BRANCATISANO Manzi, Marta - Familia y Culturas de Vida PDF

THE GRANDEUR
OF ORDINARY LIFE
Familia y culturas de vida
DE LA VIE ORDINAIRE
Family and Cultures of Life
LA GRANDEUR
LA GRANDEZA
DE LA VIDA CORRIENTE
Congreso Internacional
“La grandeza de la vida corriente”
International Congress
“The Grandeur of Ordinary Life”
Familia y culturas de vida
Family and Cultures of Life
Eds. Marta Brancatisano Manzi

Rosario Peris
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Imprimatur
Vicariato di Roma 10 Ottobre 2003
✠ Luigi Moretti
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Segretario Generale
ISBN 88-8333-066-8
Progetto e realizzazione grafica: L.M. Agostinelli
Versione elettronica di proprietà di Libuk s.r.l.
È vietata qualsiasi copia, riproduzione, trasmissione con ogni mezzo.
Workshops
I. Amor y matrimonio
Love and Marriage
(coord. Maria Teresa La Porte)
II. Construir culturas de vida

Building up Cultures of Life
(coord. Christopher Wolfe & Daniel Diez)
Presentación
Ana Marta González
Profesora de Ética y Antropología, Universidad de Navarra. Miembro del Comité científico del
Congreso.
Entre los días 8 y 11 de Enero de 2002, con ocasión del centenario del naci-
miento de Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer1, tuvo lugar en Roma un Congreso
internacional que, bajo el título de “La grandeza de la vida corriente”, se dedicó
a profundizar en el contenido teológico y explorar las posibilidades vitales abier-
tas por su mensaje.
Ciertamente, si algo se puso de manifiesto a lo largo de esos días es que,
por su forma y por su contenido, la predicación de Josemaría Escrivá —su
manera peculiar de invitar al seguimiento de Cristo— difícilmente permite un
acercamiento “objetivo” y “neutral”, en el que el lector no se vea existencial-
mente implicado, interpelado vitalmente. Y es que, con ser imprescindible para
cualquier estudio teológico-científico, el acercamiento analítico a sus palabras
no deja de resultar extraño al contexto y a la intención con las que éstas fueron
escritas.
En efecto: como sacerdote que no quería hablar más que de Dios, sus pala-
bras tenían, ante todo, la finalidad estrictamente apostólica de acercar las almas a
Cristo. Es esta finalidad la que explica el tono característico de su vida y de su
obra y, particularmente, de sus escritos, en los que el mensaje cristiano se hace
una vez más interpelación directa, capaz de despertar en el alma “insospechados
horizontes de celo”, tal y como lo atestigua el eco que sus palabras han encontra-
do en la vida de tantos millares de hombres y mujeres en todo el mundo.
1 El 6 de octubre de 2002, Juan Pablo II canonizó a Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. Hemos

mantenido las referencias al “Beato” Josemaría en lugar de “Santo”, porque así aparecen en
los textos originales, ya que se refieren a un Congreso celebrado antes del mencionado acon-
tecimiento.
5
Las vidas de esos hombres y mujeres reproducen lo que el propio Josema-
ría Escrivá dejó consignado en un conocido punto de Camino: «Eres, entre los
tuyos —alma de apóstol— la piedra caída en el lago. Produce, con tu ejemplo y
tu palabra un primer círculo... y éste, otro... y otro, y otro... Cada vez más ancho
¿Comprendes ahora la grandeza de tu misión?»2.
Parecía lógico, por tanto, que en un congreso dedicado a estudiar el men-
saje de Josemaría Escrivá se recogieran algunos de esos círculos expansivos que él
ha propiciado con su vida y con su obra. Pues no cabe duda de que, al calor de
sus palabras, muchas decisiones de mejora personal han superado el plano de los
buenos deseos y se han concretado en iniciativas de indudable trascendencia
familiar y social, en los más variados campos de la actividad humana.
Eso es lo que, en el marco del Congreso, se ha procurado reflejar en los
workshops. A diferencia de las sesiones plenarias, dedicadas más bien a profundi-
zar temáticamente en algún aspecto del mensaje de Josemaría Escrivá, o de las
comunicaciones —que trataban de mostrar sus implicaciones en algún campo
concreto de la actividad humana—, el objetivo de los workshops era desplegar
ante los asistentes la fecundidad práctica y vital de ese mensaje, capaz de activar
las energías del espíritu humano, más allá de diferencias culturales o sociales. Se
trataba, en una palabra, de mostrar de qué múltiples maneras el mensaje de Jose-
maría Escrivá ha llegado a calar en la vida y la actividad profesional de tantas per-
sonas, constituyendo un poderoso estímulo en la búsqueda de ese “algo divino”
que se encierra en las situaciones más ordinarias y comunes, en las que se ha de
materializar nuestra existencia cristiana3.
Con esta idea en la mente, se seleccionaron varias áreas temáticas —podrí-
an haber sido más, podrían haber sido otras—, y se invitó a diversas personas
relacionadas con esas áreas a que expusieran la influencia y la proyección que, a
su juicio, el mensaje de Escrivá tiene en sus vidas. La exposición no debía consis-
tir sencillamente en un mero testimonio edificante, pero tampoco debía ser una
reflexión más o menos erudita, despegada de la vida. Se trataba, más bien, de
reflexionar sobre la propia experiencia, intentando hacer explícita, en la medida
de lo posible, la influencia que el mensaje de Josemaría Escrivá había tenido en
las aspiraciones, el enfoque y la práctica de la propia profesión.
Las experiencias de integración social, participación política, creatividad
artística, etc., que se presentaron con toda viveza durante el transcurso del con-
greso, fueron recogidas por escrito y se ofrecen ahora a la imprenta, pensando en
numerosas personas que no pudieron asistir al Congreso y han manifestado inte-
rés por lo que se dijo en los workshops.
2 Camino, 831.
3 Cfr. Conversaciones, 114, 116, 121.
6 - ANA MARTA GONZÁLEZ

No hace falta decir que, en este caso, el medio limita el mensaje. Aunque
se ha procurado adaptar el texto oral a una versión escrita, la fuerza del testimo-
nio personal ha quedado, por lo general, notablemente disminuida. Por otro
lado, el propio carácter personal de las intervenciones, añade muchas contingen-
cias que en unas ocasiones hacen transparente el mensaje y en otras pueden limi-
tar su alcance, precisamente porque un mismo espíritu adopta formas y modos
diversos según la procedencia y la personalidad de quien lo vive y lo reproduce.
Pero aceptar la contingencia humana es condición de verdadero pluralis-
mo. Esto es algo que se aprende al contacto con los escritos de Escrivá. Y es algo
de lo que el propio Congreso nos ha dejado un recuerdo imborrable. El espectá-
culo, verdaderamente “católico”, de gentes procedentes de África, Asia, Europa,
America u Oceanía, que, por encima —o por debajo— de sus diferencias eviden-
tes —de raza, cultura, profesión, incluso confesión religiosa— pueden sintonizar
en aspiraciones fundamentales, de santidad, de paz y de justicia, no es, en efecto,
uno de los recuerdos menos alentadores que nos ha dejado el Congreso. Encierra
algo de simbólico. Precisamente en un momento histórico como el nuestro, en el
que aspiraciones como esas, —por otra parte tan arraigadas en el corazón huma-
no—, apenas se abren paso en la opinión pública, parece especialmente oportu-
no el dejar constancia de esta experiencia.
PRESENTACIÓN -7
Foreword
Ana Marta González
Professor of Ethics and Anthropology, University of Navarre. Member of the Scientific Commit-
tee of the Congress.
From January 8th to 11th, 2002, an international congress was held in Rome
in honour of the centennial of the birth of Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer1. The
Congress, entitled ‘The Grandeur of Ordinary Life’, examined the theological
content and possibilities of his message.
Certainly, if anything became apparent during those days, it was that the
teachings of Josemaría Escrivá — his particular way of inviting one to follow Christ
— either because of their structure or because of their content, did not easily per-
mit an ‘objective’ or ‘neutral’ approach, where the reader would not feel existen-
tially involved in a real, live dialogue. This is because, while being necessary for any
scientific-theological study, an analytical approach to his writings cannot help but
seem out of step with the context and intention with which they were written.
In effect, since he was a priest who wanted to speak about nothing but
God, his words have, above all, the strictly apostolic objective of bringing souls
closer to Christ. This aim explains the characteristic tone of his life and works,
especially of his writings, in which the Christian message becomes a real dialogue,
capable of arousing ‘unsuspected horizons of zeal’. This is testified to by the echo
that his words have had in the lives of so many thousands of men and women
throughout the world.
1 On October 6, 2002, Pope John Paul II canonized Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. In these
volumes, we have kept all of the references to ‘Blessed’ Josemaría rather than changing them
to ‘Saint’ as this is how his name appears in the original texts, the presentations having been
made at the Congress which took place before the canonization.
9
The lives of these men and women reproduce what Blessed Josemaría him-
self left written in a well-known point in The Way: “Among those around you —
apostolic soul — you are the stone fallen into the lake. With your and your word
and your example you produce a first circle... and it another... and another, and
another... Wider each time”2.
And so seems reasonable, in a congress dedicated to the study of the mes-
sage of Josemaría Escrivá, to consider some of the widening circles caused by his
life and works . Doubtless that, with the warmth of his words, many personal
decisions to improve have gone beyond the level of mere desires to become real-
ity, in initiatives in the most varied fields of human activity, which have had an
unquestionable impact on the family and society at large.
This is what the Workshops have tried to reflect. Unlike the plenary ses-
sions which were dedicated to examining some particular aspects of the message
of Josemaría Escrivá in greater depth, and the paper presentations which consid-
ered the implications of his message in specific areas of human activity, the aim of
the Workshops was to show the participants the practical and vital fruitfulness of
his message — a message which is capable of enlivening the energies of the
human spirit, regardless of social or cultural differences. In short, they tried to
manifest the differing ways in which the message of Josemaría Escrivá has entered
into the life and professional activity of so many people, thereby constituting a
powerful stimulus for the search for that ‘divine something’ hidden in the most
common and ordinary circumstances, in which our Christian life has to be mate-
rialized3.
With this idea in mind, various topics were selected — there could have
been more, and there could have been other ones — and different people who
were familiar with these topics were invited to discuss the impact which they
believe the message of Escrivá has had on their lives. These presentations were
meant neither to be merely edifying testimonies, nor to be more or less erudite
reflections, disconnected from life. Rather, it was a question of reflecting on one’s
own experience and explaining the influence of the message of Josemaría Escrivá
on the aspirations, focus and practice of one’s professional life.
The experiences of social integration, political participation, artistic cre-
ativity, etc., that were discussed with genuine candour during the Congress, have
been compiled and are now available in print, bearing in mind the great number
of people who were not able to attend the Congress and who expressed interest
in the Workshops. It goes without saying that, in this case, the medium is limiting
2 The Way, 831.

3 Cfr. Conversations, 114, 116, 121.
10 - ANA MARTA GONZÁLEZ

the message. Although the original oral presentations have been adapted to writ-
ten text format, in general the force of these personal testimonies has been
notably diminished. On the other hand, the personal nature of these presenta-
tions, which implied many contingent factors, on some occasions makes the mes-
sage more transparent, and on others limits its scope, precisely because the same
spirit adopts different expressions, according to the background and personality
of the one who lives it.
Accepting these human contingencies however, is a condition of true plu-
ralism. This is something that can be learned from reading Escrivá’s writings. And
it is something which remains as an unforgettable memory from the Congress.
The truly ‘catholic’ display of people from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas,
and Oceania, who despite their obvious differences — of race, culture, profes-
sion, and even religion — could understand and share one another’s aspirations
for sanctity, peace and justice, is one of the most inspiring memories left in the
wake of the Congress. And it also has symbolic value. Precisely in a moment of
history such as the present one, where aspirations such as these — so deeply
entrenched in the human heart — are barely present in public opinion, it seems
particularly appropriate that this experience be left on record.
FOREWORD - 11
I. Amor y matrimonio
Love and Marriage

Introducción
Antonio Monserrat
Magistrado del Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Baleares, ha sido Profesor de Derecho Natural,
Filosofía del Derecho y Derecho Internacional Privado. Actualmente es Secretario General de la
“International Federation for Family Development”.
Dios nos crea por Amor y nos llama al Amor; por eso, «el amor es la voca-
ción fundamental e innata de todo ser humano»1.
«Tened prisa en amar»2 repetía el Beato Josemaría. Y en otro lugar, añadía:
«Hablando del matrimonio, de la vida matrimonial, es necesario comenzar con
una referencia clara al amor de los cónyuges»3.
Para tratar de entender a Dios, que es Amor4, y al matrimonio, hay que
entender de amor. Para el Beato Josemaría, todo el secreto está en amar. Un amor
que «no se contenta con un cumplimiento rutinario, ni se compagina con el has-
tío o con la apatía. Amar significa recomenzar cada día a servir, con obras de cari-
ño»5.
El amor conyugal, causa de la donación completa e incondicional de mari-
do y mujer, es, por su misma naturaleza, fecundo, porque el bien es expansivo. Y
en esta vida amorosa en que se inserta el matrimonio está el secreto de la felicidad
de los casados.
El objetivo principal del Panel “Amor y matrimonio” fue tratar del amor
conyugal, en su dimensión esponsal y en su proyección en los hijos y en las demás
familias, según el mensaje del Beato Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. Como es un
mensaje vivible, se trató de presentar y compartir algunas de las experiencias de
1 JUAN PABLO II, Ex. Ap. Familiaris consortio, 11.

2 Amigos de Dios, 140.
3 Es Cristo que pasa, 23.
4 I Jn., 4,8.
15
panelistas y asistentes. Como era de esperar, esas experiencias ajenas son recono-
cibles como propias en tantos y tantos casos. Y quien las lea ahora, si por sus cir-
cunstancias personales no está llamado a vivir la vocación matrimonial, no me
cabe duda de que podrá comprobar que las ha visto en tantos matrimonios: en el
de sus padres, hermanos, amigos…
Iniciaron las intervenciones de España, Marina y Karel Phlips-Robben,
belgas, que están casados desde hace casi treinta años. Los dos hablan de su
encuentro con Escrivá y lo que significó para la historia de su matrimonio.
El primero que lo conoce es Karel, durante un viaje estudiantil a Roma.
Fue en 1968, el año de la protesta y del inicio de una época que va a marcar a los
jóvenes de esa generación con el signo de la rebeldía. Con una voz completa-
mente “fuera del coro”, Escrivá habla en cambio del amor; un amor concreto,
real. El matrimonio es el camino para alcanzar a Dios, y la escuela de amor en la
que los hijos se abren al conocimiento de Dios. Son innumerables los aspectos
que Karel ha aprendido del mensaje del Beato Josemaría y que ha puesto en
práctica en su vida familiar: dar siempre confianza a los hijos, para que se sien-
tan comprendidos —y corregidos cuando es necesario—, pero no juzgados;
crear un clima sereno de comprensión mutua, quizá lavando juntos los platos o
caminando por el monte. Cosas aparentemente pequeñas, que en la experiencia
de Karel tienen la capacidad de construir un tejido familiar lleno de esperanza y
de alegría.
Marina recuerda que conoció a Escrivá a través de un libro, Camino, que
le regaló Karel cuando todavía estaban en la Universidad. A través de su lectura,
descubrió el sentido del amor humano y del matrimonio como compromiso total
de la persona. Unas ideas que iban contra corriente en aquellos años en que los
jóvenes estaban fascinados por una libertad que no conoce límites ni sabe nada de
responsabilidad. En un período en el que convivencias y las relaciones sin víncu-
los se presentaban como una conquista, Marina fue “conquistada” por aquella
visión exigente del amor que deja vislumbrar horizontes de felicidad duradera.
«Todavía 28 años después, estoy convencida de que mi marido es la persona que
Dios ha querido confiarme de manera especial».
Intervino también, José Antonio López-Ortega, mexicano, que transmitió
una experiencia singular: su contacto con el Beato Josemaría durante la estancia
en México, en la primavera del año 1970. José Antonio es médico y le cupo en
suerte ocuparse de la atención de Josemaría Escrivá durante aquellas semanas; su
salud precaria, junto con los inconvenientes debidos al cambio de clima y altitud,
requerían cuidados frecuentes. Pero el trato con el Beato Josemaría fue más allá
de lo puramente médico. Como era lo acostumbrado en él, veía en el profesional
a la persona y su familia. Precisamente en aquellos momentos, el joven doctor y
su mujer estaban pasando por unos momentos de preocupación y ansia. Espera-
16 - ANTONIO MONSERRAT
ban su sexto hijo y tenían el problema del Rs; al quinto habían tenido que recam-
biarle toda la sangre dos veces, nada más nacer.
Las palabras del Beato Josemaría los llenaron de paz y confianza. Se apo-
yaban en la oración, que es el arma más eficaz con la que cuenta un cristiano. El
niño nació perfectamente. Años más tarde, continuó narrando José Antonio,
cuando el Beato Josemaría estaba ya en el cielo, esperaban el noveno hijo. «Nos
encaramos con él: ahora que estás en el cielo no puedes olvidarte de nosotros».
De nuevo recuperaron la serenidad. «Cabían tres posibilidades —dice José Anto-
nio—: que nuestro hijo muriera, lo cual nos dolería en el alma, pero nos consola-
ría saber que se encontraría en el cielo, porque lo habíamos bautizado; otra, que
quedara con alguna lesión cerebral importante, y en ese caso estábamos dispues-
tos a atenderlo con toda el alma; y una tercera, que saliera adelante sin ningún
problema. De las tres posibilidades ocurrió la tercera, ya que se recuperó de
inmediato. Actualmente este hijo estudia en la Universidad que ha promovido el
Congreso sobre la santidad en la vida ordinaria».
El workshop contó asimismo con las intervenciones de Parehuia Tutua-
Nathan, maorí de Nueva Zelanda; Markus Schwarz, austríaco; Bradford Wilcox,
Bill y Leigh Bowman, norteamericanos; Eliane Ekra y Hervé Yangni, de Costa de
Marfil. En este volumen recogemos buena parte de sus palabras.
Junto a esas intervenciones, publicamos también una reflexión de Marta
Brancatisano Manzi —autora de varios libros acerca del amor conyugal— que,
además de haber conocido personalmente al Beato Josemaría, ha sabido profun-
dizar y difundir el mensaje de Josemaría Escrivá sobre el amor humano y el matri-
monio.
INTRODUCCIÓN - 17
Introduction
Antonio Monserrat
High Court Judge in the Balearic Islands. He has been Professor of Natural Law, Philosophy of
Law and International Private Law, and is currently the General Secretary of the ‘International
Federation for Family Development’.
God created us out of Love and calls us to Love, therefore, “love is the
fundamental and innate vocation of every human being”1.
“Be in a hurry to love”2, Blessed Josemaría says. On another occasion, he
adds, “when we talk about marriage and married life, we must begin by speaking
clearly about the mutual love of husband and wife”3.
It is necessary to learn about love in order to understand marriage and
God, who is Love Itself4. For Blessed Josemaría, the secret lay in loving with a
love that is “not content with a routine fulfillment of duty. Love is incompatible
with boredom or apathy. To love means to renew our dedication every day, with
loving deeds of service”5.
Conjugal love, the cause of the complete and unconditional self-giving
between husband and wife, is fruitful by nature precisely because goodness
itself is diffusive. The couple’s happiness lies in this life of love which is proper
to marriage.
The main objective of the panel ‘Love and Marriage’ is that of discussing
conjugal love — in its spousal dimension and in its repercussions on children and
other families — according to the message of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá de Bala-
guer. As it is a message to be lived, the workshop consisted mainly in presenta-
1 JOHN PAUL II, Apost. Ex. Familiaris Consortio, 11.

2 Friends of God, 140.
3 Christ is passing by, 23.
4 1 Jn 4:8.
19
tions and testimonies by panelists and participants from the audience. As was to
be expected, the experiences of others could frequently be recognized as our own
personal experiences. I am certain that whoever reads these testimonies now,
whether married or single, can attest at least to having personally witnessed them
in other marriages, such as those of parents, siblings or friends…
The workshop began with a joint presentation by Marina and Karel
Phlips-Robben, a Belgian couple who have been married for almost 30 years. The
two spoke of their encounter with Escrivá and what this event meant to the story
of their marriage.
Karel was the first to meet Escrivá, when he visited Rome as a student. This
was during 1968, a year of protests that marked the beginning of an era which
deeply affected the youth with a spirit of rebellion. In striking contrast to the bat-
tle cries of those times, Escrivá spoke of love, of love which is real and personal.
Marriage is a path to God, a school of love, in which children awaken to the
knowledge of God. Karel was able to learn and to put into practice in his family
life many things that he heard from Blessed Josemaría. These included trusting
children so that they would feel understood rather than judged, correcting them
when necessary, and creating a peaceful atmosphere of mutual help and under-
standing by washing the dishes together or going on walks together in the moun-
tains. In Karel’s experience, these apparently little things have helped to weave
the fabric of their family life, in an atmosphere of hope and joy.
Marina recalls having ‘met’ Escrivá through his book The Way which she
received as a gift from Karel during their university years. On reading it, she dis-
covered the meaning of human love and marriage as a total commitment of the
person. These were ideas that were entirely opposed to the environment in
those days, when the youth were captivated by a false sense of freedom without
limits or responsibility. At a time when ‘commitment-free’ relationships were
idealized, Marina felt won over by the vision of a demanding love that opens the
horizon of lasting happiness. “Now, 28 years later, I am still convinced that my
husband is the person to whom God has wanted to entrust me in a special way”.
José Antonio López-Ortega, a medical doctor from Mexico, also spoke on
the panel. He relates a singular experience: that of meeting Blessed Josemaría
during his visit to Mexico in the spring of 1970, when he had the good fortune of
attending Josemaría Escrivá for several weeks. Escrivá’s precarious health, along
with complications due to change in climate and altitude, led to frequent encoun-
ters between doctor and patient. His contact with Escrivá, however, went beyond
the strictly medical ambit. As was customary with Escrivá, he immediately saw
behind this young doctor, a person and his family. At those moments, José Anto-
nio and his wife were going through trying times as they were expecting their
20 - ANTONIO MONSERRAT
sixth child, and they had the RS condition. As a matter of fact, their fifth child
had had to undergo blood transfusions twice on being born.
Conversations with Blessed Josemaría helped fill them both with peace
and confidence. They turned at once to prayer, the most effective weapon that a
Christian can employ. And the child was born in perfect health. Years later, José
Antonio continues, when Blessed Josemaría had already passed away, the couple
werw expecting their seventh child. “Let us run to him. Surely, now that he is in
Heaven, he will not forget us”. With this thought in mind, serenity prevailed.
“There were three possibilities”, José Antonio says, “the baby could have died
after being baptized — an event which would have caused us deep sorrow, but
from which we would at least have had the consolation of having a child in Heav-
en. A second possibility was that the child could have been born with a serious
cerebral disorder, and in that case, we were willing to take care of him with all of
our affection. Finally, the child could have been born without any problem what-
soever. Of these three possibilities, the third one prevailed, as the child immedi-
ately recovered. This child is presently at the university which promoted this
Congress about sanctity and ordinary life”.
The workshop continued with presentations by Parehuia Tutua-Nathan, a
Maori from New Zealand; Markus Schwarz, an Austrian; Bradford Wilcox and
Bill and Leigh Bowman from the United States; and, finally, Eliane Ekra and
Hervé Yangni of the Ivory Coast. A considerable portion of their contributions
are compiled in this volume.
Apart from these considerations, we also include some reflections by
Marta Brancatisano Manzi who has authored several books on conjugal love.
Apart from having personally known Blessed Josemaría, she has been able to
grasp and spread Escrivá’s message on human love and marriage.
INTRODUCTION - 21
Claves antropológicas de unos
consejos. El Beato Josemaría
y el amor matrimonial
Marta Brancatisano Manzi
Escritora italiana y miembro del Comité Científico del Congreso. Es Directora del Curso de Cul-
tura Cristiana de la Familia y la Educación de la Universidad de la Santa Cruz.
Cada santo tiene una manera particular de ser santo. La característica que
define la personalidad del Beato Josemaría es su peculiar relación con la llamada
divina y su conciencia de ser instrumento elegido por Dios para cumplir un desig-
nio suyo entre los hombres. Hasta tal punto que todas sus dotes y cualidades per-
sonales se orientan y crecen en relación con su respuesta a la vocación divina.
Cuando todavía era un muchacho —un muchacho normal, en el que no aparecí-
an señales de nada extraordinario—, criado en una familia en la que se palpaba el
amor, percibe que Dios tiene un proyecto para cada una de sus criaturas; y com-
prende que su camino consiste en buscar el que Dios ha preparado para él. Desde
ese momento, cualquier decisión, pequeña o grande, se integra en esta búsqueda:
viene a ser una respuesta a lo que Dios quiere para él. Así decide hacerse sacer-
dote; se orienta a una carrera sacerdotal más pastoral que académica; gasta sus
energías en la ayuda a los necesitados, sin preocuparse de sus propias carencias
económicas. Y así, llega al 2 de octubre de 1928, día en que ve por fin lo que Dios
quiere de él. A partir de entonces no cambia su postura espiritual: lo que cambia
es que ahora el objetivo es claro, clarísimo, aunque totalmente nuevo, original.
Todas sus dotes personales se van modelando en la respuesta a su vocación
a hacer el Opus Dei; se desarrollan en cuanto sirven a este fin y en el momento en
que ese fin lo requiere. Su pasión por la arquitectura se pone en juego cuando ha
de pensar en la construcción de las sedes materiales de los centros del Opus Dei.
Su sensibilidad y su preparación jurídica serán preciosas para el cumplimiento de
su tarea fundacional: para discernir en la luz recibida de Dios los elementos de la
llamada a la santidad, que comporta el derecho y el deber de hacer apostolado y
23
de acceder abundantemente a los medios de salvación; serán de gran valor tam-
bién para ejercitar una prudentia iuris al servicio del carisma recibido de Dios1;
igualmente esta cualidad será configurada y ejercida en el gobierno del Opus Dei
y en la elaboración de su derecho peculiar, viva trasposición en normas de un
camino eclesial.
Desde el primer momento Josemaría Escrivá pone por escrito pensamien-
tos y reflexiones que llegarán a formar un imponente cuerpo editorial (sin duda
es uno de los autores espirituales del siglo XX más leídos por personas de las más
diversas condiciones y procedencias); pero no se preocupa de otra cosa que de
expresar fielmente sus experiencias interiores, con el único objetivo de abrir
camino a los que vendrán después.
Difunde su saber teológico —tan adecuado a las exigencias de su época
que confluye en el magisterio del Concilio del siglo, el Vaticano II— más en con-
versaciones y encuentros informales con la gente que en volúmenes eruditos.
Como un juglar de Dios, no le preocupa realizar cualquier tipo de locura con tal
de transmitir el mensaje que se identifica con su vida misma..
Su misión en la Iglesia se cumple con el anuncio de un querer divino: la
santidad para todos nel bel mezzo della strada, —como le gustaba decir en italia-
no castizo— y con la fundación de una empresa sobrenatural finalizada a la difu-
sión de ese mensaje. Para lograrlo, pone en juego todos los recursos expresivos
y comunicativos. Lo que le importa es hacer comprensible y operativo ese men-
saje a quien quiera acogerlo. Toda su doctrina, entendida como explicitación del
mensaje vocacional y su directa consecuencia, está marcada por la “necesidad”
de anunciar; no es consecuencia de una exigencia de sistematicidad sino de
comunicación. En esto su ministerio se asemeja mucho, en su planteamiento y en
su estrategia, al del apóstol Pablo. Usa todos los medios: cartas, visitas, viajes, e
incluso el cine, gracias al cual conservamos su imagen viva. A quienes vienen
después les corresponde entrar a fondo en su mensaje, profundizando en sus raí-
ces escriturísticas, en su trascendencia eclesial y en los planteamientos intelec-
tuales que subyacen en todas sus enseñanzas. Para el tema que vamos a tratar
ahora, nos interesa sobre todo captar su visión del hombre y de la mujer, es decir,
su antropología.
El Congreso sobre La grandeza de la vida corriente, que ha tenido lugar en
Roma con ocasión del centenario de su nacimiento, ha sido en este sentido una
prueba y una confirmación. En efecto, hemos podido recoger y trasmitir una gran
cantidad de experiencias presentadas por gente de toda condición social y cultu-
1 A. DE FUENMAYOR - V. GÓMEZ-IGLESIAS - J.L.ILLANES, El itinerario jurídico del Opus Dei.

