page_title: Opus Dei
section_title: What it teaches
hierarchical_section_title: Opus Dei / What it teaches
context_page_description: Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei is an organization of the Roman Catholic Church. Opus Dei says that the Catholic Church gave them a special job: to tell everyone that God wants them to be close to him. This means that everyone is called by God to become a saint.
  Opus Dei was started by St. Josemaría Escrivá, a Roman Catholic priest, in 1928. It was approved by Pope Pius XII in 1950. Now, Opus Dei has around 85,000 members in 80 different countries.
  In 1982, Pope John Paul II decided to make Opus Dei into a personal prelature. Usually, in the Catholic Church, there are separate dioceses in different areas. Each area has its own bishop who is in charge of just that diocese. But because Opus Dei is a personal prelature, its bishop is not limited to any specific area. He is in charge of members of Opus Dei wherever they are, around the world.
context_section_description: Escrivá and Opus Dei teach that a person can get close to God by doing these things:
  Becoming a saint in ordinary life
  Living like saints.  According to Opus Dei, when they were baptized, Christians became children of God.  Because of this, they have to act like people who belong to the family of God.  Most Christians should live like Jesus Christ, making their everyday lives holy. Jesus worked as a carpenter and lived as a son in a Jewish family in a small village for 30 years.
  Making work holy
  Doing work for God by doing things that help others and serve the needs of society. This work pleases God. By working to serve and help others, Jesus Christ "did all things well" (Mk 7:37).
  Loving freedom
  Being happy that God created them as free beings. Being free means each person can choose do something or not to do it. When God himself became a man, he also became free like any man. Throughout his life, he obeyed what God the Father wanted from him, even when he had to die in the process. "Because he wants to," each person either decides to be with God or away from him. Those are the two basic choices in life.
  Praying and sacrificing (doing good things which are hard to do)
  Learning to love by praying throughout the day like a child.  Love is what holiness is all about. Escrivá said that people can have great holiness just by doing the little duties of each moment.
  Doing charity and bringing people to God
  Loving God and others.  Escrivá said this is the most important thing a Christian should do.  Christians should understand others and be nice to each other.  They should do their duties and also give God to others.
  Becoming god-like.  A Christian who seeks God not just in church, but also in material things (things he can own), does not have two lives. He has one life. He lives the life of Jesus Christ, and Jesus is both God and man. A good Christian becomes another Christ.
  Escrivá said that the basis of a Christian life is being a child of God.  If people are aware of this, then they will always be very happy.  He wrote that joy comes from knowing we are children of God.
caption: Filipino painting titled Magpakabanal sa gawain: "Be a saint through your work."
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