Teachings of Opus Dei - General Considerations

General Considerations

In his Apostolic Constitution Ut Sit, John Paul II declared that "this Institution has in fact striven, not only to illuminate with new lights the mission of the laity in the Church and in society, but also to put it into practice; it has also endeavored to put into practice the teaching of the universal call to holiness, and to promote at all levels of society the sanctification of ordinary work, and by means of ordinary work."

According to Dr. Pedro Rodriguez, an Opus Dei priest who specialized in studying the theology of the Roman Catholic Church (ecclesiology), Opus Dei is all about a message and an institution bearing that message. "The message of St Josemaría," says José Saraiva Martins, Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, "belongs to the perennial patrimony of the Roman Church." The following are the main features of Escrivá's spiritual teachings, the core message of Opus Dei.