Historia y defensa de un carisma, Pamplona 1989.
24 - MARTA BRANCATISANO MANZI

ral que no se reducen a una doctrina concluida y ya cerrada. La santidad para la
gente que vive en el mundo, trabajando y amando, no tiene una forma fija y
mucho menos una fórmula. Se apoya sobre la aportación viva de la responsabili-
dad personal de quien se propone alcanzarla —ya se trate de un ministro, de un
profesor, como de un artista o de un obrero—, apoyada por una parte en una sóli-
da y exigente formación doctrinal, capaz de alimentar la inteligencia; y por otra
en un trato continuo con Cristo en la oración y en los sacramentos, capaz de col-
mar la sed del corazón.
Así, sobre el tema del matrimonio, lo que nos ha dejado Josemaría Escrivá
son un conjunto de afirmaciones y consejos; expresados en alguna ocasión por
escrito, pero la mayor parte de las veces transmitidos oralmente en conversacio-
nes con novios, esposos y padres. Frases e ideas sencillas pero de una profundi-
dad y novedad que impulsan y estimulan a una reflexión en la que se tiene la
impresión de que no se llega a agotar nunca su contenido. Se trata de ideas repe-
tidas en su predicación — con un matiz u otro— decenas de veces. Aquí las sin-
tentizamos con palabras que entendemos que reflejan fielmente su pensamiento.
1. EL CAMINO PARA IR AL CIELO, PARA TI,

TIENE EL NOMBRE DE TU MARIDO
Palabras de tono aparentemente romántico, que abren sin embargo la

puerta a una consideración del matrimonio como camino de santidad. Con esta
afirmación, el Beato Josemaría supera la visión del matrimonio como un expe-
diente para el cristiano que no se siente capaz de hacer otra cosa mejor; superan-
do también la idea de que los deberes conyugales son marginales respecto a los
deberes para con Dios. Inicia con estas palabras la superposición total y sistemá-
tica de la relación con Dios y con el cónyuge, en el sentido de que no se puede
sostener la hipótesis de una vida espiritual plena de quien está casado, a latere de
la vida conyugal; se afirma, en cambio, que Dios no es, en cierto sentido, diverso
del cónyuge, es decir, alguien que espera fuera de la casa y del lecho matrimonial.
Afirmaciones fuertes, que hoy sentimos en perfecta coherencia con la nueva teo-
logía del matrimonio elaborada por Juan Pablo II, como fruto de su estudio per-
sonal y de la profundización en la doctrina del Concilio Vaticano II. Veamos,
entre los muchos textos que podrían citarse, uno tomado de la Exhortación
Apostólica Familiaris Consortio: «Dios ha creado al hombre a su imagen y seme-
janza: llamándolo a la existencia por amor, lo ha llamado al mismo tiempo al amor.
Dios es amor y vive en sí mismo un misterio de comunión personal de amor. Cre-
ándola a su imagen y conservándola continuamente en el ser, Dios inscribe en la
humanidad del hombre y de la mujer la vocación y consiguientemente la capaci-
CLAVES ANTROPOLÓGICAS DE UNOS CONSEJOS - 25

dad y la responsabilidad del amor y de la comunión. El amor es por tanto la voca-
ción fundamental e innata de todo ser humano»2.
De este planteamiento se deriva una nueva luz sobre el matrimonio, sobre
el amor humano y sobre la transmisión de la vida. Una luz que no pone en evi-
dencia nuevas normas, sino un espíritu nuevo en el que vivir y comprender el
valor creacional de la vida matrimonial, en cuanto que no se la ve simplemente
como una cosa buena y útil para la sociedad humana, sino como elemento fun-
dante del designio de Dios sobre el ser humano y sobre toda la creación. La narra-
ción del Génesis nos dice con toda claridad que el hombre ha sido creado varón
y mujer para que pudiera llegar a vivir, en su condición de creatura, aquel amor
que es imagen y semejanza de la Trinidad3. Una luz que despierta la responsabili-
dad personal de los esposos al hacerles comprender su posición estratégica en el
mundo y en la Iglesia, y que ilumina modos concretos de realizarla en las situa-
ciones contingentes y particulares de cada uno. Los esposos se ven así no como
destinados a ser parte de una muchedumbre anónima, sino actores, con un papel
fundamental e insustituible en el plan de la Providencia; comprenden que son
una primera célula de amor y de vida, que manifiesta el rostro del Creador.
La vida matrimonial, con su cotidianidad, con sus alegrías y sus dramas, no
corre ya el riesgo de caer en la banalidad rutinaria o de sucumbir ante la adversi-
dad. Es un recorrido creativo, inseparable desde el punto de vista existencial, de
la propia realización. Es el camino a través del cual cada uno es llamado a ser él
mismo y a dar la vida a otros; porque el amor es plenitud de ser y comunica la vida
en sentido ontológico incluso más que biológico.
Ser pareja es el status creacional del hombre, creado sexuado por estar des-
tinado al amor como término de la semejanza con Dios. El matrimonio no es una
eventualidad, sino la vía ordinaria para realizar la propia humanidad. Una tal
visión del matrimonio, como una relación humana primaria y fundamental, cami-
no para alcanzar la unión con Dios, arroja una luz nueva también sobre la virgi-
nidad, señalada por Cristo como una condición privilegiada. Lejos de cualquier
tentación espiritualista (siempre al acecho a lo largo de la historia de la Iglesia), el
matrimonio que Escrivá desvela a los hombres y las mujeres de su tiempo, es una
unión tan santa y tan hermosa que sólo se puede renunciar a él por un bien toda-
vía más alto. Ese bien superior es la unión directa con Dios que no experimenta
la mediación de un amor humano. Matrimonio y virginidad se iluminan así recí-
procamente: el amor humano lejos de estar contrapuesto al “sagrado” amor de
Dios, es el acceso, el camino que normalmente conduce a Él.
2 JUAN PABLO II, Ex. Ap. Familiaris Consortio, 11.

3 Cfr. Gn 1, 26-27.

2. VOSOTRAS LAS MUJERES SOIS PSICÓLOGAS.
LA CULPA ES VUESTRA CUANDO LAS COSAS NO VAN BIEN
Detrás de esta afirmación, aparentemente dura e intencionalmente para-

dójica, se cela la proclamación de una posición especial de la mujer en la pareja;
un papel o quizá un privilegio que le da una prioridad en la dinámica de la rela-
ción. Una afirmación que será explicitada de forma antropológicamente científi-
ca por Juan Pablo II en la Carta Apostólica Mulieris Dignitatem, de 1988.
Al atribuir a la mujer una capacidad psicológica especial, el Beato Josema-
ría reconoce en ella el don femenino de la comprehensión —en el sentido latino
de contener, de tener como propio— del ser humano, en un modo que es conna-
tural a su sexo. No se trata de un conocimiento adquirido con el estudio, un fruto
intelectual —el Beato Josemaría se refería a todas las mujeres, sea cual fuera su
cultura, incluso analfabetas— sino de una característica ontológica recibida del
Creador y ligada a su modo sexuado de ser: mujer es aquella que tiene dentro de
sí al otro (hombre e hijo) y que lo siente/conoce con todo su ser. Es quien tiene
intimidad con el otro porque está hecha para tenerlo en su seno. Es quien “tra-
baja” para la vida de modo directo y natural.
De esta estructura ontológica suya deriva la sabiduría del otro que tiene la
mujer, que la hace dueña de una relación —la del amor conyugal y la del amor
materno— que es, desde muchos puntos de vista, difícil y misteriosa. Donde el
hombre (racional, conocedor del mundo/cosmos exterior, conquistador y gue-
rrero), se pierde en los meandros del ser humano, ella se mueve con desenvoltu-
ra, con destreza, como iluminada por una experiencia interior y genética, que
sólo decae frente a una renuncia deliberada a la propia diferencia sexual (ten-
dencia manifestada en el llamado feminismo homologante). La mujer tiene en
sus manos la guía de la relación con el hombre, relación de la que proceden
todas las demás relaciones humanas; relación paritaria y complementaria. Su
posición de primado no tiene que ver con el mérito, sino que atañe, en cierto
modo, a la distinción sexual, que le otorga un dominio/conocimiento del otro,
que el varón, por su estructura antropológica, no tiene. Ella es quien conoce al
otro, lo acoge en sí, y tiene por eso la capacidad de “conducir” la relación y de
recomponerla cuando sea necesario. En este planteamiento, ni siquiera se roza la
falsa problemática de la superioridad entre los dos sexos; por el contrario, se
pone de manifiesto que la propiedad complementaria es la que guía la relación de
la pareja. La mujer —como por lo demás el hombre— no se basta a sí misma y
tiene necesidad del hombre para ser como mujer; pero su posición le confiere el
poder —y la responsabilidad— de conducir la relación y de mantenerla viva; lo
cual le da una marcada propensión —como es de experiencia común— a ser
agente de comprensión, de perdón, de paz. Si la mujer no rechaza esta respon-

sabilidad estructural, conseguirá que el varón despliegue todas sus capacidades
masculinas, desarrollando el papel de complementariedad que está en la base de
su relación, y de su supervivencia como seres humanos. La sabiduría popular,
entre serio y broma, ha dicho siempre que el mundo está gobernado por las
mujeres, pero el carácter de este poder (que se parece mucho al servicio o a
aquella noblesse que obliga, y obliga mucho) no se parece a aquel poder vistoso
y arrogante que hoy se tiende a proponer en nuestro panorama cultural. La
mujer de la época actual, preocupada sólo de la conquista del mundo exterior
imita las características masculinas (no sólo estructurales sino también históri-
cas: el suyo es un feminismo especular del machismo, entendido como poder
que aplasta) y evade aquel poder, típicamente femenino, que es capaz de dar la
vida pero que ni persigue ni asegura fama y éxito.
Estamos hablando de la estructura antropológica, y por tanto, de algo que
hay que “hacer madurar”, que no se puede dar por descontado. De hecho, la
mujer de hoy ha suprimido, con una negación psicológica más que exterior, sus
inclinaciones femeninas espontáneas, para ponerse frente al hombre de un modo
típicamente masculino: con agresividad, con ganas de prevalecer sobre él en
campos que representan el ámbito natural de la actividad del varón, con una acti-
tud cerrada. Su “no” a la maternidad, se resuelve, en la dinámica relacional de la
pareja, en un “no” al hombre. El empowerment de la mujer —impuesto más que
madurado— ha minado las bases de la relación de la pareja, con resultados evi-
dentes y clamorosos.
En esta situación, las palabras de Escrivá suenan como un auténtico desa-
fío para las mujeres, de modo que, a través de ese cumplido (sois psicólogas), se
sientan deseosas de buscar —y ya es hora— el sentido de la feminidad, conscien-
tes de que toda investigación en este sector tiene un valor universal.
3. ¿QUIERES A TU MARIDO? ¿LO QUIERES TAMBIÉN CON SUS DEFECTOS?
Una provocación afectuosa e irónica, se podría decir. Es, en cambio, una

declaración de notable hondura antropológica, que ilumina la importancia de la
relación entre hombre y mujer en la economía de la salvación. Con estas palabras,
el Beato Josemaría declara la totalidad del compromiso personal en la relación de
amor, y pone de relieve la dimensión existencial profunda que une a los seres
humanos entre sí: la ayuda recíproca. En una época como la nuestra, que hace del
sentimiento el único ingrediente del amor, el poner juntos placer y fastidio resul-
ta herético. ¿Cómo se puede pensar en unir la idea de amor, que es sólo fuente de
placer, con algo áspero y desagradable como es la dificultad y el dolor? El amor
es tal mientras es bello; cuando se hace incómodo y problemático, se da por

muerto y se pasa a otra cosa. Típico residuo de la mentalidad consumística, que
más o menos conscientemente, encontramos en todos los ámbitos de nuestra cul-
tura y ha penetrado en la relación de amor a través de un sencillo silogismo: si es
verdad que una cosa es buena mientras me da placer y después se tira a la basu-
ra, también es verdad que cuando el amor se hace “difícil”, quiere decir que ya no
es amor; y entonces se cambia. Pero el ser humano —por lo menos en el plano de
la creación y de la redención— es la única cosa que no se puede tirar, sopena del
desastre ecológico de todo el universo. El ser humano —sea quien sea— tiene el
derecho de ser amado porque el Creador lo ama como a un hijo único y lo ha con-
fiado a sus semejantes con la misma intención4. La persona que se elige para toda
la vida —el cónyuge— tiene el derecho de ser amado, sea como sea, o mejor, cam-
bie lo que cambie. Toda la creación depende de este modo estructural. El hombre
y la mujer —a través de su amor— se dan la vida, se ayudan a vivir. Un matrimo-
nio que convive bien, es decir, amándose, es una fuente de energía “nuclear”, que
se irradia fuera de las paredes familiares; es un punto fuerte de la sociedad, que
no consume recursos, sino que los produce (creatividad profesional, capacidad
de voluntariado/care, buen estado de salud por ausencia de enfermedades psico-
somáticas debidas a traumas afectivos, capacidad de apertura a los otros, alegría
y diversión). Todo parte de la conciencia de esta dimensión de ayuda que permi-
te aceptar el alejamiento —no la negación— del placer (entendido en su forma
más intensa, que compromete el alma y el cuerpo) en el curso de la vida matri-
monial. El otro sigue siendo “aquel que un día elegí, que he amado y escogido”,
también cuando se vuelve —con culpa o sin ella— desagradable.
Es extraordinario que, en pocas y sencillas palabras, el Beato Josemaría
haya expresado la correcta perspectiva que permite captar el fundamento sobre
el que se apoya la relación entre marido y mujer, que explica su coherencia y hace
posible —pero no por eso fácil— su realización. La capacidad de vivir verdade-
ramente y para siempre el amor no dependerá de una situación de hecho, sino de
la conciencia de que la relación entre marido y mujer tiene sus espinas, y de la
voluntad decidida de aceptarlas. En esta perspectiva, la operación de “tirar a la
basura” resulta incluso ridícula, además de presagiar consecuencias trágicas.
La identidad misma del amor que se ha elegido —por ti y contigo cual-
quier cosa— testimonia que es absurdo —a costa de daño de la propia identi-
dad— lamentarse a la hora de la prueba, sea ésta el agotamiento cotidiano o la
tragedia no prevista. Es como si estas palabras del Beato Josemaría hicieran que
resultara natural decir cuando aparece una dificultad «ahora es cuando te quiero
4 “El hombre es la única criatura que Dios ha querido por sí misma”, CONCILIO VATICANO II,
Past. Const. Gaudium et spes, 24.

de verdad, ahora que eres feo, antipático, ahora que me haces daño, que me dejas
sola [...]». Es como si ayudaran de alguna manera a descifrar la identidad misma
del amor.
Experiencia humana total y vital, el amor conyugal compromete a toda la
persona con todo lo que tiene. El amor es sentimiento, pero también es razón; es
instinto, pero también es fortaleza; es una alegría tan grande que da sentido tam-
bién al dolor.

The Anthropological Foundations
of Some Words of Advice:
Blessed Josemaría and Conjugal Love
An Italian writer and member of the Academic Committee of the Congress. She is currently
Director of the program on the Christian Culture of Family and Education at the Pontifical Uni-
versity of the Holy Cross.
Each saint has his or her own way of being a saint. The characteristic which
defines the personality of Blessed Josemaría is his unique relation with his divine
calling and his awareness of being an instrument chosen by God to accomplish
His design among human beings. This was so much the case that all of his talents
and personal qualities were directed towards — and grew in proportion to — his
response to his vocation. Brought up in a family where love was palpable, Jose-
maría was still a young man — an ordinary teenager with nothing extraordinary
about him — when he understood that God had a plan for each of His creatures
and that his path consisted in finding out what God had in mind for him. From
that moment on, every decision he made, whether great or small, became part of
that quest. This was how he decided to become a priest. He followed a course in
the seminary that was more directed towards pastoral work than to academics,
and he expended all of his energy on helping the needy, despite his own econom-
ic straits. At last October 2, 1928 arrived, the day when he finally saw what God
wanted from him. It was not so much that his spiritual state changed then, as that
the objective suddenly became clear to him, in spite of its complete newness and
originality.
All of his talents were employed in his response to his vocation to do Opus
Dei. Thus, for example, his passion for architecture found expression when cen-
ters of Opus Dei needed to be built. Likewise, his sensitivity and legal education
proved very useful to him when it came to carrying out his foundational mission,
in order to discern in the light which he had received from God, those elements
31
of the call to sanctity which carry with them the right and duty to do apostolate
and to have frequent recourse to the means of salvation. They also served in his
exercise of prudentia iuris in the service of the charism which he had received
from God1. This was the same prudence that was molded and exercised in the
government of Opus Dei and in the transposition of its ecclesial path into norms
in the drafting of its particular law.
Josemaría Escrivá recorded his thoughts and reflections from very early on,
and these later came to form the basis for powerful volumes of reading material
(he is undoubtedly one of the most widely read spiritual writers of the 20th centu-
ry, with readers from the most diverse circumstances and backgrounds). In all of
this, his only concern was the faithful expression of his interior experiences, with
the objective of introducing this new path to those who would come after him.
He also shared his theological knowledge (so suited to the needs of our
times and which tied in so well with the Magisterium of the Council of the era,
the Second Vatican Council), mostly through friendly conversations and informal
gatherings, rather than through erudite books. As a ‘juggler’ of God, he did not
hesitate to set about any task — no matter how mad it seemed — so long as it
would help communicate the message with which his whole life was identified.
His mission in the Church was fulfilled with the announcement of the Will
of God: holiness for all nel bel mezzo della strada, as he liked to say using a famil-
iar Italian expression2, and the consequent foundation of a supernatural enterprise
whose aim was to spread this message. He used all of his communication skills
towards this end. What mattered most to him was to make this message compre-
hensible and functional for its recipients. All of his teachings — understood as an
elaboration of the vocational message and its immediate implications — are
marked with a sense of urgency to share them with others. In its focus and strate-
gy, his ministry can be likened to that of the apostle Paul. Blessed Josemaría did
not spare any of the means that he had at hand: letters, visits, trips, even films,
thanks to which we have live footage of him. Those of us who have come after him
face the challenge of delving into his message, and discovering the scriptural roots,
ecclesial transcendence and intellectual insights latent therein. Our present topic
requires from us to focus on his vision of man and woman, that is, his anthropolo-
gy.
The Congress entitled The Grandeur of Ordinary Life held in Rome on the
occasion of the centennial of his birth, has served as both proof and confirmation
1 A. DE FUENMAYOR - V. GÓMEZ-IGLESIAS - J.L.ILLANES, The Canonical Path of Opus Dei. The

History and Defense of a Charism, Princeton 1994.
2 This phrase aptly conveys the idea of seeking holiness in the midst of all ordinary human pla-
ces, affairs and events, including ‘in the street’.

of this. In effect, we have been able to gather and pass on a considerable amount
of experience shared by people of diverse social and cultural conditions that can
certainly not be reduced to a closed doctrinal system. The holiness of people who
live in the middle of the world, loving and working, does not have a set form, and
much less does it follow any fixed formula. It rests principally on the personal
responsibility of the individual who is trying to achieve holiness in his or her own
life, whether he or she is a government minister, a professor, an artist, a laborer or
whatever else. It depends, on the one hand, on having serious doctrinal formation
that can nourish the intellect and, on the other hand, on maintaining a constant
relationship with Christ through prayer and the sacraments, thus satisfying the
noble longings of the human heart.
As is the case with other topics, what Josemaría Escrivá has left us about
marriage are a collection of considerations and words of advice. Some of these
were in writing, but the vast majority were passed on to us orally, in conversations
and meetings with couples and parents. They are simple phrases and ideas with
remarkable depth and novelty, that motivate and stimulate reflection while leav-
ing the impression that their contents are inexhaustible. The following are some
ideas that recur in his teachings, synthesized with words which we believe faith-
fully reflect his thought.
1. YOUR PATH TO HEAVEN HAS A NAME: THAT OF YOUR HUSBAND
These apparently romantic words bring us to the consideration of marriage

as a path to sanctity. They illustrate how Blessed Josemaría saw matrimony as
much more than something expedient for those Christians who do not feel capa-
ble of anything better in life. They also reflect how he rejected the idea that con-
jugal duties are marginal to the obligations which we owe to God. These words
also highlight the total and systematic inter-relation of one’s relationship with
God with one’s relationship with one’s spouse: for a married person, there can be
no spiritual life lived to the full ‘outside’ of marriage. He affirms that, in a way,
God is not distinct from one’s spouse. In other words, God is not someone who
waits for us beyond our homes and our marriage beds. This is a powerful affirma-
tion which is nonetheless perfectly consistent with the new theology of marriage
elaborated by John Paul II, as fruit of his personal, in-depth study of the doctrine
of Vatican Council II. Among the numerous texts that can be cited, we turn to a
passage from the Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio: “God created man
in his own image and likeness: calling him to existence through love, he called him
at the same time for love. God is love and in himself he lives a mystery of person-
al loving communion. Creating the human race in his own image and continually
THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF SOME WORDS OF ADVICE - 33

keeping it in being, God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the voca-
tion, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion. Love is
therefore the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being”3.
From this point of view, we obtain new light about marriage, human love
and the transmission of life. These insights do not create new obligations, but
rather offer a new spirit in which married life — seen not only as a good or useful
thing for human society — is taken as a fundamental aspect of God’s design for
humanity and for all of creation (the book of Genesis clearly tells us that God cre-
ated man and woman so that they could come to live, from their creaturely condi-
tion, that love which is an image and likeness of the Trinity)4. This insight also
awakens the personal responsibility of both spouses as it enables them to perceive
their strategic position in the world and in the Church, and it points to specific
ways to carry out their role in the personal and varying circumstances of each per-
son. Spouses can then begin to see themselves not just as part of a nameless crowd,
but rather as actors who have leading roles in the plan of Providence: they are the
building blocks of love and life, that show forth the face of the Creator.
Viewed from this perspective, married life, with all of its ordinariness, and
its daily joys and dramas, avoids the danger of becoming merely a sort of lifeless
routine or of collapsing in the face of adversity. It is seen rather as a creative jour-
ney towards one’s own fulfillment. This is the path along which each person is
called to be him or herself while giving life to others, since love is fullness of being
and communicates life, both in the ontological and in the biological sense.
Partnership is the creational status of the human being, as each human
being has been endowed by God with a specific gender through which he or she
is destined to love, thus reflecting the person’s likeness to God. Matrimony is not
just another fact of life. It is, rather, the ordinary way for each person to realize his
or her humanity. This vision of marriage — as the primary and fundamental rela-
tionship, and the path to reach union with God — also sheds light upon virgini-
ty, which Christ revealed to be a privileged condition. Far from being some sort
of temptation (a misconception that has lingered on throughout the Church’s his-
tory), the concept of marriage which Escrivá reveals to the men and women of
our times is a union that is so holy and beautiful that only a greater Good can jus-
tify its renunciation. This higher Good is direct union with God, without the
mediation of human love. Marriage and virginity thus illuminate one another:
human love is not opposed to the ‘sacred’ love of God, but is rather a way to
access it, the path that ordinarily leads to Him.
3 JOHN PAUL II, Apost. Ex. Familiaris Consortio, 11.

