began to teach children themselves. In June, he founded a college in a small apartment – there were two classrooms, a reading room, a guest room, a living room, a kitchen, and his own office. He taught law, architecture, math, physics, and languages. While studying a doctorate in law himself, he still found time to teach, correspond by mail, hear Confessions, provide spiritual direction, visit the sick, and pray three Rosaries a day.

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.

Fr. Francis will address questions about sufferings.

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.

Isidoro Zorzano, an Argentine, was one of the first members of Opus Dei. In 1930, he was unable to find St. Josemaría at home in Madrid and decided to take the streetcar. Suddenly, a force moved him to walk to another street. When he did so, he ran into St. Josemaría. He confessed that he felt God calling him, that he liked working in engineering but that he wasn’t called to be a religious. St. Josemaría explained his work teaching people to sanctify themselves in regular work. Isidoro joined Opus Dei and worked diligently as an engineer. During the Spanish Civil War, Isidoro was able to freely enter and leave Madrid to provide spiritual and material help. He grew sick and surprised many by his patient and joyful endurance until he died in 1943. During the Civil War, bandits attacked religious institutions and newspapers criticized the Church, but St. Josemaría would secret away the Blessed Sacrament in disguise and pray a Rosary for their souls.

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.