4 Gen 1:26-27.

2. YOU WOMEN ARE PSYCHOLOGISTS; YOU ARE THE ONES
TO BLAME WHEN THINGS GO WRONG
Behind these apparently harsh and intentionally paradoxical words is an

affirmation of the woman’s special role in a couple’s relationship, a role — or even
a privilege — by which she has the upper hand in its development. This is a truth
that is explicitly considered in its anthropological dimension by John Paul II in
his Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem.
By attributing to the woman a special psychological capacity, Blessed Jose-
maría is acknowledging the special feminine gift of comprehension — in its origi-
nal Latin sense, that is, of ‘containing’ or of having as one’s own — of the human
being, in a manner which is connatural to her gender. We are dealing here with a
type of knowledge that is not the result of intellectual study — as Blessed Jose-
maría was referring to all women, regardless of culture or level of education —
but rather of an ontological property given to her by the Creator and linked to
her sexuality: the woman is she who ‘contains’ the other (man or child) in her and
who feels and knows the other with all of her being. It is she who has a special
intimacy with the other because she is made to be able to carry the other within
her. It is also the woman who ‘works’ for life in a direct and natural way.
The woman’s wisdom about the other derives precisely from her specific
ontological structure which, at the same time, makes her the master of the often
difficult and mysterious relationships of the family, be they spousal or maternal.
Whereas man — the rational knower of the exterior world, the natural conqueror
and warrior — is more easily lost amidst the particularities of each human being,
the woman makes her way with grace and skill, as if endowed with an interior,
genetic capacity for this. This feminine gift can unfortunately become clouded by
the voluntary renunciation of her unique sexuality, a tendency manifest in some
forms of feminism. The woman holds in her hands the guide to her relationship
with man, a paired and complementary relationship from which all other rela-
tionships are born. Her privileged position has nothing to do with merit but
rather stems from the sexual difference that gives her a certain dominion over the
other, a quality which the man does not have by his anthropological structure. It
is she who knows and receives the other, thereby giving her the capacity to ‘lead’
the relationship and mend it when necessary.
This approach is not related to the so-called ‘problem’ of superiority
between the sexes. On the contrary, it manifests that it is the complementary prop-
erty that is to guide the relationships of couples. As is equally the case with man,
woman alone will not suffice: women need men in order to be authentically
women. Nevertheless, her position gives her the power — and the responsibility
— to guide and maintain the relationship. Common experience shows us her

marked tendency to be an agent of understanding, forgiveness and peace. If the
woman does not reject this structural responsibility, she will enable man to devel-
op his masculine capacities and contribute to the flourishing of the complemen-
tarity that is at the base of their relationship, and ultimately, of the survival of the
entire human race. Popular wisdom — only partly in jest — has always affirmed
that the world is ruled by women. However, the character of feminine power —
which can be likened to service in the spirit of ‘noblesse oblige’ — is quite unlike
the clamorous and arrogant power which modern culture tends to exalt. Today’s
woman, who is often only concerned about conquering the outside world, tends
to appropriate masculine characteristics (not only in their structural but also in
their historical aspect, resulting in a feminism that emulates the stereotypically
masculine model of power as brute force) while undermining that typically femi-
nine power which is capable of giving life without seeking fame or glory.
This is a question of the woman’s anthropological structure. As such, it is
a natural endowment that needs to be developed and perfected in each woman.
Unfortunately, many women today have suppressed — in a more psychological
than external manner — their spontaneous feminine inclinations in order to chal-
lenge men according to masculine standards: with closed-minded aggression and
the desire to prevail in fields that are traditionally the sphere of manly activities.
Her ‘no’ to maternity in the relational dynamics of the couple is effectively a ‘no’
to man. This form of empowerment of women — which has been imposed upon
us rather than having developed naturally — has shaken the very foundations of
the couple’s relationship, with evident and disastrous results.
In these circumstances, Escrivá’s words provide a real challenge to women.
As the ‘psychologists’ that Escrivá takes them for, they feel desirous of seeking —
and it is time that they do so — the real meaning of femininity, bearing in mind
that any progress in this field of research is of universal value.
3. DO YOU LOVE YOUR HUSBAND… WITH HIS DEFECTS?
We might say that this is an affectionate and ironic provocation. More than
anything, it is a declaration of the deep anthropological foundation that sheds light
on the importance of the relationship between man and woman in the history of
salvation. With these words, Blessed Josemaría draws attention to the totality of
the personal commitment involved in a loving relationship while highlighting the
profound existential dimension that unites human beings to one another: recipro-
cal assistance. In times like ours when emotions are often seen as the only element
in love, connecting pleasure with something bothersome sounds almost heretical.
How can love, which is nothing other than a source of pleasure, go hand in hand

with something as bitter and unpleasant as suffering and difficulties? Love, they
say, is love only as long as it is ‘beautiful’; the moment it becomes uncomfortable
and problematic, it becomes something else. This is a typical expression of the
consumerist mentality that we find in more or less all of the aspects of our culture,
affecting even loving relationships through this simple syllogism: if a thing is worth
keeping only insofar as it is useful or pleasurable, then a love that becomes ‘diffi-
cult’ can likewise be thrown away and exchanged for another.
The human being, however — at least from the viewpoint of creation and
Redemption — is the only thing that cannot be disposed of without giving rise to
what could be called an ‘ecological disaster’ for the entire universe. A human per-
son, no matter who he or she may be, has the right to be loved, because each per-
son is loved by the Creator as an only child, and each person has been entrusted
by God to those of his kind so that they too may love him5. Likewise, the person
chosen for life — the spouse — has the right to be loved, whoever he or she may
be, or better still, whatever changes he or she may undergo. All of creation
depends on this structural relationship. Man and woman — through their love —
communicate life while helping each other to live. A married couple that lives
well, that is, that lives loving each other, is a generator of ‘nuclear energy’ that
radiates beyond the confines of the family home; it is a powerhouse for society,
that produces rather than consumes energy (professional creativity, capacity to
care, well-being from absence of psychosomatic illnesses due to affective trau-
mas, capacity for openness to others and for joy and leisure). Everything begins
from the awareness of this dimension of mutual assistance that allows for a certain
detachment from — and not necessarily negation of — pleasure (here understood
in its most extreme form as something that can threaten both body and soul) in
the course of married life. The other person continues being “the one whom I
chose, loved and married” even though — blameless or not — he or she at times
becomes disagreeable to me.
It is amazing how Blessed Josemaría was able to capture in a few, simple
words the perspective that aptly expresses the foundation on which the relation-
ship between husband and wife rests, a perspective that explains its coherence
and makes its fulfillment possible, although it may not always be easy. The capac-
ity to love in an authentic and enduring manner does not depend on some chance
event but rather on the knowledge that the relationship between man and woman
will necessarily have its thorns, and on the firm will to accept them. In this light,
the act of ‘throwing away’ a relationship appears to be ridiculous, in addition to
being the precursor of tragic consequences.
5 As was affirmed by VATICAN COUNCIL II, Past. Const. Gaudium et Spes, 24, “man is the only
creature on earth that God has wanted for its own sake”.

The very identity of a love which has been freely chosen attests to the
absurdity of complaining at the hour of difficulty, whether due to plain exhaus-
tion from daily work or to some unforeseen tragedy. Blessed Josemaría’s phrase
makes it seem as if it were natural in the face of difficulties to say “it is now that I
truly love you, now that you are ugly, unkind, now that you have hurt me, now
when you leave me alone”. It is as if his simple words help us to unravel the very
identity of love.
As a complete and vital human experience, conjugal love involves the
entire person with all that he or she is and has. To be sure, love is emotion, but it
is also reason; it is instinct, but it is also fortitude; it is a joy so great that it gives
meaning to suffering.

Meeting the Challenge:
How the Life and Teachings
of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá
Have Helped my Marriage
W. Bradford Wilcox
Research Fellow at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion at Yale University. He is
currently writing a book on men, religion, and family life. He has been married for six years and
has two children under the age of two.
I must begin with a confession. I have a doctorate in the sociology of the

family and frequently offer my professional opinion on the family in the United
States to friends, family, and audiences such as this. Of course, as many of you
may know, doctors are legendary for giving advice to their patients that they don’t
follow themselves. And I must admit that I’ve been known to give advice that I
don’t follow. So it is with some trepidation that I now speak about how the life
and message of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá have influenced my family life.
I begin by noting the perilous state of marriage and family life in the Unit-
ed States, since this is the environment in which I live and work, and this is the
environment that necessarily colors my approach to family life. A few statistics tell
the story: almost 50% of marriages will end in divorce; 32% of children are born
outside of wedlock; and more than 50% of all marriages are preceded by cohabi-
tation. Clearly, the U.S. is far from living the vision of married life — centered
around spousal unity and children — offered to the world by the Catholic Church.
So what is going on in the U.S.? At the most obvious level, we have severed
the moral ties between sex, procreation, and lifelong marriage that once bound
our families together. But I think there are deeper cultural and spiritual sources
of the problems that families in the U.S. confront. Two issues, in particular, come
to mind:
— a sentimental view of marriage; and
— an androgynous approach to the sexes.
39
In recent years, a number of keen observers of the American scene have
pointed out that Americans have an overly sentimental view of marriage. This
sentimental view sees marriage as an opportunity for persons to focus on fun and
intimacy — to share, explore, and nurture their deepest psychological and sexu-
al desires. Hence, little room is left in marriage for children, virtue, and for the
small and large struggles that mark the average marriage. In this view, marriage is
punctuated by many ‘peak moments’ and very few ‘valleys of hardship’. In a
word, the search for transcendence — a search that preoccupies all of us — is
shifted from God to the marital relationship. And because no marriage can bear
the burden of such high hopes, many men and women in the U.S. abandon their
spouses when they discover that their spouses cannot meet their overly sentimen-
tal desires for meaning and intimacy in marriage.
As a married man and as an American, I admit that I have been and con-
tinue to be tempted by this sentimental vision of marriage. Left to my own
devices, I’d prefer to spend time with my wife enjoying a fine meal out, speaking
about weighty issues, and travelling to exotic locales. But the example and teach-
ing of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá have helped me to struggle against this senti-
mental vision by embracing the more pedestrian dimensions of married life in a
supernatural spirit of service.
The founder of Opus Dei stressed over and over again that we find true
meaning in life by seeking God in the very ordinariness of everyday life. In The
Way, he writes, “Do everything for love. In that way there will be no little things:
everything will be big. Perseverance in the little things for love is heroism”1.
Of course, family life presents many opportunities to offer ordinary details
of service in this spirit of love for God and spouse. One example makes the point.
After we adopted our first son, my wife, Danielle, usually groomed our son
before we went out in the morning. But there were numerous occasions when she
wasn’t available to get him ready and I had to dress and wash him. Initially, I did
not take great care with his appearance: I often neglected to comb his hair and
tuck in his shirt, for instance. I didn’t see the point to dedicating so much care to
grooming him: it took an extra five minutes when we were rushed in the morning
and I was sure that no one noticed his hair at the morning Mass.
But Danielle did not take kindly to my failure to groom our son. She chid-
ed me on three or four occasions for not paying sufficient attention to Alexan-
der’s appearance. At first, I didn’t take her correction too seriously. But after
praying about it I realized that this was very important to her, that it reflected on
our family’s reputation, and that this was a good opportunity to live out the
1 The Way, 813.
40 - W. BRADFORD WILCOX
supernatural spirit of service taught by Blessed Josemaría Escrivá in a small detail
of family life. For all these reasons, I have since made it a habit to comb Alexan-
der’s hair and dress him appropriately whenever it’s my turn to groom him in the
morning. Needless to say, whenever I attend to family details in this supernatural
spirit, I bring a measure of genuine happiness to my wife that no number of
romantic dinners could equal. And I also gain a renewed appreciation of the con-
cern that God has for the ordinary details of our lives.
Another challenge facing marriage in America is the androgynous spirit
that, all too often, guides the relations between the sexes in the U.S. Men and
women don’t know how to act towards one another in and outside of marriage.
We fear falling into a kind of retrograde sexism or simply have no practical
knowledge of authentic masculinity or femininity. So nothing choreographs the
age-old dance between men and women, and confusion ensues.
One indication of this androgynous confusion is that many men and
women think that they can have close personal or professional friendships with
members of the opposite sex even after they marry. After all, the thinking goes,
men and women are equal, they are adults, and, accordingly, they are quite capa-
ble of handling themselves responsibly. In the U.S., it is quite common, for
instance, for married professionals to go out for dinner and drinks with members
of the opposite sex when on business. In these settings, conversations can and
often do get quite personal. What these professionals don’t realize is that such
friendships can do serious harm to their marriages. I’m not speaking here only of
adultery but also of the more subtle ways that men and women can fall into the
habit of focusing their hearts and minds on persons who are not their spouses.
Sociological research, for instance, tells us that one significant risk factor
for divorce is working with a large number of members of the opposite sex in
one’s work place. Of course, such workplaces do not present a problem if one
maintains a proper distance with colleagues of the opposite sex and always strives
to keep one’s love for one’s spouse very much alive.
“If a marriage is to preserve its initial charm and beauty, both husband and
wife should try to renew their love day after day [...] A married woman’s atten-
tion should be centred on her husband and children as a married man’s should be
centred on his wife and children. Much time and effort is required to succeed in
this, and anything which militates against it is bad and shouldn’t be tolerated.
There is no excuse for not fulfilling this lovable duty. Work outside the home is
not an excuse. Not even one’s life of piety can be an excuse because if it is incom-
patible with one’s daily obligations it is not good nor pleasing to God”2.
2 Conversations, 107.
MEETING THE CHALLENGE - 41

But too often Americans don’t take care to respect the deep, powerful, and
natural attractions between men and women — and disaster ensues.
I must admit that I had fallen under the spell of this androgynous spirit
when I first married Danielle. I had a number of close, personal female friend-
ships, and I had no intention of breaking those ties. But, soon after we married, I
learned more and more about Blessed Josemaría Escrivá’s ethic of discretion
when dealing with members of the opposite sex.
Thus, early in my marriage, Blessed Escrivá’s message and example
inspired me to break off close female friendships for the sake of my vocation to
marriage. I did so knowing that I would be guarding my heart against any threats
to purity. More importantly, I did so knowing that I was now free to give myself
— my thoughts, my hopes, and my deeds — more completely to my wife. And
this, of course, is one of the most central purposes of the vocation to marriage.
Of course, there are other challenges facing marriage in America. Our
excessive preoccupation with work, our consumerism, our ceaseless desire to be
entertained — all these factors and more impinge on my marriage and the mar-
riages of my fellow citizens in the U.S. But the life and teaching of Blessed Jose-
maría Escrivá have helped me meet these challenges by approaching marriage in
a new spirit — a spirit that is not captive to the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the age.
Among other things, Blessed Escrivá has shown me how to overcome the androg-
ynous and sentimental spirits of this age. His words and deeds have helped give
men like me a vision of what marriage can and should look like in a world that has
lost a supernatural vision of what the vocation of marriage is.
42 - W. BRADFORD WILCOX
How the Teachings
of Blessed Josemaría Have Influenced
my Life as a Husband and Father
Markus Schwartz
He studied Biology and Immunology in Vienna. MBA degree from the University of Navarre,
IESE, Barcelona. He is currently a Hospital Director in Salzburg, Austria and has been President
of the family orientation organisation Gesellschaft fuer Familienorientierung in Vienna for over
5 years. Married since 1992 and father of five children.
“I have spent almost forty years preaching the vocational meaning of mar-
riage. More than once I have had occasion to see faces light up as men and
women who had thought that in their lives a dedication to God was incompatible
with a noble and pure human love, heard me say that marriage is a divine path on
earth!”
“Christian couples should be aware that they are called to sanctity them-
selves and to sanctify others, that they are called to be apostles and that their first
apostolate is in the home. They should understand that founding a family, edu-
cating their children, and exercising a Christian influence in society, are super-
natural tasks. The effectiveness and the success of their life — their happiness —
depends to a great extent on their awareness of their specific mission”.
“But they mustn’t forget that the secret of married happiness lies in every-
day things, not in daydreams. It lies in finding the hidden joy of coming home in
the evening, in affectionate relations with their children, in the everyday work in
which the whole family cooperates; in good humour in the face of difficulties that
should be met with a sporting spirit; in making the best use of all the advantages
that civilisation offers to help us rear children, to make the house pleasant and life
more simple”.
“I constantly tell those who have been called by God to form a home to
love one another always, to love each other with the love of their youth. Any one
who thinks that love ends when the worries and difficulties that life brings with it
43
begin, has a poor idea of marriage, which is a sacrament and an ideal and a voca-
tion. It is precisely then that love grows strong. Torrents of worries and difficul-
ties are incapable of drowning true love because people who sacrifice themselves
generously together are brought closer by their sacrifice. As Scripture says, aquae
multae, a host of difficulties, physical and moral, non potuerunt extinguere cari-
tatem, cannot extinguish love (Cant 8:7)”1.
These words of Blessed Josemaría can serve as a framework for the reflec-
tions I intend to make. I got to know the teachings of Blessed Josemaría long
before I was thinking of marriage and founding a family myself. However, already
at this time I was fascinated and inspired by his teaching on the nobility and the
extraordinary value of the sacrament of marriage and on the values and virtues of
the family in today’s society.
On many occasions — including through reading books and letters, and
seeing documentary films — I had the chance to hear Blessed Josemaría speak of
the uniqueness of the vocation of becoming husband and wife and even beyond
that, of becoming father or mother. For the first time I heard somebody talk
about a vocation, in my case to become a husband and a father. And this vocation
was not something in addition to or beside my Christian vocation, but was part of
it and actually only a specific way — the way God has foreseen for me — of mate-
rializing my Christian vocation.
The priest who celebrated the ceremony of our wedding summed up in
simple words what would become the motto of our lives in the homily: “Markus,
your way towards sanctity is from now on named Alexandra, and Alexandra,
your way towards sanctity has from now on the name Markus”. With this mes-
sage still resounding in our ears we have tried to find Christ in our daily life by
always looking at each other and the needs of the other and interests within the
family and our marriage. This is, of course, not always easy, and many times it
seems impossible after a hard day at work to come home, build up new energy for
my wife and the children and still listen to a whole load of “family problems and
‘to dos’”.
What Blessed Josemaría has taught us to do on these occasions are two
things and we have had numerous chances on which to benefit from his recom-
mendations. To begin with, I try to prepare myself in prayer before walking
through the door to come home. By asking Jesus, Mary or St. Joseph to take care
of my wife and each one of my children and to help me think about their special
needs, like the promised time to build a new toy or the appointment one of them
44 - MARKUS SCHWARTZ
may have had with the doctor, etc., it is very easy to put things back into per-
spective and to forget about my own subjective ‘needs and preferences’.
It was very difficult for me to leave my mental business agenda at work
and to stop bringing my office-mood home to my family. I usually expected a
nice calm home, where I could finally relax and settle into my role as a father.
Regularly this idea was quickly distorted and I slipped into my role as an ‘animal
trainer’ in the circus ring who had to take control of a wild horde of beasts. I
would find some children crying on the floor, others flooding the bathroom, and
the little one (Maria, six months old), studying books by tearing them apart, and
my wife unable to respond to my greetings with all the enthusiasm I would wish
for. Now I still find the same things, only I can react much more quickly to main-
tain my role as a responsive husband and father, who at least tries to understand
the background of my children’s behaviour and above all the reactions of my
wife; and continuous prayer while talking to my wife and my children has many
times helped to calm these situations and to contribute to restoring a more pos-
itive family environment. I still fall into my animal trainer role, but much sooner
and more often we can remove the cages before putting the children to bed.
In addition to this, Blessed Josemaría has also taught us to offer all the lit-
tle contradictions in our daily life for our loved ones. So even the more difficult
moments we spend with our family and each other can have this sweet taste of
sacrifice that suddenly turns our get-togethers into the most precious moments of
life, when we are able to solve the tiny problems of our children, like the broken
doll or the tears after a fight among brothers, or help each other to regain our
strength for another day.
In this way Blessed Josemaría has taught my wife and I to view our mar-
riage and family not only as a social building block or, even as solely a contractu-
al vow for life, but as a clear call by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself to live our life
in a certain way for the sanctification of ourselves and of our family and friends.
In this regard, I think it is important to show with our daily behaviour, how
we set our priorities in life. Blessed Josemaría has shown us the need to always
take care of our Christian perspective in every situation of our life. A vivid exam-
ple we face every year is that of choosing the right place for our vacation. Since
the ‘relaxed’, and at times immoral environment of some places, especially some
beaches or overcrowded tourist areas can be hard to combine with a Christian
interior life, we try to pick locations that make living the Christian virtues easier.
By also talking to our children about our reasons for choosing a holiday spot
without a beach or public bathing facilities, we hope to live this vivid example of
what it means to put Christ at the summit of every activity as Blessed Josemaría
often encouraged.
INFLUENCE ON MY LIFE AS A HUSBAND AND FATHER - 45

Dwelling together in this same spirit of Christianity of course helps to set
our priorities straight also in this respect.
Now I would like to look at some of the teachings of Blessed Josemaría
regarding the Christian virtues within family life. Blessed Josemaría preached
continuously on the importance of the human virtues the a basis of the supernat-
ural virtues2. This is one of the main themes that we also want to follow within
our own family and especially in the education of our own children.
As part of the upbringing of children in a Christian family, Blessed Jose-
maría always recommended that parents become real friends of their children,
and more precisely, that fathers become real friends of their sons and mothers
real friends of their daughters. This has, of course, major implications for our
own behaviour as parents. Probably the most obvious way of showing friendship
with one another lies in the way one deals with mistakes and failures in one’s own
behaviour. Blessed Josemaría always taught us to apologize for the mistakes we
make in family life. He has reminded us that husband and wife always need to be
the first in forgiving.
“Each of us has his own character, his personal tastes, his moods — at
times his bad moods — and his defects. But we all have likeable aspects in our
personality as well, and for this reason, and many others, everyone can be loved.
It is possible to live happily together when everyone tries to correct his own
defects and makes an effort to overlook the faults of others. That is to say, when
there is love which cancels out and overcomes everything that might seem to be a
motive for coldness and disagreement. On the one hand, if husband and wife
dramatise their little differences and reproach each other for their defects and
mistakes, they put an end to peace and run the risk of killing their love. [...] Any-
one who says that he cannot put up with this or that, or finds it impossible to hold
his peace, is exaggerating in order to justify himself. We should ask God for the
grace to overcome our whims and practice self control. When we lose our temper
we lose control of the situation. Words can become harsh and bitter and we end
up by offending, wounding and hurting, even though we didn’t mean to”.
“We should all learn to keep quiet, to wait and say things in a positive,
optimistic way. When her husband loses his temper the moment has arrived for
the wife to be especially patient until he calms down, and vice versa. If there is
true love and a real desire to deepen it, it will very rarely happen that the two give
in to bad temper at the same time”.
“Another very important thing is to get used to the fact that we are never
a hundred percent right. In fact one can say that in matters like these, which are
2 Cfr. Furrow, 652; Friends of God, 73-93.
usually so debatable, the surer we are of being completely right, the more doubt-
ful it is that we really are. Following this line of reasoning makes it easier to cor-
rect oneself later on and if necessary to beg pardon, which is the best way of end-
ing a quarrel. In this way peace and love are regained. I am not encouraging you
to quarrel but it is understandable that we should fall out at times with those we
love most, because they are the people we are always with. We are not going to
fall out with someone in Timbuktoo! Thus small rows between husband and
wife, if they are not frequent, (and they should see to it that they are not) are not
a sign that love is missing and in fact they can help to increase it [...]”.
“At times we take ourselves too seriously. All of us get angry now and
again. Sometimes because it is necessary; at other times because we lack a spirit
of mortification. The important thing is to show, with a smile that restores family
warmth, that these outbursts of anger do not destroy affection”.
“In a word, the life of husband and wife should consist in loving one
another and loving their children, because by doing this they love God”3.
Following this idea, he has not only taught us to love our spouses with, or
in spite of their failings, but to love these failings themselves, since they are the
paving stones on our road to heaven, which is filled with the daily challenge —
for the spouse to work on his or her failures and to put up with my mistakes and
failures, and for me vice versa.
In the education of our children apology is one of the miraculous means to
deepen our friendship with our children (although it is not easy sometimes to admit
your own bad manners at the family dinner table that have just been called to pub-
lic attention by your own six year old daughter). At the time when we were focus-
ing on table manners with our children, using a ‘manner points list’, our six year old
daughter Laura was particularly keen to detect any misbehavings in her parents.
And she has kept that habit ever since, which has forced us to pay special attention
to our own posture and manners at meal times. In this context we also try to teach
our children to take their daily mistakes to our heavenly Father during the night-
time prayer. Every one of our children has his or her reserved time to ask for for-
giveness during our evening prayer before going to bed, and we see how well they
receive it if we as parents also include our failures of the day in these prayers.
Foremost for the development of friendship between ourselves and our chil-
dren, we need to reserve time for them and to listen to our children. Blessed Jose-
maría has taught us to always have an open ear for our children. If we do not devel-
op the sensibility to listen to our children, even in the middle of the night or during
our ‘precious’ time of reading the newspaper, we do not had our priorities in the

right order. I remember numerous occasions when my wife or I finally found the
time to sit down and read the ‘well deserved’ newspaper or book we have been
waiting for, when within seconds we became buried under a load of children clam-
bering on our laps and shoulders. It oftentimes requires an aspiration to realize
how unimportant the newspaper is compared to five minutes playtime with the
kids.
The spirit of Blessed Josemaría has also prompted us to take time for our
marriage and to reserve precious moments for ourselves as a couple to deepen
our bonds and relationship in marriage. In addition to all other considerations,
we also view our deep unity as the foundation for being able to speak as one voice
in front of the children, which is so important for their spiritual development and
their psychological strength.
Blessed Josemaría always taught us to keep things in the right order4; God
first and then the others, in our case as mother and father, our spouse first, and
then our children. And we can only explain this order to our children if we also
stick to it in our daily life. And since Blessed Josemaría knew what he was talking
about, he also told us to explain to the little ones, if we are too busy with some-
thing important, that we will listen to them in ten minutes or later. Put into daily
practice, it means that usually after two to three corrections for their interrup-
tions I realize that it would be worth the short time it takes to explain to my chil-
dren why I am busy for now and for how much longer I will not be available for
them because there are other obligations to which I have to attend in addition to
being their father. And surprisingly they understand very well, and even better if
I ask our Mother Mary or their guardian angel for help in this matter.
Another main virtue Blessed Josemaría encouraged us to develop together
with our children is sincerity, since it is the foundation of every real friendship.
For him sincerity had to be to extreme5. He has urged us to be radically sincere
both in our interior life and also with our children. Why should we not talk to our
children about the economic situation in which we live? Why should we not let
them participate in our sorrows and our joys at work, if we want them to share
their experiences from kindergarten or high school with us? We have many times
been surprised by the maturity of our children in their ability to preserve certain
stories within our family. For example we have always tried to inform our extend-
ed family first about the arrival of a new baby. And the older children understand
very well why and how they should not talk about the new baby — despite their
4 Cfr. ibidem, 91.

5 Cfr. Furrow, 148, 323-339; The Forge, 127.
own excitement — to the friends and neighbours until all grandparents and aunts
and nephews know about it.
Especially in the area of the ‘facts of life’ Blessed Josemaría presented a
very strong argument for sincerity from the first moments onwards. He used to
say jokingly that he personally had killed all storks in order to relieve the children
of the world from the myths about where babies come from. If we want the chil-
dren to confront their own sexuality with a healthy pride and to realize the holi-
ness of life and of their own bodies, we need to tell them the truth from the very
beginning, always, of course, according to their understanding and their age.
Admittedly, it has not always been easy to try to adjust sexual education to our
children’s age, especially in today’s society where public sexual education starts in
kindergarten. But what we have found is, that by answering the simple questions
with sensitivity, there and then, every child understands the wonders of life
according to his or her own intellectual and mental ability.
Blessed Josemaría wanted the homes of Christian couples to be ‘bright and
cheerful’6. For our family this means two main things: first of all, forgiveness. He
always encouraged us parents to never argue in front of our children. “I would
advise parents never to quarrel in front of their children. They can remind each
other of this with a certain word, a look or a gesture. If they can’t avoid the argu-
ment altogether, they can at least put it off til later when they are more calm. The
family atmosphere should be one of peace between husband and wife because it
is a necessary condition for a deep and effective education”7.
If we need to disagree, we should do it alone, face to face, and if there are
ever strong arguments we need to immediately forgive — because it is always the
fault of the two of us — and the one who thinks that he or she is right should rec-
oncile first. The wonderful result of this way of dealing with your marital dis-
agreements is that, after apologizing truly for your behavior you can really forget
about the incident, and you can be sure of your spouse’s apology too. In addition,
Blessed Josemaría has always recommended taking these struggles and argu-
ments to the holy sacrament of confession, which is truly the final means to wipe
out any deep-lying anger that might remain within your heart.
Blessed Josemaría has always shown us how to use good humor to improve
the atmosphere in our homes. Good humor can easily blow away many problems
of daily life that we would otherwise see as obstacles for reconciliation or loving
in our family. It is — both from a human and from a supernatural perspective —
so much easier to joke around with the children when they need to clean up their
6 Cfr. Christ is passing by, 22, 27.


room or get ready to go to bed, than to play the army general and obtain the
desired result of five children in bed by shouting and military discipline.
Blessed Josemaría has repeatedly shown that among the most precious
moments of Christian life are those when you are able to encounter Christ with-
in the people surrounding you by sacrificing your selfishness and laziness for love
and devotion towards others. And the biggest sacrifice in these situations is many
times — as Blessed Josemaría has often reminded us — simply a smile for your
children who are eager to tell you about their newest addition to an innumerable
collection of artworks or the latest jokes circulating in kindergarten. Seeing
Christ in my wife and children enables me to overcome temptations to laziness
and selfishness many times and also helps our family to unite and prosper in this
presence of Christ.
Part of devotion to the family and to the culture of life relates, of course, to
the question of the number of children a contemporary Christian family should
have. We have gone through this questioning ourselves. Blessed Josemaría,
reflecting the teaching of the Church on procreation, has given us clear guidance
in a simple and beautiful manner: “I ask married couples not to block the well-
springs of life and I invite them to have enough supernatural outlook and courage
to bring up a large family if it is God’s will”8 and, citing a well known proverb
from his homeland Aragon: “Every child brings a loaf of bread under his arm!”.
This teaching reflects for us clearly his approach towards all things on earth: full
confidence in God’s Providence and at the same time use of all possible licit
human means.
Like another saint of our days, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who said that
“the family that prays together, stays together”, Blessed Josemaría strongly rec-
ommended praying together as a family: both aloud as a couple and with the chil-
dren, but that the children also see us in personal prayer, so that they see and
experience the presence of Christ in our lives9. At the same time, he has, howev-
er, always insisted that we need to respect to the fullest degree the freedom of our
children in their own spiritual life. He has reminded parents repeatedly not to
push their children towards a certain spiritual way and encouraged them to instill
in their children, from the very beginning, an understanding of true freedom,
which will enable them later on to freely and willingly decide their spiritual way
and build their relationship with Christ.
Overall, the teachings of Blessed Josemaría have given very many good
arguments and tips for our married life and for the education of our children.
8 Ibidem, 94.
9 Cfr. ibidem, 103.
However, besides all the wonderful results of the psychological and educational
sciences, one thing stands clearly as the key message from Blessed Josemaría: with
all our own failures and mistakes — and we quite surely know that we will never
be perfect spouses or parents — without the divine help of Our Lord Jesus Christ
and our continuous communication with Him, we would fail in our most basic
task: to lead our spouse and children on the path to sanctity toward their eternal
glory. Blessed Josemaría has shown us how to fulfill this ideal by sanctifying the
daily efforts within our marriage and family life. And God will use our tiny efforts
to fulfill the Redemption of his own Son Jesus Christ in the souls of so many men
and women in today’s world.
Blessed Josemaría has promised that we will find joy and peace in our
Christian vocation as a family, if we sincerely follow Christ’s path in the way it was
foreseen by Him, and encounter Christ personally in our families and children. I
think we can confirm this promise.

The Evolution of Family Life
in Ivory Coast in Light of the
Teachings of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá
Eliane Ekra
Professor of Family Studies, Catholic University of West Africa.
In all parts of our modern world, society is in crisis: economic crisis, politi-
cal crisis, social and familial crisis. In my country, we often say that “when the West
sneezes, Africa catches a cold”. This is because our continent is affected the most
by all of these types of crises, above all in that which is most essential, the family.
Very early on, God allowed Blessed Josemaría to see the importance of
marriage, conceived as a way of sanctity. From that point on, his teachings
accorded a primary place to the family and its inestimable benefits in the true
realization of each person, and to the personal responsibility of each member of
the family to reach this goal.
Truth, by nature, compels recognition. As a consequence, private and
group initiatives to promote the family have arisen on all five continents, includ-
ing in Ivory Coast, a country which has a Catholic minority. Many such initiatives
aim to share with all people the conjugal and familial ideals that the founder of
Opus Dei proposed.
1. THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS

In our tradition, marriage is even more the affair of the extended family
than that of the actual individuals called to form a family. This conception of the
family derives from the fact that in Africa the individual is identified and often
valued by the groups to which he or she belongs: by his or her lineage, age group,
the size of his or her family, etc. Such considerations are very relevant in ordinary
African society. As a consequence of this outlook, most people see marriage as
53
being oriented towards having children, with a view to revitalizing society, rein-
forcing the number of families united in the community, and in rural areas,
increasing the labour force. Africans even have recourse to polygamy in order to
further this end.
The government of Ivory Coast passed a number of laws in the early years
of political independence with the aim of providing the country with a stable and
viable family unit for all the inhabitants of our country1. For example in 1964,
monogamous unions and the nuclear family were legislated in order to protect
Ivorian women and to inaugurate the advent of a modern form of society. For var-
ious reasons, these important modifications of the basic unit of society have not
taken root everywhere, and this has engendered several major problems:
a) At the Level of the Family Unit
Even if the crisis of the family is not always noticeable in rural communi-
ties, it is certainly evident in the city. One indicator of this is the fact that engage-
ment periods scarcely exist anymore. It used to be that the parents would decide
who would be one’s marriage partner. The children of today exercise more free-
dom in this area all the time. As a result, some couples now ‘skip’ over necessary
steps in order to live together, and to have so-called ‘protected’ sexual relations.
It is well known that marriage is not always a storybook romance. The
wide variety of religions and ethnic groups in Ivory Coast contributes to different
conceptions of marriage and the family and creates various challenges for the
family. Wives and children often lack the fulfillment that they should find in the
family for various reasons, including the lack of communication between spous-
es, and between parents and children. Another serious problem for the unity of
the family is the fact that all too often the father is absent from the family because
he is being ‘shared’ between various homes, despite the law regarding monogamy.
A third problematic situation occurs when the husband dies, leaving his widow
as the head of the family but without the benefit of the family property, since it is
regarded as belonging to the man’s family.
The Western model of the nuclear family does not really exist in Ivory Coast,
and this is not a bad thing in itself. However the urban setting, which provides very
little space compared to the open spaces that Africans are used to, often contributes
to excessive proximity between families and a corresponding lack of privacy.
1 Ivory Coast contains close to sixty different ethnic groups.
54 - ELIANE EKRA
The increasing poverty of disadvantaged families in urban settings leads
young children to live away from home, as they have to venture out in search of
their daily bread. Despite reminders from the government that young children
are not to be placed in such circumstances, this situation does not bother parents
because they do not have the means to ensure their children a ‘better existence’
at home. These uneducated and often wounded children can be dangerous to
themselves and to society. Still other children are bereft of the benefits of family
life because they go away to school.
Another problematic situation is that of the increasing number of children
born to single mothers. These children are often left completely in the care of
their grandparents. In general, broken families are more and more numerous in
Ivory Coast.
Unfortunately, the psychological situation of these children seems to
escape the adults who are responsible for them, since these circumstances and
ways of life are still quite new in Africa.
b) At the Level of the School
Despite the influence of Western models, Ivory Coast, like other Third
World countries (with the exception of Gabon), remains a child-oriented society
with a birth rate of 6.5 children per woman. This is one of the highest averages in
the world (47%). While Ivorians rightly remain open to life, they all too often
abandon their responsibilities in the education of their children. The fact that
schools exist to aid and complement the educational efforts of parents seems to
be largely overlooked. Furthermore, the disproportion between the increase in
the population of school aged children and the existing educational structures
does not favour adequate student placement in schools. While it is possible to
send children to school, girls are often left to fend for themselves as boys are
given priority with regards to educational opportunities.
Other problems include the fact that the goals of the schools are often
scarcely perceptible in either the teachers or the school admininistrators who are
in charge of implementing them. Finally, the physical environments of the schools
are also not very conducive to true education in ethical and civic values, as they
tend to be located near markets, restaurants, dance clubs, and the like.
THE EVOLUTION OF FAMILY LIFE IN IVORY COAST - 55

c) At the Level of Society
Democracy which has been badly assimilated and misapplied by a sizeable

rural population has led to the development of a rather violent and intolerant
society. This type of society is very much at odds with our traditional societies,
wherein conflicts are regulated according to a hierarchy of values such as respect
for elders, and the wisdom of each generation.
Our society has furthermore become a consumer of whatever comes from
the countries of the North: both products and attitudes. As a result, many fami-
lies no longer speak their local languages, young people get married later and
later in life, and many youth adopt lifestyles which do not correspond to African
customs or traditions.
2. PERSONAL ADHERENCE TO THE TEACHINGS OF BLESSED JOSEMARÍA
In examining the life of Blessed Josemaría through the heritage (the wit-
ness of his personal life, his works, etc.) which he left to the universal Church and
to men of good will, and in attentively analyzing the testimonies of those who
knew him, it is easy to see that the family setting in which he grew up greatly con-
tributed to the forging of his convictions on the importance of the family in the
development and fulfilment of the individual. These teachings have subsequent-
ly been confirmed by the Magisterium of the Church. Indeed, it was in the heart
of the family that Blessed Josemaría first experienced and witnessed love, the
necessity of having parents as models, work begun and finished well, contradic-
tions accepted with joy, and suffering and the Cross.
In effect, the family (father, mother, brother, sisters) was the basis of the
education (human, intellectual, spiritual) of the truly charismatic leader whom we
know as Blessed Josemaría. He was a man who for his part, knew how to guide
countless men and women from every continent towards very elevated ideals, and
to enlighten them about conjugal love. As he said: “It is important for married
people to acquire a sense of the dignity of their vocation. They must know that
they have been called by God not only to human love but also to a divine love,
through their human love. It is important for them to realize that they have been
chosen from all eternity to cooperate with the creative power of God by having
and then bringing up children. Our Lord asks them to make of their home and
their family life a testimony to all of the Christian virtues” [...].
“I shall never tire of repeating that marriage is a great and marvellous
divine path. Like everything divine in us, it calls for response to grace, generosi-
56 - ELIANE EKRA
ty, dedication and service. Selfishness, in whatever shape or form, is opposed to
the love of God which ought to govern our lives”2.
He taught that all Christians, in their capacity as citizens and using all the
means legitimately available to them, should make their voices heard and make
their rights be justly respected on such important issues. This is no different than
what St. Paul told the Philippians, when he advised Christians to shine in the
midst of this perverse and depraved generation as ‘stars in the world’3.
In my case, I felt that the invitation of Blessed Josemaría was clear and that
I had to respond to it as a person, with all of my faculties: with my intelligence,
using it to discover the truth; with my will, adhering totally and actively to the
good; with my memory, remembering the characteristics of great men and women
who have been ‘leaven’ for entire generations; and with my imagination, seeing
how I could adopt a lifestyle which would also be inviting to others.
3. THE APOSTOLATE OF THE FAMILY IN IVORY COAST
The founder of Opus Dei continuously taught since 1934 that marriage
must be considered to be an authentic way of sanctity, a true vocation4. This
teaching has enabled many to understand that family life is a means for their own
sanctification, for the sanctification of the members of the family, and for the
sanctification of family friends. This new illumination also challenges certain
established ways of practising the faith, which can be more individual than col-
lective. For example, it can be difficult to see marriage in this light when sur-
rounded by so many mixed marriages (Catholic/Muslim, Catholic/animist,
Catholic/non-Catholic Christians, etc.). From the perspective of Blessed Jose-
maría’s teachings, one can see that it is in fact the entire family that must unite its
efforts to help each member live a common adventure through the thousand and
one things of ordinary life at home: taking part in family tasks, creating a bright
and cheerful home, supporting one another through joys and sorrows, and help-
ing one another with fraternal correction.
2 Conversations, 93
3 Cfr. Phil 2:15-16.
4 Cfr. The Way, 27.

a) Family Development Activities
In order to spread the message of Blessed Josemaría — which is intended

for all — various methods have been used for over a decade by an organization to
which I belong called A.F.E., Association Famille Education, and by its individual
members. A.F.E. is the fruit of the commitment of a group of parents in contact
with Opus Dei. The apostolate of friendship and confidence forms the basis of all
of our work. This is because we believe that this is one of the best ways to really
help those around us in a climate of freedom.
Our activities include talks, adapted to the audience present, in different
neighbourhoods of Abidjan and in the interior of the country. Topics include
engagement, the importance of marriage, conjugal love and procreation, educa-
tion of children, the role of the woman in the home, the responsibility of children
in education, family communication, and following a family budget.
We also offer short courses on family issues for engaged and married cou-
ples. While the majority of the participants are Catholic, there are also Muslims
and Christians of other denominations who want to learn how they can con-
tribute to the happiness of their families by studying real cases under the direc-
tion of an experienced moderator. The objectives include helping parents to set
educational objectives for their children, and to use the appropriate means for
each stage of development by analyzing the characteristics and needs of each age
group. We also encourage their collaboration with other societal institutions,
above all with the school.
This apostolate of the family is also open to youth, who are the future of
the nation. Two centres in Abidjan and two others in Yamoussoukro present
appropriate settings for the development of youth through various activities.
Academic activities include courses which complement their classes at school,
visits to different workplaces, and meetings with local personalities in order to
broaden the horizons of these future decision-makers. These centres also offer
human and cultural formation through talks and conferences, and spiritual for-
mation, which is entrusted to the Prelature of Opus Dei.
On December 1st 2000, we inaugurated the first Annual Family Day with
80 families, who met to consider the topic of ‘The Place of the Family in
Today’s Society’. In 2001, 150 families attended activities which had for their
theme, ‘Conjugal Love, Source of Family Development’ for adults, and ‘The
Responsibility of Youth in Family Development’ for youth. Children also
attended educational activities according to three different age groups. These
activities teach about the true nature of marriage and the family, based on the
teachings of the Catholic Church on these issues. The workshop discussions,
carried out in a spirit of friendship and fraternity, contribute to the rehabilita-
58 - ELIANE EKRA
tion of the family, which is fundamental for any long-lasting social develop-
ment.
b) Apostolate through the Media
The presence of the A.F.E. in the media is more and more important, since
we need to use the same means used by the ‘children of darkness’ in order to
‘drown evil in an abundance of good’5. For this reason, we started a magazine
called Notre famille (Our Family) in order to carry out an apostolate of the fami-
ly in accordance with the teachings of Blessed Josemaría. We publish articles in
the leading newspapers of the country in order to express our views on the cen-
tral topics of current affairs such as marriage, abortion, cloning, and AIDS. Our
members also appear on national radio and television programmes, and we pro-
duce and moderate weekly (‘La mere educatrice’) and monthly (‘A l’école de la
famille’ and ‘Paroles des femmes’) radio programmes on Radio-Espoir.
4. THE RESULTS
While it is certainly premature to carry out an in-depth evaluation of the

effects of our activities in the field of the apostolate of the family, we can never-
theless share some results which give a very positive indication. We believe that
we are helping to bring about the advent of a new model of parents, who feel
entrusted with a mission regarding their children and their society due to:
— The increase in the number of registrations for our family activities, after
an initially weak start;
— The inundation of the telephone lines of Radio-Espoir due to the numer-
ous calls being received, and the increasing number of taped broadcasts
being ordered;
— The effort that families are now making to spend leisure time together;
— The faithful participation of couples in the courses and their efforts to
make their influence felt in their milieux, conscious of living in accordance
with true values, thereby going against the tide in a permissive society;
— The fact that communication between husbands and wives, and between
parents and children, is beginning to take root. This is an evolving process,
5 Furrow, 864.

which could seem like a revolution, when one considers families where the
only type of communication which occurred before were arguments; and
— The evidence that our youth centres are literally taken by storm during the
holidays, and that the organizers of the activities can even be selective in
their choice of participants.
5. CONCLUSION
To conclude, we can say that if the situation of the family is at times pre-
sented in a pessimistic way, it is to show that there is still a lot to do in the Ivory
Coast. Ours is a long-term project that requires the perseverance that Blessed
Josemaría advised in all human action. A tree planted with loving care will pro-
duce good fruit. Man, this dynamic being, “is born, grows and dies like a per-
son”6 in the heart of the centre of intimacy and openness which is the family. The
family is the basic unit where social, cultural and spiritual values are passed on. It
is the place where the personality is forged, of the one who is a child today, and
who will be a leader tomorrow.
To love the family and to struggle to promote it is indispensible. As the
Pope has pointed out, loving the family means recognizing the dangers and the
evils which threaten it in order to overcome them, and working to ensure an envi-
ronment which is favourable for its development7. Consequently, all of us are
called to defend the family against the dangers it currently faces, and we should
always be aware of this mission, since both the development and sanctity of the
family depends on each one of us.
6 P.J. VILADRICH, Agonía del Matrimonio Legal, Pamplona 1989, p. 196 (my traslation).
7 Cfr. JOHN PAUL II, Letter to Families.
60 - ELIANE EKRA
The Meaning of Love:
Some Personal Reflections
Parehuia Tutua-Nathan
A Maori housewife with five children, she is the author of Woman as the Ridgepole of the
Family.
I do not speak as an authority on love and marriage. However, I have come

to feel that sense of authority, or perhaps conviction, that one feels when dealing
with a topic so very close to the heart. If I had to tell you something about love
and the richness of married life fifteen years ago, I would have told you some-
thing quite different from what I am about to share with you today.
1. IN THE BEGINNING
My husband and I met at high school when we were both very young.
Apart from his looks, he also had other good qualities and credentials. He was
very athletic, winning the school cross-country two years in a row, he played
rugby and basketball in the school’s top teams, and he was the school’s head pre-
fect. It seemed like the perfect match as I was deputy head prefect. We were very
much in love and we attracted a great deal of interest from our peers, not to men-
tion the teachers! In fact, we were a bit like the ‘Charles and Diana’ of our day
being hunted by the ‘paparazzi’!
2. MARRIAGE
We were together three years when we began to talk about marriage for the
first time. We got so much enjoyment out of being together and we had come to
know each other pretty well by now, we were ready for marriage — the golden
61
stamp of approval. If we could be happy together for this long, imagine how it
would be for the rest of our lives! However, we opted for a big fancy wedding and
since we were just embarking on our first degrees with very little money, we decid-
ed to wait until we were earning enough to finance our own wedding. That would
mean waiting another three or four years. Our friends assured us that we were
making the right choice — that there was no need to rush into marriage, that we
would have even longer to get to know each other before we took ‘the plunge’.
3. GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER
As time passed, we grew confident that we knew each other’s strengths and
weaknesses. Naturally, we had occasional disputes and arguments. I thought that
he was very untidy and he would accuse me of being too fussy and bossy. I
thought he had the most bizarre cooking methods and taste for food, and I was
always quite forward in telling him. Sometimes, if I felt that I was not gaining any
mileage in the argument (that is, if I was losing), I would deliver the ‘silent treat-
ment’, bang a few cupboards and pots, or nag incessantly. Once I even tried pre-
tending to run away. I waited on the outside stairwell where it was very cold and
dark for him to come and apologise to me. Nothing happened. I gave up, swal-
lowed my pride and walked inside confidently to find him in exactly the same
position that he was in when I left him 20 minutes earlier! And all he could say
with a very cheeky grin was, “Did you put the garbage out while you were out?!”
As we grew to know each other more, we would sometimes argue over the
most trivial of things, and we never really resolved issues. I was still very good at
winning the argument by applying the ‘silent treatment’. Sometimes it went on
for several days. Just keep quiet for a few days and the problem would melt away!
In fact we grew rather accustomed to this style of settling disputes. We let them
dissolve away. We either couldn’t be bothered arguing, or were afraid to go deep-
er for fear of hurting each others’ feelings.
4. CHILDREN
The topic of children became taboo. That was right about the time when
Tikitu announced that he wanted enough children to form a rugby team! I would
always rebuke stubbornly with the response, “No, two children at the most!”
Besides, we had become very accustomed to this lifestyle where we were begin-
ning to earn money, enjoy life, and basically have a whale of a good time! We
wanted to enjoy this for as long as possible. And we were far too young to settle
62 - PAREHUIA TUTUA-NATHAN
down, or be ‘tied down’ with children. The need to capitalise on my independ-
ence was paramount. The images that I had of motherhood were: crying babies
with oatmeal in their hair, spilt milk and butter smeared into the carpet, and
mothers that looked like the walking wounded, trying to control a temper
tantrum in the aisle of the supermarket. I couldn’t possibly see myself trading my
comfortable existence and weekend sleep-ins after a long week at the office, for a
pile of dirty diapers, sleepless nights, sticky fingerprints all over the glass table,
and endless scatterings of toys throughout the house. I was probably the more
resistant one because I had come to believe that it is always the woman who has
to give up her independence and freedom for the sake of the children — not the
man.
We always knew that someday we would want children and we agreed that
marriage had to come first because it seemed like the ‘proper’ thing to do, and
that there were social taboos associated with bearing and raising children out of
wedlock. We weren’t aware of any deeper reasons for it. We just knew we weren’t
ready and were content to just ‘deal with it’ later. I guess we figured that it
belonged in the ‘too hard basket’. Actually, this was very typical of the way we
approached a lot of the greater questions in life, and this became the grounds
upon which we justified our views and choices. We didn’t expend great energy
worrying about, or even discussing, important moral issues like abortion,
euthanasia, suffering, death, or the meaning of life. As far as we were concerned
those were topics for ‘the religious’. Nor did we discuss politics or the future of
our country. We kept our political and moral views to ourselves, sometimes I
think out of fear of interfering in or influencing each others personal points of
view. We didn’t see the relevance of these issues to our relationship or our future.
We would occasionally talk about our work in the office, or solve problems
together that arose at work. A typical evening for us consisted in coming home
from the office, and preparing dinner in a hurry so that we could settle down to
watch our favourite television programmes. Sometimes a hard day at the office
would merit us dinner at our favourite restaurant or a glass of wine at a local bar.
5. FINALLY: MARRIAGE AND THE WEDDING PREPARATIONS
When we finally settled on marriage we had been together for eight years.
I spent those two years excitedly planning our wedding day — my dress, the
bridesmaids’ dresses, the food, the flowers — all the practicalities. We had decid-
ed on a church wedding. Again it seemed like the right thing to do and I was
vaguely aware that it had something to do with ‘God being there’! Even though
my parents had baptised me in the Catholic Church, I was not raised practicing
THE MEANING OF LOVE: SOME PERSONAL REFLECTIONS - 63

my faith. But I was certain that a church wedding would bring that romantic
fairytale dimension that everyone dreams about.
We thought of marriage as a mere social institution. And because we had
little sound direction, we were very easily lead by the opinions and advice of our
friends and the views that pervaded society’s thinking.
As for the topic of children, quite clearly they had no feature in our imme-
diate plans for marriage. The enjoyment of our independence and of our love
together was paramount over having children. Not only was I concerned about
the effort I would have to invest in raising a child (let alone a rugby team!), but I
was also worried about the possibility that I would lose those physical attributes
that had attracted Tikitu to me in the first place. Tikitu and I realised that we real-
ly did want children but w just couldn’t figure where we’d find space for a child
on our inexhaustible wish list which included a car, a house, a career, and those
occasional nights out together.
6. THE TURNING POINT
It was precisely at this point that I was introduced to the teachings of

Blessed Josemaría. Only then did I quickly realise that it was my heart that had no
space for a child. I was really challenged at that point to see the limitations of my
own selfishness, not only in my attitude toward having children, but in my con-
cept of what real love is. Underlying my struggle to come to terms with having a
child was a kind of love that was calculating and cold, one that resists having
demands put on it. Up until now, we had perhaps understood love as a mere sat-
isfaction of emotional, physical and material desire, but at little or no cost what-
soever.
Blessed Josemaría said that it was good to struggle and to be demanding on
ourselves. Those who love God and get to know Him intimately will learn to
struggle with good cheer and will facilitate the way of sanctity for others. Love
God and you will struggle cheerfully. That seemed like a very simple message and
he made it look simple because he loved God with all his heart and he showed this
love by going about his daily work with so much naturalness and cheerfulness. I
came to admire his example as a servant of God who lived a selfless life of love
carried out through work, prayer and sacrifice. Contrary to my belief that happi-
ness and struggle were opposed to each other, Blessed Josemaría showed me how
it was possible to marry pain and suffering with happiness and fulfillment. His
modern day example of Christ — teaching me how to love the way God loves —
unselfishly, forgivingly, and infinitely, was probably the most powerful catalyst
which lead to a reassessment of my worldview. I continued to read his works,
becoming increasingly convinced that in order to be truly happy, I had to aban-
don myself in the hands of God, and live my faith to the full. I began attending
Mass on a regular basis and I fell head over heels in love again — with God!
7. WONDERFUL NEWS
I’ll never forget the day I found out that Tikitu and I were expecting our
first child. Tikitu was working in Wellington at that time. I was so overwhelmed
with joy. I raced home to call him. I had been reading something very beautiful
that Blessed Josemaría wrote and I remembered it so vividly in these moments —
that God sends children to couples because he trusts them. I truly believed that
God was telling us something.
8. PAIN, SORROW AND JOY: A LESSON LEARNT
Then, some weeks later, Tikitu and I suffered tremendously when I mis-
carried. At a point where I was just starting to trust in God, I felt betrayed. But I
did not lose sight of God — I kept praying and reading Blessed Josemaría’s writ-
ings. I shared what I was learning with Tikitu. I was still confused and searching,
but never became bitter. Humanly speaking, it was a very difficult time — but the
grace of God helped me to trust in His mercy. Above all, I think the experience
taught Tikitu and I a very valuable lesson — that human life is very precious —
so we should never close the doors to life. Accept children openly. From that
point on we never said ‘no’ to bringing a new life into the world, and we are so
grateful to God for the gift of our first son that followed a year later. The birth of
our first child was undoubtedly the most incredible experience that Tikitu and I
will ever encounter together in this life. And I think that that was the moment
when Tikitu and I truly realised the extent of God’s love for us. We have never
looked back and have welcomed all our children lovingly and with an open heart!
9. HARD WORK, STRUGGLE AND SACRIFICE
We soon discovered that raising a child was very hard work! I’m sure every
parent can testify to that. But Blessed Josemaría taught us to struggle in the little
things of ordinary life, particularly the human virtues, because eventually that
struggle will lead us to become better people. Even though being a parent, per-
haps even moreso a mother, is not always a bed of roses, it is a privilege earned

through hard work and perseverance, through continual daily recommitment to
the importance of that work. The experience of parenthood forced us to confront
the very worst in ourselves. I have had to learn to be patient and calm, not only
with the children, but also with Tikitu. And I have learned n to be prudent and to
hold my sharp tongue when I am tired or when he snapped at me because he was
tired. I have had to struggle against my moodiness, pride and stubbornness which
was the cause of many of our arguments, and to struggle against my whims and
superficial fancies. The sacrifices that we have made together for the sake of our
children have helped to make us more united in our love.
Once he arrived home very late without phoning me. Dinner had been
ready for 3/4 hr and it was getting cold. We make it a policy in our house to
always eat dinner together, so the children were hungry waiting for him. The bath
was running, and I was annoyed and certainly in no mood to go rushing to the
door to greet him. In fact I remember rehearsing the speech I was going to deliv-
er when he arrived, and I was going to be certain that he took over the bathing of
the children since he was so late. But instead when he arrived I gave one glance at
the small gold crucifix hanging on the wall, asked God to help me to be calm, and
scurried to the door with the children to greet him with a kiss.
10. GROWING IN VIRTUE
There have been many moments when I have wanted to ‘quit’ being a
mother, but I realize that my moments of inadequacy have also been my biggest
opportunities to grow in virtue. Sometimes when things were difficult I would
ask God for help. As Blessed Josemaría taught, it is precisely by the conversion of
our struggle into prayer, that we overcome the daily battles of life with optimism,
hope and continual love — this is the foundation of human strength and happi-
ness. My love for Tikitu has grown so much and I have come to eventually realize
and to understand why it was important for our marriage to be blessed by God in
the beginning — because He gives us all the graces necessary to make it work
through both good and bad times. Because I am better able to deal with my
defects, Tikitu and I have fewer outbursts and we respond much more affection-
ately to each other. Contrary to our beliefs that children would stand in the way
of our relationship, it is precisely the fact of having the children that forces us to
resolve very quickly any differences that we have. We believe the children have
strengthened our marriage. Sometimes they have even helped us to see the fun-
nier side of things.
11. HUMOUR
Blessed Josemaría loved humour and in fact it is very useful in our house-
hold for diffusing anger or hot tempers. Often Tikitu would leave his pyjamas in
the middle of the bedroom floor. I have found that nagging (the thing that my hus-
band reckons women are good at) turns him off, and mini lectures send me fol-
lowing him out the door. However the children have come up with rather novel lit-
tle ways of pointing out our vices. Nothing is funnier, not to mention humbling,
than to see the children perform a role-play of their papa taking off his pyjamas in
the morning. We all have a good laugh and it makes for great family entertainment.
12. LOVE AND DEDICATION AND THE DESIRE

TO HELP EACH OTHER IMPROVE
Blessed Josemaría encouraged married couples to keep themselves wholly

for each other, to keep loving each other, and above all to be dedicated to their
spouse as the person they love and admire more than anyone else. I soon learnt that
by loving Tikitu and expressing my love with generous little deeds, like taking the
time to sit and listen whole-heartedly to him in the evenings, putting a little extra
effort into his meals when he is tired, fussing over him on his birthday, taking a cold
drink to him when he arrives home on a hot afternoon, or planning a romantic din-
ner once in a while, he would be in a much more cheerful disposition to be cor-
rected. Likewise he learnt to do the same for me. We came to realize then, that the
small corrections were motivated by a desire to help each other improve. Blessed
Josemaría encouraged women to spoil their husbands with affection and to teach
the children to lavish love on their fathers. They will eventually steal his heart and
he will be forced to cooperate in their upbringing. This is the key to a married cou-
ple’s human happiness as the children will come to admire and respect the unity
between their parents, and they will be taught so much about love through
parental example. When Tikitu pulls up in the driveway after work, we all rush to
the door to greet him. My four year old daughter likes to be the first to take his
briefcase as she is always keen to see if he is hiding any sweets in there. He’s nor-
mally very tired, and the children are literally jumping and shouting excitedly at
him as he struggles up the stairwell with one on his back, one hanging off his neck
and two others crying at the door because they missed out on a ride! But he can’t
help but smile when we all give him that affectionate kiss at the top of the stairs!

13. ADMIRATION
Tikitu and I try to impress upon the children our admirability for each
other. I always get a laugh or two out of it when Tikitu is forced almost at gun-
point to convince the children how much he loves and admires mummy at seven
o’clock in the morning when I’ve been up all night with a sick child! Often when
we are tired, it is easy to become short with the children and with each other.
These moments have provided us with opportunities to explain to the children
how hard the other parent works to make them happy and how much we love
and admire each other for that. We try not to put each other down in front of the
children and if they do happen to witness the occasional dispute, then we are
more than ready to apologise to each other in front of them. I am absolutely con-
vinced that Tikitu is inspired by our love for him when I see the look on his face
once he realises that the breakfast he was served in bed, with its butter smeared
pancakes of varying sizes, and that flower with the half dead petals was prepared
solely by his 4-year old daughter.
14. A CHEERFUL HOME
I make an effort to make our home comfortable and aesthetically appeal-

ing, and the atmosphere cheerful with regular family get-togethers and fun events
in the evening after dinner. I try to teach the children of its importance not only
for the sake of ourselves, but because God is also a guest in our house, and a very
important one too. I like to remind the children also that papa needs a comfort-
able, happy home to come home to after working so hard all day. And he needs
to see that his family is happy and full of joy. The extra detail extends beyond the
home environment to keeping myself looking good for Tikitu as well.
Making a home cheerful requires effort and self-control. I have to make
demands on myself to be orderly so as to avoid causing chaos in the family. I have
had to try to exercise a bit of self-control when talking with friends on the phone,
otherwise the children get up to all sorts of crazy antics like the day the children
tried to make cereal for their dinner. Consequently Tikitu arrived at the gate to
the smell of burnt meat, a house full of ill-tempered individuals and toys that
looked like they’d been tossed by a tornado! There have been many moments like
these and I have learnt some lessons from them. But as Blessed Josemaría taught,
we have to assess and reassess ourselves everyday. We can always learn from our
mistakes and begin again, every day with God — each day trying to be a bit bet-
ter than the previous. We need to ask ourselves constantly, where did I go wrong?
How can I improve? What do I need to change?
15. CONCLUDING REMARKS
It goes without saying that the richness I have discovered in our married
life is something I learnt about through the teachings of Blessed Josemaría. The
selfish, idealistic view of love I saw through those rose-coloured lenses has
matured and found a fullness of expression through our renewed commitment to
each other. We cannot imagine how our married life would be without children.
The fact of having children has lead us to have to dedicate ourselves generously
to something we consider to be worthwhile. I might still have been calculating my
way into the new millenium if I had not discovered Blessed Josemaría’s message!
I know for sure that apart from enriching our marriage, our children have also
given to our parents (their grandparents) a future that they can always look for-
ward to. Their youthfulness and thirst for life are full of zeal as a result of having
grandchildren. Our children are our most valued assets, the most treasured of all
our projects.
Having learnt from the mistakes of our past, our task is now to teach them
how to love with a generous heart. We know from our own experience, that we
have to be that example for them. We want their lives to be driven by their faith
and their love of God. We have every confidence that they will grow up to be fine
men and women who are prepared to give themselves at the service of God. But
this confidence is inspired not by wishful thinking alone, but by hard work, strug-
gle and sacrifice on our part as their parents. There are moments when I have felt
the urge to give up — that is human nature. That is why I am so grateful to God
for the gift of Blessed Josemaría, who will always remind us never to give up.
Keep struggling, keep working hard. The fruit will be your sanctity. That was his
message to everyone.

II. Construir culturas de vida
Building up Cultures of Life

Introducción
Paul Swope
Fundador del “Pro-Life Youth International, Harvard-Radcliff Students For Life”, ha sido Direc-
tor ejecutivo de “Massachusetts Citizens For Life”. Actualmente es Director de “The Caring Foun-
dation”.
El título de este workshop procede del magisterio de Juan Pablo II, que ha
sido siempre un defensor valiente y compromotido de la dignidad de toda perso-
na. Al referirse a un tema que tiene gran resonancia en el pensamiento ético
moderno, el Papa nos recuerda su fundamento último: todo ser humano ha sido
creado a imagen y semejanza de Dios y, por tanto, cada persona lleva en sí misma
la imagen divina. Cada ser humano debe ser respetado y tratado de acuerdo con
su verdadera dignidad, y nunca como medio o instrumento para un fin, aunque
ese fin sea en sí mismo noble o útil.
Estas verdades fundamentales son particularmente relevantes en estos
momentos, cuando el hombre y la vida humana son objeto de fríos cálculos diri-
gidos a medir la llamada “eficiencia”. La verdadera dignidad de la persona se ve
aún más oscurecida en el caso de los no nacidos, los enfermos terminales o las
personas discapacitadas, cuya apariencia exterior no parecería revelar, en princi-
pio, su origen divino y su destino eterno. La pérdida de la dimensión trascenden-
tal del ser humano ha tenido como resultado la convicción, por parte de algunos,
de que está justificado tratar a otros como simples objetos, siempre y cuando tales
personas estén de acuerdo o no les sea posible disentir. Actualmente, el respeto
por la dignidad humana se reduce con frecuencia al respeto por el derecho a la
libre elección que ejerce la persona, y no se considera a las personas sobre las que
recae esa elección y que son afectadas por ella.
Si bien el respeto por el derecho a elegir puede llevar implícito el respeto
por la dignidad de la persona, no siempre es así. Esto se debe al hecho de que la
libertad no es la única característica de la naturaleza humana y a que no se ejerce
en abstracto. Por el contrario, el valor y la autenticidad de la libertad son insepa-
73
rables de su relación con la verdad objetiva y de los efectos que se desprenden de
su ejercicio, tanto a nivel individual como social.
Ciertamente, la elección que lleva a cabo una persona no es simplemente
expresión de su libertad personal. Una elección siempre causa un efecto —no
necesariamente positivo— en la identidad de la propia persona y en el mundo. Lo
anterior es especialmente cierto en aquellos casos que tienen relación con el cuer-
po humano. Esto es así porque las personas no sólo poseen un cuerpo: éste forma
parte intrínseca de su ser corpóreo-espiritual. Más aún, nos reconocemos mutua-
mente a través de nuestros cuerpos, antes todavía de que nos lleguemos a reco-
nocer por medio de nuestros pensamientos o elecciones. En realidad, no es posi-
ble mostrar respeto a un ser humano sin respetar su dimensión corporal, pues
constituye un vestigio o representación de la imagen de Dios que se encuentra en
toda persona.
El respeto efectivo a toda persona depende en gran medida del reconoci-
miento de estas verdades en los ámbitos social y cultural y, entre otras cosas, de
la posibilidad de canalizar nuestros esfuerzos —científicos y tecnológicos, socia-
les y políticos— de tal manera que el progreso sirva verdaderamente a la huma-
nidad, en vez de ponerla en peligro. A lo largo del siglo pasado, hemos presen-
ciado innumerables tragedias que han sido el resultado de una concepción
unidimensional de la dignidad humana y de la libertad. Hoy, cuando necesitamos
reflexionar y actuar, para contrarrestar los efectos negativos de una concepción
errada de la libertad, es un buen momento para considerar lo que puede aportar
la vida y las enseñanzas del Beato Josemaría Escrivá al gran reto de construir cul-
turas para la vida.
Tal vez la aportación más significativa del Beato Josemaría en favor de la
vida es la inspiración que ofrece. El mensaje de la santificación en la vida ordina-
ria es perfectamente compatible con las principales líneas de pensamiento y con
los valores de nuestro tiempo, particularmente, su gran aprecio por la libertad
junto con el entusiasmo y amor por el mundo; y todo esto sin perder nunca de
vista la raíz evangélica. Es más, el Fundador del Opus Dei tiene siempre en cuen-
ta las dimensiones humanas desde una perspectiva teológica; es decir, concibe la
vida de todo ser humano desde el contexto de su relación personal con Dios.
Por tanto, al facilitar la comprensión de que la vida ordinaria tiene un sus-
tento divino y que todos los aspectos de la cultura humana deben y pueden ser
concebidos desde el punto de vista del amor de Dios por su Creación, el mensa-
je del Beato Josemaría nos permite reconstruir desde dentro —es decir, con liber-
tad personal— los lazos entre Dios y el mundo. Por otro lado, al destacar la rea-
lidad sobrenatural de la filiación divina del cristiano, el Fundador del Opus Dei
anima a los fieles laicos a mantener completa, por decirlo de alguna manera, la
Creación, a través del trabajo ordinario y de su participación en todas las activi-
74 - PAUL SWOPE
dades humanas honestas. Así, todo hombre contribuirá a restablecer y aumentar
la belleza original de la Creación.
En otras palabras, el Beato Josemaría presenta el mensaje del Evangelio de
una manera que nos permite entender al ser humano como dueño y señor de la
Creación, especialmente cuando es consciente de su condición de hijo de Dios.
Tal perspectiva lleva a la conclusión de que el hombre tiene la responsabilidad de
preocuparse por la vida, y en particular, por la vida humana y de fomentarla, para
que los avances tecnológicos y científicos no sean obstáculo a su dignidad.
La construcción de las culturas de la vida tiene su núcleo, por lo tanto, en
la conciencia de estas realidades. El Beato Josemaría se refería con frecuencia a la
tarea de los cristianos en el mundo como a una «guerra de paz y amor»1. En efec-
to, si Dios es Amor y somos hijos suyos, hemos de vivir la vida cotidiana inten-
tando profundizar en esta relación filial, para que su amor nos fortalezca y así
podamos compartirlo con quienes nos rodean. Pero el alcance del origen divino
del hombre va más allá: todos los acontecimientos de cada día están llamados a
tener un sentido divino. Las enseñanzas del Beato Josemaría ayudan a profundi-
zar en este sentido de filiación divina y en la conciencia de que la experiencia lle-
vará naturalmente a impulsar iniciativas que fomenten la vida, en ejercicio de la
libertad individual y en medio de las circunstancias cotidianas. Los testimonios
que se presentaron en este workshop constituyen un ejemplo unitario y, a la vez,
variado de la siguiente dinámica: la vida interior es fuente de una intensa activi-
dad en el mundo.
Participan en el workshop denominado Construir culturas de vida ocho
panelistas de siete nacionalidades. Estos hombres y mujeres manifiestan lo que es
una vida inspirada y transformada por el mensaje del Beato Josemaría Escrivá.
Ciertamente, uno de los beneficios de un Congreso de este estilo es compartir el
poder que fluye de una vida de oración, con la esperanza de que otros sigan el
mismo camino. Como el Beato Josemaría solía decir: «obras son amores y no
buenas razones»2. A continación, presento a los ocho participantes, que con sus
vidas nos demuestran a qué se puede llegar cuando una persona se compromete
a una vida de oración y servicio en la vida corriente.
El Profesor Samuel B. Adeloju, de Australia, trabaja para ayudar a sus
alumnos de Química y Estudios del Medio Ambiente a descubrir que «si hemos
de resolver los problemas globales del medio ambiente, necesitamos ampliar
nuestro interés para incluir en nuestro estudio las necesidades espirituales, socia-
les y morales de la persona». El Profesor Adeloju nos ilustró con un ejemplo con-
1 Cfr. Es Cristo que pasa, 76.

2 Cfr. Amigos de Dios, 72.
INTRODUCCIÓN - 75
creto cómo ayudó a cierta comunidad local a defenderse contra los efectos de una
planta procesadora de desechos. Le ayudó en este empeño la consideración de
estas palabras del Beato Josemaría: «No se ama la justicia, si no se ama verla cum-
plida con relación a los demás. Como tampoco es lícito encerrarse en una religio-
sidad cómoda, olvidando las necesidades de los otros»3.
La siguiente intervención fue la de Jose van Dijck, médico especialista en
cuidados paliativos, que trabaja en Holanda, donde la eutanasia se está difun-
diendo. La Doctora van Dijck mantiene su optimismo gracias a la inspiración que
le ofrece el Beato Josemaría: «No se trata de campañas negativas, ni de ser anti-
nada. Al contrario: vivir de afirmación, llenos de optimismo, con juventud, ale-
gría y paz; ver con comprensión a todos: a los que siguen a Cristo y a los que le
abandonan o no le conocen. Pero comprensión no significa abstencionismo, ni
indiferencia, sino actividad»4.
La Doctora Josephine Kunnacherri, que ha trabajado en India y África,
hizo referencia a la profunda fe de sus padres, que la prepararon para apreciar las
enseñanzas del Beato Josemaría Escrivá. Al igual que otros panelistas, se topó con
la influencia del Opus Dei accidentalmente. En su caso, fue a estudiar a la Uni-
versidad de Navarra, no porque se tratase de una labor apostólica del Opus Dei,
sino por su buena fama y ¡por la respuesta rápida a la solicitud de inscripción que
presentó su padre! En la Universidad, tuvo la oportunidad de trabajar con el
catedrático Juan Jiménez Vargas, uno de los primeros fieles del Opus Dei. Su
ejemplo de buen quehacer profesional y de espíritu de servicio, causó en ella una
gran impresión. En una ocasión, le llamaron a media noche para atender a una
mujer soltera que estaba embarazada. El Doctor Jiménez Vargas acudió rápida-
mente y, con palabras de la Doctora Kunnacherri, «con el cariño de un padre y de
una madre». Aquella mujer, que había pensado abortar, decidió respetar la vida
de su hijo. La Doctora Kunnacherri ha seguido este ejemplo y se ha entregado
por completo a la atención de sus pacientes, manteniéndose firme en la defensa
de la vida en la India, aún en contra de presiones políticas.
Contamos también con la contribución de la Doctora Voltas Baró, médico
y madre de siete hijos, una de las fundadoras de la primera asociación pro-vida en
España. Como resulta frecuente en los que siguen las enseñanzas del Beato Jose-
maría, no sólo comenzó el proyecto sino que fue su principal promotora, traba-
jando con los numerosos grupos que se crearon a partir de entonces. Actualmen-
te dirige la federación de asociaciones pro-vida en España. La Doctora Voltas nos
hizo ver de una manera muy bella que la decisión de asumir una nueva responsa-
3 Es Cristo que pasa, 52.

4 Surco, 864.
76 - PAUL SWOPE
bilidad no suele suceder repentina ni dramáticamente; tampoco como fruto de
una influencia externa. «No tomé la decisión de dedicarme a contruir una cultu-
ra de vida de la noche a la mañana. Traté, en cambio, de aplicar las enseñanzas del
Beato Josemaría: vivir el espíritu de servicio, el deseo de hacer las cosas bien, de
ser útil y de desechar la pereza; de dejarse complicar la vida poco a poco». Así,
muchas organizaciones e individuos en toda España agradecen hoy el mensaje del
Beato Josemaría que inspiró a la Doctora Voltas ¡a “complicarse” la vida!
Mary Hamm, es madre de doce hijos y “madre” también, como ella
misma lo expresa, de dos organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro. Intervino después
de la Doctora Voltas. Con gran viveza y sentido del humor, Mary explicó cómo
fue capaz de atender las exigencias de su vida familiar y hacerlas compatibles
con iniciativas completamente novedosas. Mary descubrió que en la Santa Misa
podía obtener fuerzas para cada día, como enseñaba el Beato Josemaría: «Lucha
para conseguir que el Santo Sacrificio del Altar sea el centro y la raíz de tu vida
interior, de modo que toda la jornada se convierta en un acto de culto. —Pro-
longación de la Misa que has oído y preparación para la siguiente—»5. ¿Cómo es
posible que la madre de una familia tan numerosa considere siquiera la posibili-
dad de involucrarse significativamente en actividades fuera del hogar? Mary res-
ponde: «es precisamente porque tengo doce hijos y siete de ellos son chicas, que
tengo que encontrar el tiempo necesario para luchar por los derechos de las
esposas y madres de familia». Mary es miembro fundador del Instituto Nacional
de la Mujer y asistió a la conferencia de El Cairo de las Naciones Unidas. Poste-
riormente, trabajó como lobbyist en las Naciones Unidas; es fundadora y forma
parte del equipo de un centro local para la atención mujeres con crisis de emba-
razo.
Martha Lorena de Casco, periodista hondureña, fue otra de las panelistas.
Su historia da ánimos a cualquiera que sienta que está trabajando en medio de
dificultades que le superan. El Señor parece haberla preparado de una manera
especial con las dificultades que experimentó en torno al nacimiento de sus hijos.
Fue en estos momentos cuando se dio cuenta que «el Dolor es la piedra de toque
del Amor»6. Martha es la fundadora del primer comité pro-vida en Honduras y
contribuyó eficazmente a detener varios intentos para legalizar el aborto en su
país. Viendo la urgente necesidad de dar una respuesta positiva y bien funda-
mentada a la problemática suscitada por el movimiento de “control de la pobla-
ción”, Martha inició una campaña educativa en esta área. La experiencia le llevó
luego a captar la necesidad de trabajar directamente con mujeres jóvenes y se
dedicó a promover y sostener los centros para la atención de mujeres con crisis de
5 Forja, 69.
6 Camino, 439.
INTRODUCCIÓN - 77
embarazo. Después participó en la coordinación de ayudas para los daminifica-
dos del huracán Mitch, que devastó a su país, e intervino en la Conferencia Mun-
dial de Población en Beijing. A lo largo de toda su carrera ha tenido que hacer
frente a una fuerte oposición por parte de algunos grupos políticos y sociales,
pero Martha se ha sentido siempre fortalecida por las enseñanzas del Beato Jose-
maría: «¿Qué importa que tengas en contra al mundo entero con todos sus pode-
res? Tú... ¡adelante!»7. Concluye: «He aprendido del Beato Josemaría que, aun-
que sea mínimo el bien que podamos hacer en el mundo, tenemos la obligación
de hacerlo. Un verdadero cristiano no hace cálculos egoístas en materia tan
importante».
Intervinieron en el workshop dos personas que hicieron sus presentaciones
desde el público. Uno fue el Doctor Carlos Fernández del Castillo, de México.
Mostró que la antigua y venerable tradición médica, basada en el deseo de curar
y de servir al prójimo, puede ser elevada a un nivel más alto de amor santificador.
El Doctor Fernández del Castillo expresó, de modo elocuente, cómo siendo cató-
lico practicante, llegó a darse cuenta de lo poco que conocía su fe. Los escritos del
Beato Josemaría «enseñan un modo de actuación que hasta entonces yo era inca-
paz de apreciar». El vio, de manera acertada, que «no hay límites a las propias
relaciones con Dios», y que esta relación aporta a todas las áreas de la vida una
mayor alegría y efectividad.
El Profesor español Manuel Ferrer Regales ofreció su experiencia de tra-
bajo en demografía, una ciencia que tantas veces es presentada con un enfoque
pesimista, con poca esperanza hacia el futuro. Aplicando las enseñanzas del
Beato Josemaría, el Profesor Ferrer ha trabajado para ofrecer una visión más
completa de la historia y de la persona humana. Aceptando que las sociedades
deben ejercitarse en un “dominio responsable” de los recursos de la tierra, ve que
hay que dar prioridad a la dignidad y libertad de cada persona. Debido a la
importancia de este mensaje en el mundo de hoy, el Profesor Ferrer, con la noble
ambición y el optimismo que le ha infundido el Beato Josemaría, ha ido más allá
de los círculos académicos y ha trabajado activamente para “lanzarse” a los
medios de comunicación disponibles en la sociedad moderna.
El impacto en la sociedad de personas como estos ocho participantes al
workshop Construir culturas de vida es notable y su efecto es imposible de calcu-
lar. Estos testimonios son lo suficientemente profundos como para ser tema de
oración contemplativa y, al mismo tiempo, han descendido a pormenores tan rea-
les que iluminan la vida práctica. Constituyen un valioso testimonio de la profun-
didad y el valor de la vida y enseñanzas del Beato Josemaría.
7 Ibidem, 482.
78 - PAUL SWOPE
Introduction
Paul Swope
As founding member of ‘Pro-Life Youth International and Harvard-Radcliff Students For Life’, he
has also served as Executive Director of ‘Massachusetts Citizens For Life’. He is currently Direc-
tor of ‘The Caring Foundation’.
The title for this workshop was taken from the writings of Pope John Paul
II, who is a tireless and uncompromising defender of the dignity of every human
person. Addressing the idea of human dignity, which resonates in modern ethical
thought, John Paul II has reminded us of its ultimate foundation: the fact that
every human being has been created in the image and likeness of God, and that
each person bears in him or herself the Divine Image. Each human person must
then be respected and treated in accordance with his or her true dignity, and never
as a means to an end, no matter how noble or useful the end may seem to be.
It is particularly relevant to bring these fundamental truths to mind in our
times, when human beings and human life are so often the subject of cold calcu-
lations based on considerations of ‘efficiency’. The true dignity of the human per-
son is even more easily obscured in the case of the unborn, the severely ill and the
disabled, whose exterior appearance may not immediately indicate their divine
origin and destiny. The loss of the transcendental dimension of the human being
results in individuals believing that they or others can be justified in treating
other persons as if they were objects, as long as the person in question consents
to being treated as such or is not in the position to protest. Contemporary respect
for human dignity is all too often reduced to showing respect for the choices
made by the person, rather than for the person himself or herself.
Even though this respect for human choice may be an implicit recognition
of respect for human dignity, it is of itself insufficient to assure it. This is due to
the fact that human nature does not consist of freedom alone, and because free-
dom is not exercised in the abstract. Rather, the value and authenticity of free-
dom are inseparable from its relationship to objective truth, and to the effects
79
that its exercise bring about in the world, both at the individual and at the social
level.
Indeed, human choices are not only expressions of personal freedom.
These choices always have an impact — and not necessarily a positive one — on
the person’s identity, and on the world. This is especially true for choices that
involve the human body. For human beings do not simply have bodies; rather
their bodies constitute a fundamental and intrinsic part of their very personal cor-
poreal-spiritual beings. Furthermore, we recognize one another in our bodies,
even before we can recognize one another in our thoughts or choices. In reality,
it is not possible to show respect for human beings without showing respect for
their corporal dimension, as it is the vestige or representation of that very image
of God which can be found in every living human being.
Much depends on the recognition of these truths at both the social and the
cultural level, among other things the possibility of channeling our efforts — sci-
entific and technological, as well as social and political — in such a way that
progress truly serves humanity, instead of putting it at risk. Throughout the past
century, we have witnessed countless tragedies resulting from a one-dimensional
conception of human dignity and freedom. Today as we stand so much in need of
further reflection and action in order to counteract the negative effects of this mis-
conception of freedom, we can consider what contributions the life and teachings
of Blessed Josemaría can bring to the great challenge of building up cultures of life.
Perhaps what Blessed Josemaría contributes above all else to work in favor
of life, is inspiration. For his message of sanctification of ordinary life is perfectly
consonant with the main trends and values of our times — particularly with our
great appreciation of freedom and our enthusiasm and love for the world — with-
out losing sight of their roots in the Gospel. On the contrary, the founder of Opus
Dei always considers the human dimension from the theological perspective, that
is, he always views the life of a human being in the context of his or her relation-
ship with God.
Thus, by helping us to understand that ordinary human life is a divine
undertaking, that every aspect of human culture can and should be filled with
God’s love for his Creation, Blessed Josemaría’s message enables us to re-estab-
lish from within — that is, with our personal freedom — the bonds between God
and the world. On the other hand, by emphasizing the supernatural reality of the
Christian’s divine filiation, the founder of Opus Dei encourages ordinary lay men
and women to maintain, and so to speak, complete God’s creation through their
ordinary work and involvement in all human activities, and thereby work to
restore and even increase its original beauty.
In short, Blessed Josemaría’s modern presentation of the Gospel message
enables us to understand that human beings — especially when they are aware of
80 - PAUL SWOPE
their condition as children of God — are now the masters of Creation. And con-
sequently that they have the responsibility to care for and foment life, and human
life in particular, so that the technological and scientific progress we desire may
never jeopardize human dignity.
Involvement in building up cultures of life is thus grounded on this aware-
ness. Blessed Josemaría often referred to the task entrusted to Christians in the
world as a “war of peace and love”1. Indeed, since God is Love, and we are His
children, we must live our everyday lives seeking to develop this relationship with
Him, so that His love can enliven us and thereby be shared with those around us.
For it is not only that human beings have a divine origin. Rather, it is that every
aspect of our day is meant to have divine meaning. Blessed Josemaría’s message
helps each person to develop this sense of divine filiation, being aware that the
experience will then naturally lead to a flowering of life-affirming initiatives,
undertaken by the individual in complete freedom, within his or her own daily
circumstances. The testimonies included in this workshop provide a striking
example of this dynamic: of interior life laying the groundwork for intense exte-
rior activity in the world.
The panel on Building up Cultures of Life consisted of eight individuals
from seven different countries. These men and women represent a wonderful
tapestry of lives that have been inspired and transformed by the message and life
of Blessed Josemaría. Indeed, one of the benefits of such a Congress is that oth-
ers can see the powerful actions that flow from a life of prayer, and hopefully be
inspired to follow the same path. As Blessed Josemaría said: “Love is deeds, not
sweet words”2. Here are eight individuals who demonstrate with the fabric of
their own lives what can be accomplished when a soul is committed to a life of
prayer and service.
Professor Samuel B. Adeloju of Australia works to help his Environmental
Science and Chemistry students to see that “if we are to solve global environmen-
tal problems, we need to expand our concern to include genuine consideration for
the spiritual, social, and moral needs of the human person”. Professor Adeloju
gives a specific example of how he helped a local community defend itself against
a hazardous waste-processing plant. He put aside personal considerations, being
inspired by the words of Blessed Josemaría: “We do not love justice if we do not
wish to see it fulfilled in the lives of others. In the same way, it is wrong to shut one-
self up in comfortable religiosity, forgetting the needs of others”3.
1 Cfr. Christ is Passing By, 76.

3 Christ is Passing By, 52.
INTRODUCTION - 81
Afterwards, we have Jose van Dijck, a doctor of palliative care in Holland,
where euthanasia has taken quite a firm hold. Despite the overwhelming accept-
ance of euthanasia, Dr. van Dijck is able to maintain her optimism, thanks to the
inspiration of Blessed Josemaría, who writes: “It is not a question of negative cam-
paigns, or of being anti-anything. On the contrary, we should live positively, full of
optimism, with youthfulness, joy, and peace. We should be understanding with
everybody, with the followers of Christ and with those who abandon Him, or do
not know Him at all. But understanding does not mean holding back, or remain-
ing indifferent, but being active”4. It was the example of others who lived accord-
ing to the teachings of Blessed Josemaría that brought about a deep conversion in
Dr. van Dijck’s life. She now spends her adult life being that witness to others.
Dr. Josephine Kunnacherri, who has worked as a doctor in India and
Africa, also spoke in the workshop. As with many of the panelists, she refers to
the deep faith of her parents and how they provided her with a Christian educa-
tion that helped her to appreciate the teachings of Blessed Josemaría. Like the
other panelists, she also seemed to stumble upon the influence of the founder of
Opus Dei as if by accident. In her case, she attended the University of Navarre,
not because it was an apostolic work of Opus Dei, but rather because of its solid
professional reputation and its quick reply to her father’s inquiry! At the univer-
sity she happened to work closely with Juan Jimenez Vargas, one of the first faith-
ful of Opus Dei. One example of his spirit of service made a deep impression on
her. He was called at midnight to help a young woman who was pregnant and
unmarried. He went without a word of complaint, and proceeded to help the
woman with — as Dr. Kunnacherri explains — “the love of both a father and a
mother”. This woman, who was planning to abort her child, ultimately chose life
for her child. Dr. Kunnacherri has proceeded to give of herself without reserve to
her own patients, and she has remained a staunch witness for life in India, despite
political pressure.
We also present a contribution from Dr. Dolores Voltas Baro, a doctor and
mother of seven, who felt called to help form the first pro-life association in
Spain, despite her busy professional and domestic life. As is typical of those
inspired by the message of Blessed Josemaría, she not only started the new proj-
ect, but remained its guiding force for decades, working with numerous groups
that have begun since then. She now heads a pro-life federation in Spain. Dr.
Voltas shares how the decision to assume a new responsibility is not something
sudden or dramatic, and neither does it come from some outside influence. “It’s
not that I decided overnight to dedicate myself to building a culture of life.
4 Furrow, 864.
82 - PAUL SWOPE
Rather, the spirit of service, the desire to do things well, to be useful and to leave
laziness behind, as Blessed Josemaría taught, allow one to complicate one’s life bit
by bit”. So many organizations and individuals throughout Spain are now grate-
ful to the message of Blessed Josemaría that inspired Dr. Voltas to ‘complicate’
her life!
Dr. Voltas is followed by Mary Hamm, a mother of 12 children and — as
she puts it — two non-profit organizations. With vividness and humor, Mary
explains how she was able to make the demands of her family life compatible
with new initiatives. Mary found that the Mass became her anchor for each day,
in accordance with the advice of Blessed Josemaría: “Keep struggling, so that the
Holy Sacrifice of the Altar really becomes the center and the root of your interi-
or life, and so your whole day will turn into an act of worship — an extension of
the Mass you have attended and a preparation for the next”5. How could a moth-
er of so many children even consider significant involvement in activities outside
the home? Mary answers, “It is precisely because I have so many children and
seven of them are girls that I have to find time to fight for the rights of wives and
mothers”. Mary was a founding member of the National Institute of Woman-
hood, and attended the United Nations conference in Cairo. She then worked as
a lobbyist at the United Nations, and later became a founding member and staff
member of a local crisis pregnancy center.
Martha Lorena de Casco, a journalist from Honduras, was also a panelist.
Her story offers hope to anyone who feels that he or she is working against over-
whelming odds! Our Lord seems to have prepared her in a special way with per-
sonal hardships in childbirth, where she personally experienced that “Sorrow is
the touchstone of love”6. Martha was a founder of the first pro-life committee in
Honduras, and she helped to successfully repulse three attempts to legalize abor-
tion in her country. Seeing the urgent need for a positive and informed response
to the ‘population control’ movement, Martha began an educational campaign in
this area. This experience led her to see the need to work directly with young
women, and she thus became an active supporter of crisis pregnancy centers.
Later, she was involved in coordinating relief efforts after Hurricane Mitch dev-
astated her country, and also attended the Beijing Population Conference. She
faced fierce persecution at almost every step from political and social groups, but
Martha drew strength from aphorisms of Blessed Josemaría such as: “What does
it matter if you have the whole world against you, with all its power? You [...]
keep going!”7. She concludes: “I learned from Blessed Josemaría that even if all
5 The Forge, 69.

6 The Way, 439.
7 Ibidem, 482.
INTRODUCTION - 83
you can do is a tiny bit of good in history, you must do it. A true Christian does-
n’t make petty calculations about such important matters”.
Two participants were not panelists, but rather read their papers from the
audience. One was Dr. Carlos Fernandez del Castillo from Mexico, who spoke of
how the ancient and honorable tradition of medicine, based on the desire to heal
and to serve one’s fellow man, can be raised to an even deeper level of sanctifying
love. Dr. Castillo eloquently shares how as a ‘practicing’ Catholic, he came to
realize how little he really knew about his faith. The writings of Blessed Josemaría
revealed a way of acting that until then, he had been ‘incapable of appreciating’.
He also discovered that there is “no limit to one’s relationship with God”, and
this relationship has since provided greater joy and effectiveness to all of the areas
of his life.
Professor Manuel Ferrer Regales from Spain shared a paper discussing his
work with demographics, a science that can be filled with gloom about the dan-
gers of over-population and that at times seems to offer little hope for the future.
Applying the insights of Blessed Josemaría, Professor Ferrer has worked to offer
a more holistic view of history and the human person. While accepting that soci-
eties must exercise a ‘responsible dominion’ over the earth’s resources, he sees
that priority must be given to the dignity and freedom of every human person.
Due to the urgent importance of this message for today’s world, Professor Ferrer
has, relying on the ambition and optimism encouraged by Blessed Josemaría,
reached out beyond academic circles to communicate his message through the
modern media.
The impact of individuals such as these on their society is impossible to
calculate. Their testimonies are profound enough to be the subject of contempla-
tive prayer, while also detailed enough to be used as a guide for practical action.
With the natural shortcomings of every human life, they are nevertheless a wor-
thy testament to the profound life and teachings of Blessed Josemaría.
84 - PAUL SWOPE
Dream and Your Dreams
Will Fall Short of Reality
Mary Hamm
She is the Executive Director of ‘Tepeyac Pregnancy Resource Center’ in Silver Spring, Maryland
where she has worked since 1994. She also serves on the Board of Directors of ‘Heartbeat Inter-
national’, a Christian affiliate organization of over 700 pregnancy centers worldwide. She is a
founding board member of the ‘National Institute of Womanhood’, has served as Vice-President
in 1993-1994 and currently serves on their Advisory Board.
When people ask me how many children I have, I often say that I have
twelve plus two non-profits. They always laugh, but the ones who laugh loudest
are the ones who are involved in the work of non-profits, or NGOs (non-govern-
mental organizations) as they are known at the United Nations. This is because
working for one of these is like having another child.
Looking back on the last twenty five years — the time in which I gave birth
to the twelve kids and two non-profits — it is clear that the influence of Blessed
Josemaría has been a constant source of inspiration and guidance.
First, the twelve children. I met my husband Peter and fell in love at the
young age of fifteen. At that time I had just come into contact with Opus Dei and
I was becoming aware of the writings of Blessed Josemaría — mostly through
books — The Way and then Furrow and The Forge.
All the points that I read therein recalled what my parents had taught me
about that which Blessed Josemaría called unity of life1. That is, that we cannot
live a schizophrenic existence where we do whatever we want Monday through
Saturday and then piously go to Church on Sunday only to forget it all until next
Sunday. His writings reinforced the notion that our sacramental and prayer life has
to inform our everyday life. The teaching that most stands out in my mind was that
the Mass is the center and root of our interior life: “Keep struggling, so that the
1 Cfr. Friends of God, 165.
85
Holy Sacrifice of the Altar really becomes the center and the root of your interior
life, and so your whole day will turn into an act of worship — an extension of the
Mass you have attended and a preparation for the next. Your whole day will then
be an act of worship that overflows in aspirations, visits to the Blessed Sacrament
and the offering up of your professional work and your family life”2.
My parents were daily communicants and they also had a large family and
several non-profits. I had seen them fast from midnight on and I had seen the
devotion with which they gathered us to say the family Rosary. They lost every-
thing they had materially when they left Cuba but they gave us the most impor-
tant thing — their faith in God, the Church, Our Lady and the Pope. It is there-
fore clear how the writings of Blessed Josemaría fit right in with the formation I
was given at home: “Offer your prayer, your atonement, and your action for this
end: ut sint unum! — that all of us Christians may share one will, one heart, one
spirit. This is so that omnes cum Petro ad Iesum per Mariam — that we may all go
to Jesus, closely united to the Pope, through Mary”3.
I also learned from Blessed Josemaría to offer up all my daily work at the
Offertory of the Mass and to unite it to the five wounds of Christ. As the mother of
a large family — especially when I had eleven children under the age of fifteen — I
found myself spending most of my time providing for their physical needs. Some-
times it seemed that as I finished cleaning up after one meal, it was time for the next
one. At night I would throw some laundry in to wash, run the vacuum, and the next
day the cycle of providing “food, shelter, and clothing” would start all over again.
The laundry has always been my biggest challenge. But one day I was sitting in
Mass, offering my laundry to Our Lord during the Offertory when I looked up at
the big crucifix and saw a laundry basket in each of the five wounds. I think it was
a very graphic reminder of what Blessed Josemaría taught about the unity of life.
In short, I spent the first eighteen years of my married life building a cul-
ture of life at home, trying to create a “bright and cheerful home” as Blessed Jose-
maría had taught: “If you live marriage as God wishes you to, in a holy way, your
house will be a bright and cheerful home, full of peace and joy”4.
It was then that I began to expand my sphere of influence and become
more involved in a visible way with building the culture of life. Since I had seven
daughters, the issues surrounding the education of women were central to our
lives. As a graduate of Harvard University people would often comment: “You
went to Harvard and you have eleven kids!” To which I would quickly reply:
2 The Forge, 69.

3 Ibidem, 647.
86 - MARY HAMM
“They taught me that if you are going to do something, do it big”. But the under-
lying assumptions of such comments were always the same — that a woman with
an education is wasting her time if she has a family.
Once again, Blessed Josemaría’s words came to mind. “These world crises
are crises of saints”5 and “launch out into the deep”6. I realized that I had to get
involved in the “apostolate of public opinion” because it was clear that if we
could influence the decision-makers at the top, then we could affect the culture
at large.
It was around this time in 1992 that Cecilia Royals invited me to be on the
founding Board of Directors of the National Institute of Womanhood. At NIW
(my first non-profit) we were attempting to articulate the meaning of “authentic
womanhood”. We wanted to defend the roles of woman as companion to man
and mother to her children. It was becoming more and more apparent that the
fight for woman’s advancement was being fought at the expense of woman’s basic
roles as wife and mother.
When people would ask how I could find time for NIW with eleven chil-
dren, I would respond: “It is precisely because I have eleven children and seven
of them are girls, that I have to find time to fight for the rights of wives and moth-
ers”. I knew my girls would go on to higher places of learning such as Harvard
and the words of Blessed Josemaría kept ringing in my ears: “Paradox: sanctity is
more attainable than learning, but it is easier to be learned than to be a saint”7.
Another article by Blessed Josemaría that influenced me a lot was an inter-
view he did with Tad Szulc, a journalist of the New York Times, which was pub-
lished in Conversations with Monsignor Escrivá. There he expressed his belief
that while women could and should work at all professions, they had special tal-
ents for the ‘service’ professions, such as nursing and teaching. At first this struck
me as sexist. I was after all a ‘child of the sixties’ — raised to believe that men and
women are not only equal but basically the same. But knowing that Blessed Jose-
maría was not only a saint but a scholar as well, I saw that I had to study the issue
further and try to understand what he meant. I realized that his response, even
though it might at first glance appear somewhat discriminatory towards women,
was really signaling not so much the range of professions open to women, as the
real contribution that women could make to human life with what is specifically
feminine: her way of living and working, teaching, helping, and protecting.
5 The Way, 301.

7 The Way, 282.
DREAM AND YOUR DREAMS WILL FALL SHORT OF REALITY - 87

Enter the Cairo conference of the United Nations. It was during the
preparations for this conference that NIW first became involved in the interna-
tional arena. As vice-president of NIW, we fought long and hard to ensure that
the nations of the world respected the woman’s place in the family. In 1995 at the
Beijing Women’s Conference, the rhetoric on women’s rights became even more
heated. At that time, there was an international campaign to redefine the role of
woman more as a tool and instrument of production than as the primary caregiv-
er of her children, and companion to her spouse.
Blessed Josemaría’s admonition that “your boat, your talents, your hopes,
your achievement, is worth nothing whatsoever unless you leave it in Christ’s
hands, allowing him the freedom to come aboard”8, reminded me constantly that
we had to weave our time of prayer into our daily work to make it effective. Find-
ing time for daily Mass and other practices of piety, while roaming the halls of the
United Nations was a constant struggle but one that was rewarded with serenity
and peace amongst great adversity and confusion. Quick ejaculatory prayers were
sent flying every time a delegate with an opposing viewpoint took the micro-
phone. For me it was the clearest example of spiritual warfare that I have ever
experienced. “These world crises are crises of saints”.
In 1995 I had to resign from NIW to find paid work to help pay for the col-
lege tuition of my older children. Centro Tepeyac was already a part of my life as
I was already serving on the founding Board of Directors. This crisis pregnancy
center which focuses on helping Latino immigrant women was a natural fit after
working as a volunteer for NIW. There I saw all of the issues about ‘reproductive
rights’ that we had argued about at the international level, being played out daily
at the pregnancy center.
Blessed Josemaría’s appeal to fight the rising tide of sensuality was always
on my mind. The women that come to our center are usually victims of sensuali-
ty run amok. They are usually not married to the man whose child they are carry-
ing, and often they come to us looking for what they think is a quick and easy
solution — abortion. Blessed Josemaría’s teaching that “every soul is a wonderful
treasure; every man is unique and irreplaceable. Every single person is worth all
the blood of Christ”9 reassured me that “there are no souls for the trash can”.
This is especially applicable to the unborn children of these poor women.
I was struck by the answer Blessed Josemaría once gave to a question
posed to him by a South American woman. “Father”, she asked, “what do you
say to a poor woman who goes to one of those foreign funded clinics because she

88 - MARY HAMM
is pregnant and they tell her to have an abortion?” I can still see the look of hor-
ror on his face at hearing the word abortion. But what was even more astonishing
was his response. He gave her an argument which clearly manifests how irrational
a ‘solution’ abortion is: “Tell her what that son of mine who is a doctor told a
poor woman who already had many children who came into his clinic wanting to
abort — he told her, ‘Bring me your oldest one and I will kill that one since he
eats a lot more than this new little one will eat’”. Blessed Josemaría had a way
with words and this was one more example of how he used graphic images to
teach. This example stuck with me and it has helped me to encourage the women
who come to Tepeyac not to kill their smallest and most innocent child.
In looking back over the past six years at Centro Tepeyac, I can see only
motives to give thanks for what God in His Goodness has been able to accom-
plish. I can honestly say that our phenomenal growth is most certainly due to the
graces that have come from our effort to live at all times in the presence of God,
since “God does not let Himself be outdone in generosity”10. We are very lucky
that St. Michael’s Church is right next door, as this facilitates turning our desires
to live in His presence into reality — into moments of prayer — as we have
learned from Blessed Josemaría. Every morning on my way to work I make a visit
to the Blessed Sacrament — from my car if the door is locked. And I think of the
story that Blessed Josemaría told of the milkman that he would see coming into
the Church on his daily rounds delivering milk. That man told Blessed Josemaría
very simply that everyday he would enter the church only to say: “Here I am
Lord, John the Milkman” — we too go to Him and to Our Lady and pray to have
the strength to go about our daily work with simplicity and cheerfulness.
I am lucky in that my brother, who first introduced me to Blessed Jose-
maría, has made audiotapes of The Way, Furrow, and The Forge. For years now, I
have been able to listen to them in the car as I drive to work. This repetition has
allowed me to ‘experience’ the points at different times in my life when my own
needs and spiritual perceptions were different. For instance I remember when I
first heard about the ‘letter-apostolate’11. I became aware that in writing thank
you notes and direct mail appeals, I needed to look beyond my immediate work
to the spiritual needs of those I write to. Also Blessed Josemaría’s words about the
apostolate of public opinion have taught me the importance of preparing myself
professionally so that I can influence those who write about the pro-life issues
that I work with everyday. Letters to the editor and articles about pro-life issues
have been a way to live out his advice to strive to positively influence my envi-
ronment.
10 The Forge, 623.

11 The Way, 976-977.
DREAM AND YOUR DREAMS WILL FALL SHORT OF REALITY - 89

Blessed Josemaría’s desire to reach all men, and to live out the communion
of saints was brought home to me when I heard the anecdote about how when he
saw the astronauts landing on the moon on television, he immediately started
praying for them by name. At Tepeyac, we have the image of Our Lady of
Guadalupe hanging in our kitchen area and we put post-it notes on it with prayer
intentions for the women who are in serious trouble.
I am lucky to be working in a Center devoted to Our Lady because we can
freely bring her into all our counseling. It is amazing how much Blessed Jose-
maría’s practice of putting oneself into the Gospels and meditating on the scenes
of Our Lady and Christ’s life can be helpful. The fact that Mary was pregnant
before she lived with Joseph, is something that our women can relate to. On her
trip to Bethlehem on a donkey, in difficult circumstances without a roof over her
head, and on her journey into Egypt, we can imagine her thinking that she did not
know anyone in those places. These are all images that are relevant for our immi-
grant clients and allow us to help explain how she understands their situations.
We keep plenty of prayer cards to Our Lady of Guadalupe at hand for all our
clients.
In closing I would like to reiterate the often-repeated teaching of Blessed
Josemaría that we should always aim high in everything we do. If we dream, never
underestimating the good that we can do when we unite ourselves to Christ and
His Mother, reality will surpass our dreams.
90 - MARY HAMM
Developing a More Compassionate
Environmental Attitude
Samuel B. Adeloju
Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science, School of Science, Food and Horticulture,
University of Western Sydney, NSW, Australia.
1. INTRODUCTION
My first introduction to the teachings of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá was

about 20 years ago when I had just started my Ph.D research work. I was most
fascinated by his views on work and the connection he made about this with
Opus Dei as the ‘work of God’. Although the idea of doing my work for God was
not foreign to me, I found the depth of his consideration of this subject to be spir-
itually novel, and yet, simple and truthful. From this experience, I became very
keen to know more about his teachings and found myself reading several books
about him or those that he had written. Soon the knowledge that all work can be
offered up to God for good intentions gave work and indeed hard work, which I
was already used to, a whole new meaning. My efforts and struggle in living this
teaching raised the standard of my work to a higher plane and I knew back then
that I must find ways of passing on the teachings of Blessed Josemaría in my pro-
fessional work.
The main opportunity I have had in spreading and incorporating the
teachings of Blessed Josemaría in my professional work has been through my lec-
tures and practical work with my students on environmental issues. A very rele-
vant and useful teaching of Blessed Josemaría for me in this task is his view that
“this world of ours will be saved, let me remind you, not by those who try to
deaden awareness of the life of the spirit, reducing everything to a matter of eco-
nomics or material well-being, but by those who have faith in God and in the
eternal destiny of man, and who know how to receive the truth of Christ as a light
91
providing direction for action and conduct [...]”1. In living the spirit of this
teaching in my profession I have, through my examples and lectures, encouraged
my students not to focus on the pessimistic and materialistic concerns that are
often central to some of the current debates on environmental issues. This teach-
ing has also made it obvious to me that if we are to solve global environmental
problems we need to expand our concern to include genuine consideration for
the spiritual, social and moral needs of the human person. I often use these
human dimensions to emphasise to my students of the need for us to be more
compassionate and be more considerate of others who are less fortunate when
dealing with environmental issues. I also often challenge them to respond con-
sciously and not passively to the debates on environmental issues of social signif-
icance. In doing this I am always mindful that a desire to work for the common
good must be matched through my profession by forming competent men and
women who can pass on to others the maturity which they have achieved.
In the rest of this presentation, I will share with you how the teachings of
Blessed Josemaría have helped me in encouraging my environmental science and
chemistry students to develop a more compassionate environmental attitude. I
will also demonstrate how these teachings have encouraged me to take a stance
for social responsibility, particularly in those dimensions that are specifically
human, in dealing with our current environmental issues.
2. RESPONDING TO CHANGE
The acceptance of change or the need to change some of our past habits
and take responsibility for our actions can be a daunting task, especially when we
are very much set in our ways of doing things. Blessed Josemaría gave me a vivid
and useful example in this area, of how we should not be afraid of change even in
or up to our old age, by demonstrating, at over seventy years old and having said
Mass for forty-seven years under the old rubrics, that he was still as determined
as ever to say Mass as perfectly as possible under the new rubrics2. I have found
this example of Blessed Josemaría useful in emphasising the need and willingness
to respond to change with a positive attitude in my lectures. This has been par-
ticularly useful in diffusing the often pessimistic messages associated with some
of the global environmental issues in the media. This example of Blessed Jose-
1 J. ESCRIVÁ, Talk of 9 May 1974, “El compromiso de la verdad”, in Josemaría Escrivá de Bala-
guer y la Universidad, Pamplona 1993, p. 109.
2 J.M. GARCÍA LAHIGUERA, in Testimonies to a Man of God: Blessed Josemaría Escrivá, New
York 1992, vol. 1, pp. 25-28.
92 - SAMUEL B. ADELOJU
maría has spurred me on over the years to focus on teaching others about the true
issues involved with our global environmental problems, with the expectation
that people will respond more easily to change if they have a better understand-
ing of the issues involved. My efforts in this area over the years have included aca-
demic lectures, public environmental forums, radio and television interviews,
newspaper articles and seminar/conference presentations.
Blessed Josemaría’s teaching on human weakness also reminds me con-
stantly about my responsibility in this area because as he said: “[...] We do not
love justice if we do not wish to see it fulfilled in the lives of others. In the same
way it is wrong to shut oneself up in comfortable religiosity, forgetting the needs
of others”3. I have been drawn by these words on many occasions to act for the
needs of others, rather than focusing only on my personal professional accom-
plishments. One example of this was when I was drawn, on my reflection on these
words, to speak out in 1991 for a concerned community about environmental
pollution in a suburb called Londonderry in Western Sydney where our universi-
ty is located. At that time there was growing concern that a government-owned
waste treatment and processing plant located in the area was introducing nasty
pollutants to the environment, but the issue, and the concern of the local com-
munity, was not being taken seriously. With the desire to see justice done in the
life of the people of Londonderry I decided to carry out a voluntary independent
investigation in this area. This action subsequently resulted in several interviews
in the newspapers, radio and television, bringing the issue and concern of the
people to the fore. Before long there was a government inquiry and other investi-
gations in this area, in both of which I participated. On the balance of available
evidence, the state government decided to close down the waste treatment plant
in Londonderry. The courage for me to stick my neck out in such a controversial
issue is rooted in this and other teachings of Blessed Josemaría and I always use
this example to encourage my students to develop a spirit of generosity, particu-
larly in caring about the needs of others. I strongly believe that this is the expec-
tation of Blessed Josemaría of my academic profession when he said that “uni-
versity people should be responsible citizens with a healthy concern for the
problems of other people and a generous spirit which bring them to face these
problems and to resolve them in the best possible way. It is the task of the uni-
versities to foster these activities in their students”4.

DEVELOPING A MORE COMPASSIONATE ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDE - 93

3. RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
Central to the need for us to be generous and more caring about others is
what I often describe to my student: as the Greed Factor — the desire to want
more than we require. The more we want the quicker we deplete our resources
and the more waste we generate. I have found the teaching of Blessed Josemaría
Escrivá on poverty: “[...] don’t create needs for yourself”5 to be very useful in
teaching about the dangers of materialism. I often demonstrate the need to strug-
gle against this temptation by avoiding, and encouraging my students and staff to
avoid, the often mad rush about purchasing the latest gadgets. Even in my pro-
fessional work I often emphasize the need to buy only what is absolutely neces-
sary for whatever we do.
The need to control our greed is even more pressing at a global level. Let
us consider two of the well-known global environmental issues, such as global
warming and the hole in the ozone layer. The main contributors to the cause of
these problems are the high-income nations. Among them they contribute 22% of
the global population, but they use 80% of the global resources and generate
80% of all wastes and pollutants. There is, without doubt, a serious imbalance
here with respect to resource utilisation and waste generation which I often high-
light to my students, and in particular a need for those of us in high income
nations where all the resources are available, to be more compassionate and gen-
erous to others in low income nations and to work against wastage of resources.
This also helps me to emphasize that the need to overcome greed and selfishness,
driven by the on-going push for materialism and self-centredness in high-income
nations, should be uppermost in our thoughts. The cause and danger of selfish-
ness is well explained by Blessed Josemaría who stated that “it is pride that con-
stantly makes people think: ‘mine, mine, mine’. It is a vice that makes men sterile
and fruitless. It destroys their keenness to work for God and leads them to waste
their time. As for you, don’t lose your effectiveness; instead, trample on your self-
ishness. You think your life is for yourself? Your life is for God, for the good of all
men, through your love of our Lord”6. I find this teaching useful in highlighting
that the root-cause of the problem with greed and selfishness is pride which can
be wasteful, but can be overcome if we trample on it. I also demonstrate this to my
students by being more considerate and patient in my dealings with them and giv-
ing more of myself to my staff and students.
5 The Way, 630.

94 - SAMUEL B. ADELOJU
4. NEED FOR A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE
One area where the teaching of Blessed Josemaría has most influenced my
view on global environmental issues is in responding to the on-going myths about
population growth and environment. If we consider that most of our global
resources are used up in the less populated high-income nations where most of
the global wastes and pollutants are generated it becomes clearer that some of the
views expressed in this area do not stand up to scrutiny. The real twist in this
debate lies in the fact that most low-income nations do not produce enough food
for their populations and they cannot afford to import food to meet the shortfall.
To clarify the nature of this problem I often highlight to my students that the
world food production has generally increased faster than population growth
since 1950. In fact the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization has
recently estimated that the world could feed 30-35 billion people if we fully
employed present technologies. This is 5-6 times more than our current global
population. I find this useful in stressing to my students that what is needed is a
better strategy for a fair and even distribution of our global food resources, as
well as a great expression of compassion to those in low-income nations. The
teaching of Blessed Josemaría on generosity has been useful here in providing a
simple basis for explaining why we need a fair and even distribution of global
resources, such as food, and how it can be accomplished. Undoubtedly, a reap-
praisal of global food production will be required to make this work. One of the
points I highlight to my students is that it is of no immediate benefit to the low-
income nations if all we want to do is to argue against deforestation in countries
and regions, such as Brazil and Africa, while the majority of people in these parts
of the world can still not be fed. I often find this example useful in emphasising
to my students that we cannot just shrug our shoulders and go about our own
business without a fair concern that God gave us the earth to use, not only for our
own good, but for that of our neighbours as well.
In conclusion, the teachings of Blessed Josemaría have provided me, over
the years, with the necessary tools for developing a more compassionate environ-
mental attitude in my students. More specifically, his teachings on work, generosity,
human weakness and poverty have helped me to highlight the wastefulness and dan-
gers of selfishness, materialism and pessimism to my students. This has consequent-
ly enabled me to train them to become mature and competent men and women
who are willing to share and use their knowledge for the good of society.
DEVELOPING A MORE COMPASSIONATE ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDE - 95

La batalla por la vida en Honduras
Martha Lorena de Casco
Fundadora y presidenta del Comité Pro-Vida de Honduras. Miembro de la Alianza Latinoameri-

cana para la Familia y del Pontificio Consejo para la Familia. Ha representado a Honduras en las
reuniones de la Conferencia de Población y Desarrollo (El Cairo), así como de la IV Conferencia
de la Mujer (Beijing). Miembro de la Delegación de la Santa Sede en las Conferencias de las Nacio-
nes Unidas Habitat en Estambul y en la reunión Cairo+5 en New York y Beijing+5 en New York.
Todo tiene un principio. La primera vez que vi al Beato Josemaría Escrivá

de Balaguer, fue en una secuencia de fotos en la cual una anciana indígena arro-
dillada, le besaba la mano y él, a su vez, se hincaba para besarle la mano a ella. Los
dos de rodillas, frente a frente, con una mirada intensa; un encuentro emotivo
que plasmó vivamente aquello que él siempre predicó: «No hay más que una raza,
¡la raza de los hijos de Dios!»1.
Esta imagen fue para mí determinante. Allí había alguien, una persona
muy especial; alguien que sabía amar, que veía en cada persona algo más; un hom-
bre de gran humanidad. Alguien que, si bien es cierto que ya no vivía en aquel
momento, yo deseé intensamente llegar a conocer. Puedo decir que, desde ese
momento, todo lo referente a él me atrajo profundamente. Y, poco a poco, con el
paso del tiempo, por medio de sus hijos y de sus escritos, lo he ido descubriendo.
Con motivo de la invitación a participar en este workshop, he tenido la
oportunidad de reflexionar sobre cómo el Beato Josemaría ha influído en vida.
Quisiera referirme, en concreto, a mi trabajo en favor de la vida, trabajo que rea-
lizo en Honduras desde hace más de dieciocho años.
Hay un punto en Camino, su libro más famoso, que dice: «No olvides que
el Dolor es la piedra de toque del Amor»2. Creo que, de alguna manera, así me
fue preparando Dios para esta aventura de la defensa de la vida.
1 Surco, 303.
2 Cfr. Camino, 439.
97
Inicié mi vida matrimonial con el augurio dolorosísimo de que probable-
mente no tendría hijos. Gracias a Dios, al cabo de unos pocos años, nació nuestra
primera hija. Cuando ella era apenas una bebé, creció en mí la devoción al Beato
y le pedí entonces que intercediera para que tuviéramos más hijos. Fue ésta una
empresa nada fácil. Tuve que perder cuatro bebés y pasar por mucho dolor físico
y moral. Meses enteros de cama y de miedos. Eso sí, mucho tiempo para pensar;
años en los cuales sus escritos y su ejemplo me sirvieron para no desfallecer y, más
aún, para crecer para adentro. ¡Qué fuerza tenía para mí, aquel punto 12 de
Camino: ¡«Crécete ante los obstáculos.— La gracia del Señor no te ha de faltar.
¡Pasarás a través de los montes! ¿Qué importa que de momento hayas de recor-
tar tu actividad, si luego, como muelle que fue comprimido, llegarás sin compa-
ración, más lejos que nunca soñaste?».
Finalmente, llegaron dos hijos más. Y así, mientras sufría por dar la vida,
más el dolor de haber perdido mis criaturas y el gozo de haber logrado una linda
familia, despertó en mí una fuerte pasión por defender la vida y la familia.
Al mismo tiempo, y con mucho realismo, descubría la tremenda cultura de
muerte y, a su vez, la osadía que significaba pretender cambiarla. Frente a las ins-
tituciones que promovían esta cultura contraria a la vida y a la dignidad de la per-
sona humana y la familia, que contaban y cuentan con enormes medios económi-
cos y suficiente capacidad de condicionar las decisiones de nuestros gobiernos,
evidentemente estábamos en una situación de absoluta desproporción, al estilo
de David y Goliat. Prácticamente, una locura.
De esta manera, apoyados en la fuerza del Beato Josemaría —quien nos
enseña que la gran arma es la oración—, en su ejemplo, su empeño y su audacia, en
su alegría y confianza en Dios, aunado a ese complejo de superioridad que —decía
él3— deben tener todos los hijos de Dios, nos lanzamos a la palestra pública.
Con ímpetu, nos empujaba aquel grito del Beato, porque así me lo parece
el primer punto de Camino: «Que tu vida no sea una vida estéril. —Sé útil. —
Deja poso. —Ilumina con la luminaria de tu fe y de tu amor.
Borra con tu vida la señal viscosa y sucia que dejaron los sembradores
impuros del odio. —Y enciende todos los caminos de la tierra con el fuego de
Cristo que llevas en el corazón».
Y así, con poco, yo diría que con casi nada, asumimos junto con mi espo-
so y unos queridos amigos, el compromiso de defender el derecho a la vida en mi
país, fundando una organización civil: el Comité Pro-Vida de Honduras.
En el año 1983, se pretendía legalizar el aborto en nuestro país. A pesar de
que todo esfuerzo parecía ya inútil, pues el Congreso Nacional había aprobado
3 Cfr. Forja, 537.
98 - MARTHA LORENA DE CASCO

los artículos que despenalizaban el aborto, hicimos una fuerte presión en los
medios de comunicación y un contacto sistemático con los diputados. Esto les
hizo tomar conciencia del grave error que significaba abrir las puertas al aborto.
Para sorpresa nuestra, el proyecto fue nuevamente sometido a votación y el abor-
to siguió penalizado, como siempre lo había estado.
Este resultado, obtenido con tan pocos medios, nos animó a mantener una
voz permanente en nuestra sociedad. Evidentemente, no teníamos muchos recur-
sos ni tampoco mucho conocimiento sobre el tema, lo que nos obligó a estudiar,
asistir a reuniones y congresos internacionales, para profundizar en nuestro tra-
bajo. El contacto con diferentes personalidades y expertos, además del acceso a
material informativo, abrió un horizonte muy claro sobre la magnitud de la cul-
tura de la muerte y las fuerzas económicas y políticas que la respaldan y promue-
ven. Recordar la vida del Beato Josemaría en aquellos años que vivió durante la
guerra civil española y cómo continuó su camino a pesar de las terribles dificulta-
des, nos daba el ánimo que necesitábamos.
Hubo dos intentos posteriores al de 1983 de despenalización del aborto,
que nos obligaron a realizar fuertes manifestaciones públicas con la participación
de los distintos sectores de nuestra sociedad. Gracias a Dios, ambos intentos fra-
casaron. Actualmente, en Honduras el aborto no se permite bajo ninguna cir-
cunstancia y se penaliza como el asesinato del niño en el vientre de su madre.
La lucha por la vida nos obligó a desenmascarar todas las actividades de
control de natalidad promovidas por agencias y organizaciones internacionales.
Es importante destacar que, en este sentido, se han atropellado brutalmente
nuestros pueblos. Una de las luchas más difíciles que hemos sostenido fue la
demanda que presentamos contra el Estado por un programa experimental de
control de natalidad en el que se utilizó una determinada pastilla. Tales pastillas
se daban específicamente a las madres lactantes para evitar embarazos, a pesar de
ser la principal contraindicación de la casa productora, por desconocerse los
efectos de la droga en los pequeños lactantes cuando llegaran a la pubertad. Fue
una larguísima pelea legal. El fallo fue favorable al Comité Pro-Vida, a pesar de
que el Estado estaba respaldado por algunas agencias internacionales. Este pro-
grama experimental fue posteriormente cancelado.
No es fácil describir las actividades de las organizaciones de control de
natalidad, entre las que hay varias agencias internacionales y organizaciones no
gubernamentales respaldadas y financiadas por países económicamente más
desarrollados, quienes han violado abiertamente el derecho a la información y a
la salud y, obviamente, a la vida. Las campañas sistemáticas de esterilizaciones e
inserciones de dispositivos intrauterinos (DIUS), entre otros, omiten y ocultan
información sobre estos métodos, habiéndose ofrecido incluso incentivos econó-
micos a mujeres para que se esterilizaran.
LA BATALLA POR LA VIDA EN HONDURAS - 99

Con frecuencia, hemos denunciado el desbalance que existe en todo el sis-
tema de salud pública en nuestro país. El énfasis desproporcionado en relación
con los programas de salud reproductiva y de salud básica es evidente. No sor-
prende ir a las clínicas rurales y encontrar provisiones sin límite de toda la gama
de contraconceptivos y una tremenda escasez de medicamentos básicos como los
antibióticos, antidiarreicos, etc. Es importante mencionar que los médicos que
trabajan para el Estado en clínicas rurales deben dar un informe mensual de las
usuarias de dispositivos intrauterinos, pastillas y esterilizaciones.
En un país con necesidades primarias de salud, es inconcebible que exista
a nivel nacional, una red de 1600 distribuidoras comunitarias de contraceptivos
financiadas desde el exterior. La manejan mujeres líderes de su comunidad, prác-
ticamente analfabetas, entrenadas por una agencia internacional para promover y
distribuir el uso de unos seis productos de anticoncepción. En estos programas,
se ignoran las contraindicaciones y efectos secundarios de estas drogas. Lo que
interesa es aumentar el volumen de consumo. En fin, son incontables los hilos de
esta inmensa madeja que propician en nuestras tierras las transnacionales del
aborto y del control de natalidad.
No menos intensa y difícil ha sido la lucha contra las campañas en favor del
“sexo seguro” y los programas de “educación sexual” —también promovidos y
financiados por los países del primer mundo— quienes condicionan su ayuda a
que se implante una nueva forma de vida muy diferente a nuestra idiosincrasia.
Hemos visto expuestos, a través de diferentes medios de comunicación social, los
manuales y videos de “educación sexual” que incentivan abiertamente las relacio-
nes sexuales fuera del matrimonio, el homosexualismo, la prostitución, los “dere-
chos” de los adolescentes a una vida sexual activa, etc. La mayoría de estos cursos
se inician en los primeros años de escuela, a espaldas de los propios padres de
familia.
No encuentro palabras para describirles la destrucción que se ha hecho en
nuestros pueblos por medio de estos programas que, según sus promotores, preten-
den disminuir la pobreza y emancipar a la mujer. Su influencia ha agravado la pobre-
za económica y moral de parte de la población, y ha ocasionado un crecimiento cada
vez más alarmante de inseguridad ciudadana. Desgraciadamente, ha aumentado el
número de niños abandonados y la irresponsabilidad materna y paterna.
Afortundamente, no todo ha sido denuncia. El Beato Josemaría nos ense-
ña que hay que «ahogar el mal en abundancia de bien»4. Asimismo, hemos desa-
rrollado una serie de actividades, especialmente para jóvenes: cursos de defenso-
res de la vida, jornadas por la vida, actividades en la vía pública, programas de
4 Surco, 864; Forja, 848; Es Cristo que pasa, 72.

radio, etc. Los servicios de nuestra biblioteca y videoteca se ofrecen a todos los
colegios, universidades y grupos juveniles.
Se ha llevado el mensaje pro-vida a las zonas rurales, por medio de charlas,
seminarios, exposiciones en ferias y distribución de literatura. Con frecuencia, se
nos invita a dar charlas en cárceles, batallones militares, en la Escuela de Defensa
Nacional; en orfelinatos, a los cuerpos de bomberos y a diferentes grupos religio-
sos; a congresistas y a gremios médicos. Además, hemos organizado congresos a
nivel centroamericano, con la participación de expertos internacionales.
Sin embargo, considero que lo más importante es el hecho que en el trans-
curso de todo este tiempo, se han salvado muchos bebés y muchas mamás. Esta
tarea es verdaderamente apasionante: ayudar a la mujer embarazada en crisis;
darle apoyo, cariño y también ayuda material, en algunos casos, me ha enseñado
la capacidad extraordinaria del ser humano de abrirse al amor y a la vida si
encuentra alguien que le escuche, le consuele y le acompañe. Es innegable que la
opción por la vida es una victoria definitiva de la persona y, consecuentemente, de
toda la sociedad.
Realmente, es vastísimo el campo que hemos abarcado en nuestro empeño
por implementar una cultura por la vida. Después del huracán Mitch, que azotó
nuestro país a finales del año 1998, nos involucramos con un grupo de mujeres de
una población rural, para contribuir con un proyecto de desarrollo de viviendas
y alcantarillado, además de ayudarles con su formación integral.
Otro reto, que en un inicio nos parecía el más difícil, ha sido la obtención
de fondos. Sin embargo, nunca nos han faltado. Hemos constatado muchísimas
veces aquello que decía el Beato Josemaría: «Cuando te ‘entregues’ a Dios, no
habrá dificultad que pueda remover tu optimismo»5. Aprendí del Beato Jose-
maría a calcular los medios que tenemos sumando de manera muy distinta, con-
tando con la ayuda de Dios. Lógicamente, siempre hay que poner también
todos los medios humanos a nuestro alcance. Así, la fórmula ha sido siempre:
Dios + 2+26 ...
Actualmente, es difícil establecer cuántos cientos de miles de hondureños
han recibido de manera directa el mensaje pro-vida. No obstante, podemos afir-
mar que, a través de la radio, de la televisión y los diarios, se ha transmitido con
bastante frecuencia en todo el país.
En lo referente a la colaboración que hemos recibido de la prensa, ha con-
tribuido el hecho de que yo soy periodista. La amistad sincera, en este caso con
los colegas de profesión, es un camino que lleva al respeto y a la verdad. No deja
5 Camino, 476.
6 Cfr. ibidem, 471.

nunca de maravillarme el sentido profundo que el Beato Josemaría le da a la
auténtica amistad: cariño sincero, meterse en el corazón, no quedarse en la peri-
feria por respetos humanos o por no complicarse la vida. Es verdaderamente otra
dimensión de lo que generalmente conocemos por amistad.
He visto a algunos periodistas rechazar contratos y ofertas de trabajo, e
incluso reconocimientos de parte de organizaciones de control natal. Conozco
dueños de medios que, a pesar de fuertes presiones, nos han dado siempre la
oportunidad de participar en sus programas. También he sido testigo de la alegría
de una inmensa cantidad de personas que, al escuchar nuestra participación en
foros y debates públicos, reafirman el valor de la vida humana y la vigencia de lo
que constituyen las raíces de nuestra cultura.
«Soñad y os quedaréis cortos», solía decir el Beato Josemaría a los prime-
ros jóvenes que se acercaban a su labor apostólica. Él, desde entonces, ya soñaba
con la expansión en los cinco continentes7. Hoy, aquellos sueños son una asom-
brosa realidad. En mi caso, he sido una gran soñadora y también me he quedado
corta. Si alguna vez me imaginé hacer cosas tan interesantes, jamás me vi sentada
en el pleno de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas, representando a mi país.
Fue verdaderamente impresionante el hecho de que miembros del Comité Pro-
Vida fuésemos nombrados por el Presidente de la República como representan-
tes oficiales de Honduras para las reuniones de las Conferencias de El Cairo y
Beijing. Fue éste un reconocimiento a que los planteamientos que hemos sosteni-
do reflejan los sentimientos de nuestra sociedad.
Muchos de ustedes conocen lo controvertidas y difíciles que fueron estas
conferencias. Realmente se intentó erradicar el derecho a la vida de los no naci-
dos e instituir un supuesto derecho universal al aborto. Igualmente, se atentó
contra los derechos de los padres, la dignidad diferencia de los sexos, la digni-
dad del ser humano, la soberanía de los pueblos. Fue algo sumamente compli-
cado y no pocas veces inverosímil; reuniones larguísimas de día y de noche;
semanas enteras de negociaciones agotadoras; presiones y manipulación de tra-
ducciones y documentos.
Recuerdo especialmente cuando, en un momento, en el pleno, cuestioné el
significado de la palabra género, ya que en los corredores de la ONU circulaban
extrañas versiones, tales como que el nuevo concepto pretende erradicar las dife-
rencias entre los sexos y crear una nueva cultura donde el sexo se escoge. Esto me
preocupó ya que, al igual que la mayoría de los países antes de Beijing, nosotros
interpretábamos género como una forma de eliminar la violencia contra la mujer
y lograr igualdad de oportunidades.
7 Cfr. P. CASCIARO, Soñad y os quedaréis cortos, Madrid 1994.

Al solicitar a la ONU una respuesta definitiva sobre la definición del tér-
mino género, la Asamblea se me vino encima. Fue como si hubiese tocado un pol-
vorín: abucheos, burlas, ironías, persecución e intimidación. Sin embargo, la
reacción tan radical de la Presidencia del pleno, hizo que las delegaciones árabes
y algunas africanas cuestionaran también el mencionado término. El asunto se
complicó y las reuniones se extendieron para buscar una definición consensuada.
En esos momentos difíciles, me acordé siempre del Beato Josemaría quien
con tanta seguridad decía: «¿Qué importa que tengas en contra al mundo entero
con todos sus poderes? Tú... ¡adelante!
—Repite las palabras del salmo: [...] ¿a quién temeré? [...] —Aunque me
vea cercado de enemigos, no flaqueará mi corazón»8.
Todavía hoy, no sé cómo, ni con qué fuerza, pude mantener sin desfallecer,
la posición de Honduras, fundamentada en nuestra Constitución, en los valores
morales y en nuestra idiosincrasia.
¡Vale la pena! Sí; bien vale la pena, como dice el Beato Josemaría, tomarse
en serio a Dios y a las almas. La vida tiene otra dimensión, se convierte en una
aventura, la aventura de los hijos de Dios. Del Beato Josemaría he aprendido que
no se puede vivir a espaldas del momento histórico, que lo poco que uno puede
hacer, aunque se piense que es una aportación minúscula, debe hacerse. Un
auténtico cristiano no claudica frente a asuntos tan importantes.
Deseo dejar constancia, en la celebración del centenario de su nacimiento,
que de la misma manera que el Beato Josemaría buscó asilo en la Legación de
Honduras durante la guerra civil española para proteger su vida, él desde el Cielo
protege ahora, de una manera singular, el derecho a la vida en Honduras.
8 Camino, 482.

Mi trabajo en Geodemografía desde
la perspectiva de la cultura de la vida
Manuel Ferrer Regales
Profesor Emeritus de la Universidad de Navarra. Ha impartido docencia en las Universidades de

Zaragoza y Oviedo con anterioridad. A lo largo de su vida académica ha investigado sobre el
medio rural e industrial, el sistema de ciudades y actualmente trabaja sobre los Centros Históricos
de las ciudades de España. Una línea continua en su interés como docente e investigador ha sido
la geodemográfica.
Mi trabajo universitario ha versado sobre la Geodemografía. Se trata de

una ciencia en la que la figura de la persona humana es central, o si se quiere, en
la que el hombre es el protagonista del entorno en el que vive y con el que se rela-
ciona. Pues bien, la afirmación anterior ha sido, a partir de la segunda mitad del
siglo XX, objeto de debate y discusión. Podemos hablar de dos concepciones.
Las notas que las diferencian permiten apreciar el grado y la calidad que cada ver-
sión otorga al ser humano.
1. CONCEPCIONES SOBRE EL HOMBRE Y SU ENTORNO
Según la primera, que podríamos definir como cerrada a la vida, la pobla-

ción, el desarrollo y el ambiente tienen que mantenerse en equilibrio. De tal
modo que si se rompe este último, hay que recomponerlo. Y puesto que se con-
sidera al ambiente como una variable fija (los recursos, el ecosistema), y al desa-
rrollo (progreso material y social), como el producto de la relación entre la pobla-
ción y el ambiente, se concluye que la clave del equilibrio, y si se quiere del
progreso, está en graduar el volumen de la población. Esta conclusión es la que
dio lugar al concepto de superpoblación, que se atribuyó en especial a los países
pobres o subdesarrollados. El equilibrio exigiría, en consecuencia, no tanto
aumentar los recursos, que se consideraban cada vez más escasos, cuanto dismi-
nuir el crecimiento de la población. Aplicada en la segunda mitad del siglo XX a
105
los países pobres, en ellos deberían establecerse unas medidas reductoras de la
población. Esta es, en esencia, la filosofía de las llamadas políticas demográficas.
Además, y conforme pasan los años y el individualismo hedonista y consumista se
extiende en los países ricos, las políticas demográficas incluyen la difusión de
aquellos estilos de vida ajenos a una concepción de la misma acorde con la digni-
dad de la persona.
Según el enfoque abierto a la vida, hemos de partir de la idea de que la vida
humana, aunque enmarcada en una realidad histórica, no está determinada por
ella sino que está instada a perfeccionarla. El hombre es un ser perfectible y per-
feccionador: de sí mismo, de los demás y de la naturaleza creada por Dios.
En el plano de los medios, es bueno contar con los resultados de la ciencia,
pero no hay que olvidar que la ciencia tiene un límite; aquél en el que queda com-
prometida la naturaleza del hombre, como criatura libre y responsable, y desti-
nada a amar a Dios y a servir a los demás por amor, a servirse de la naturaleza y a
mejorarla. La condición natural de la relación entre los seres humanos es la fra-
ternidad humana y sobrenatural, y, con respecto a la naturaleza, el dominio res-
petuoso.
En consecuencia, la cultura —incluidos los avances científicos y de organi-
zación social—, debe respetar la prioridad de la dignidad humana, y excluir los
métodos y resultados, por muy científicos que parezcan, que se opongan o per-
turben el recto orden de las cosas y de la propia naturaleza.
2. CRITERIOS BÁSICOS ANTE EL PROBLEMA DE LA POBLACIÓN
Desde el principio comprendí que la ciencia correctamente asumida era

compatible con la dignidad del hombre y que mi investigación geodemográfica
tenía una dimensión directamente doctrinal y apostólica. Me sentí urgido a
defender la verdad, tanto en lenguaje científico, en foros universitarios, como en
lenguaje sencillo, en medios de comunicación destinados a un público más
amplio. Así, la investigación adquiría una dimensión social estrechamente unida
al perfeccionamiento personal, en la triple dimensión de hijo de Dios, ciudadano,
y miembro de una familia, tal como he aprendido de las enseñanzas del Beato
Josemaría.
Me sentí removido e instado ya que, entre los contenidos de la materia que
tenía que explicar a mis alumnos figuraba la población. A partir de los años sesen-
ta, comencé a indagar no sólo en las fuentes geográficas sino que procuré ampliar
mis conocimientos al campo de la sociología y la demografía. En el ambiente de
aquellos años, ser “alma de criterio”, “agotar la verdad”, y comprometerse den-
106 - MANUEL FERRER REGALES

tro de la sociedad para servirla, como se dice en Camino1, era un revulsivo, que
aparte de su valor general, para esta generación y las que nos sucedan, tenía espe-
cialmente un gran interés cuando se estaban poniendo los cimientos de una trans-
formación cultural tan desafiante y apasionante para el académico como la des-
crita al principio. Ciencia y fe no podían ser incompatibles, como tantas veces
dijo el Beato Josemaría.
El amor a la verdad y a la ciencia, a la Iglesia y al Papa se hermanaban y
eran muy necesarios en aquellos tiempos de turbulencia. Pasados los años, he
tenido ocasión de comprobar la validez de los criterios de los que me siento deu-
dor. Más que nunca hay que seguir lo que está diciendo el Papa Juan Pablo II. Al
mantenerse en la verdad, se gana siempre, el error en cambio se contradice. Un
colega mío, creo que el sociólogo más conocido en mi país, me decía no hace
mucho con motivo de una tesis doctoral: «Manuel, tú sigues donde estabas, yo
cada vez me acerco más a ti». El cristiano tiene que ser fiel, firme en su confianza
en la Iglesia y atento a su formación. El carácter profético de la Humanae vitae,
transcurridos más de treinta años desde su publicación, es obvio. Desde entonces
el problema de la desnatalidad ha conducido a la Europa occidental a una situa-
ción muy comprometida de envejecimiento, de tal forma que desde hace años nos
hallamos instalados en lo que ha venido en llamarse el invierno demográfico. Por
otra parte, el mayor reto de nuestros días es cómo unir los bienes materiales a los
espirituales, esto es, vivir lo que el Beato Josemaría denominaba “materialismo
cristiano”. La gente, sin distinción de edad, sexo y clase social o pertenencia a
uno u otro mundo tiene derecho a participar en los bienes de uno y otro signo.
No debe haber fronteras ni exclusiones, tampoco entre mis colegas, a pesar de
que yo mismo haya sido objeto en ocasiones del ostracismo intelectual cuando no
de la crítica injusta.
3. LA DIVULGACIÓN
Motivado por el Beato Josemaría, no me limité a escribir artículos de revis-

ta y libros que, al fin y a la postre, quedan en el estrecho círculo de los especialis-
tas. Lo mismo cabe decir de la participación en Congresos y Foros internaciona-
les o del dictado de Conferencias ante públicos más o menos reducidos. Me lancé
a la arena de los medios, a sabiendas de que había que divulgar y contrarrestar la
atmósfera devaluadora de la maternidad y la procreación, y aportando argumen-
tos que contraponían a las visiones catastrofistas otras más ajustadas a la realidad
1 Cfr. Camino, Introducción y n. 33.
GEODEMOGRAFÍA Y CULTURA DE LA VIDA - 107

y diseñadoras de escenarios de futuro. Luces y sombras, ciertamente, aparecen en
ambos tipos de análisis y diagnósticos, traducidos desde el trabajo investigador al
público.
Por lo que se refiere a la natalidad y valores, en síntesis, fui transmitiendo
lo que con el tiempo iba confirmándose, como señalo a continuación.
Ha fracasado el acervo teórico para explicar la evolución de la natalidad en
el mundo occidental. En definitiva, se rompe la pretendida correlación entre el
número de hijos y el desarrollo económico, ya que se produce el denominado des-
plome infantil, que es propio de Europa occidental a partir de fines de los años
sesenta. Se hace imposible así la holgada sustitución de generaciones de los años
cincuenta y sesenta. Por lo que se puede comprobar que la falta de reemplazo
generacional comienza con anterioridad a la crisis económica de los años setenta,
y prosigue después a pesar del ciclo último de alza económica.
El declive de la natalidad agudiza o provoca el envejecimiento progresivo
de la población y la necesidad de acudir a la inmigración, fenómeno más antiguo
en los países centro-europeos pero que luego se traspasa también a los medite-
rráneos.
He podido comprobar que el fortísimo declive de la natalidad en un corto
período de tiempo ni fue previsto por los cientificos sociales, ni aseguraba la
modernización entendida como la consecución de los hijos deseados, mediante
las legislaciones sobre la contracepción y el aborto.
Por añadidura, al analizar las causas del declive, el positivismo se limita a
enumerar los obstáculos económicos, sociales, profesionales, etc. como causas
ciertas pero insuficientes para explicar su alcance dramático. Nadie citaba el pro-
blema de los valores, o si se prefiere de las virtudes, para explicar la cuestión de
fondo que traslucía la desnatalidad.
Al tratar de la relación entre población y otras variables en la segunda
mitad del siglo XX no se han cumplido las previsiones catastrofistas. Basta recor-
dar que: 1) el desarrollo se ha mostrado como una variable independiente del cre-
cimiento de la población; 2) la producción alimenticia ha sobrepasado con
mucho el crecimiento demográfico; 3) el supuesto agotamiento de los recursos es
sustituido por el dilema ambiental; 4) se incorporan al desarrollo los llamados
países emergentes; 5) la globalización es un proceso teóricamente favorable a la
extensión del desarrollo, aunque requiere cambios importantes en los países
ricos; entre otros, la apertura al comercio de los países pobres. Hay que tener en
cuenta que en estos últimos es necesario arbitrar medidas de mejora de la organi-
zación, sin olvidar las guerras y las hambrunas por causas climáticas.
Habría que señalar que también abundan las sombras en esta etapa de
medio siglo: 1) la pobreza y el subdesarrollo profundo siguen afectando a una
cincuentena de países; 2) el porcentaje de hambrientos ha disminuido, aunque el

hambre continúa siendo un drama ostensible, mientras sobra o se limita la pro-
ducción alimentaria en los países ricos; 3) aunque la mayoría de los países menos
avanzados han aumentado su PIB, en los ricos el aumento ha sido mayor; las dis-
paridades entre la riqueza y la pobreza, el superconsumo y la miseria, se agrandan
entre los avanzados y los menos favorecidos, así como también las diferencias
notables entre las personas y grupos integrados y los excluidos en el caso de
Europa occidental.
4. EL FUTURO
En concreto, me interesa destacar tres factores de una gran trascendencia

actual, que tienen alguna relación con el sistema cerrado del que hemos estado
hablando. Me referiré en primer lugar al envejecimiento de la población, al fenó-
meno de la inmigración, y al ambiente. Después, hablaré de las amenazas de una
mayor oclusión de la cultura de la muerte, en contraste con los valores abiertos a
la vida y a la justicia y la solidaridad.
Se han agravado los problemas relacionados con el envejecimiento:
aumento de costes sociales, hipoteca de la reposición de las generaciones, necesi-
dad de mano de obra y apelación a la inmigración. La última proyección, hecha
en el 2000 de cara al año 2050, muestra cómo la población del “Viejo Continen-
te” requeriría una cantidad asombrosa de inmigrantes para compensar el vacío
generado por la falta de cunas autóctonas, es decir, por la involución demográfi-
ca. No vamos a entrar aquí en los tres escenarios y los objetivos a cada uno corres-
pondientes. En cualquiera de los tres, el yermo de envejecimiento provocado por
la subfecundidad exige una inmigración explosiva.
A mi entender, tal tipo de proyecciones, a muy largo plazo, se parecen a las
que condujeron a hablar de la explosión demográfica, aunque en sentido contra-
rio. Cabe preguntarse, en consecuencia, si la publicación de cifras que han sido
tildadas de absurdas en medios demográficos serios, tiene como objetivo prepa-
rar a la opinión pública sobre políticas de futuro relacionadas con los ancianos.
Lo que no invalida, ciertamente, la necesidad de la inmigración auspiciada por el
envejecimiento.
De cara al futuro, la inmigración, que requiere grandes volúmenes de per-
sonas, es vista como un fenómeno con dos caras, como problema y como solu-
ción, pero lo que es innegable es que ha obligado a los países ricos a reconsiderar
muchos de los postulados sobre los que se había construido la cultura contem-
poránea. Ante una masa de indigentes que se mueve a nivel de supervivencia, y no
tiene más remedio que abandonar familia y tierra para ir en busca de un trabajo
que, muchas veces, se presenta arduo o imposible y con la consiguiente posibili-

dad de sufrir la explotación o el maltrato, hay que ser muy duro o indiferente para
pasar a su lado sin verse afectados por el problema.
Por otro lado, la cuestión del ambiente resulta problemática desde el
punto de vista de nuestras actividades. Alredor del 70 % de la contaminación se
debe a la producción energética, a los transportes y a la falta de suficiente infor-
mación. El estricto cumplimiento de las normativas internacionales y su trasvase
a los marcos nacionales por Gobiernos, medios regionales y locales y empresas
agresivas es la solución para acortar y disminuir los efectos de la situación actual
y futura.
El biologismo es la amenaza a la que antes me refería. La extrapolación de
la Ecología biológica a la Ecología humana conduce a la Ecología profunda, al
ecocentrismo biologista o al antropocentismo biologista-eugenésico. Cabe sim-
plificar esta terminología, que podría tacharse de críptica. La mencionada ten-
dencia sostiene que la especie humana debe someterse a las leyes fisiológicas de
las demás especies. Como no ha ocurrido así, el crecimiento de la población
posee un carácter patológico. De esta manera el individuo es sustituido por la
especie, susceptible de mejora y selección, con lo que la vida de la persona con-
creta sin calidad genética e intelectual carece de sentido. Lo mismo puede afir-
marse de las gentes o pueblos que se apartan más de los condicionamientos bio-
lógicos por causa de la fecundidad.
Afortunadamente, las anteriores afirmaciones son minoritarias. Frente el
antihumanismo demográfico y bio-ecológico, basta señalar tres presupuestos. En
primer lugar, el hombre es el único ser en la naturaleza que está dotado de inteli-
gencia y posee dimensiones morales, por lo que es el único ser capaz de distinguir
entre el bien y el mal. Después, nuestra relación con la naturaleza es de respeto a
lo creado y se desenvuelve en el ámbito de la ciencia y la tecnología, con el obje-
tivo de satisfacer nuestras necesidades de bienestar material en el marco del desa-
rrollo cultural que nos es propio. Finalmente, el antropocentrismo bíblico es soli-
dario, puesto que la Tierra y sus bienes pertenecen a todos los hombres, lo que
significa que cada hombre tiene obligaciones sociales respecto a los demás en el
uso global que hace del planeta.
Este escenario esperanzado parte de la confianza de que los valores de la
familia se hallan todavía muy arraigados. Es necesario que sean activadas las ayudas
institucionales, económicas y sociales que permitan contribuir a la recuperación de
la fecundidad. La recuperación y promoción de la fe en las nuevas generaciones,
cuya expresión más significativa fue la celebración del Jubileo de la Juventud en la
Roma del 2000 con dos millones de jóvenes asistentes, es condición necesaria. La
ayuda a la familia y a la natalidad es, además, un complemento para procurar una
reposición que permita la convivencia —y no la desaparición— de la cultura euro-
pea de raíces cristianas, en solidaridad con las culturas de la inmigración.

Contra pesimismo, optimismo. Pero no optimismo utópico, sino realista.
Como escribió el Beato Josemaría: «Fe, alegña, optimismo. —Pero no la sandez
de cerrar los ojos a la realidad»2. El realismo es la virtud que nos hace admitir la
existencia de errores y deficiencias, que tendremos mientras vivamos, a título per-
sonal y colectivo. Pero nos anima también a prepararnos sólidamente, cada cual
en nuestro campo, para encararlo de la mano de la verdad y el amor. Quizá sea
ésta la mayor lección que, a lo largo de mi carrera profesional en el ámbito de la
Geodemografía, he podido aprender del Beato Josemaría: «Tu vida, tu trabajo,
no debe ser labor negativa, no debe ser “antinada”. Es, ¡debe ser!, afirmación,
optimismo, juventud, alegría y paz»3.
2 Camino, 40.
3 Forja, 103.

La medicina al servicio de la vida
Carlos Fernández del Castillo S.
Jefe del Departamento de Ginecología, Instituto Nacional de la Nutrición Salvador Zubirán,

Secretaría de Salud. Profesor de la Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
México. Presidente de la Federación Mexicana de Ginecología y Obstetricia 1995-1997. Presi-
dente de la Asociación Mexicana de Ginecología y Obstetricia 1978-1980. Presidente de la Aca-
demia Mexicana de Cirugía 1985-1987.
La medicina es una ciencia y un arte que tiene sus orígenes en la más remo-
ta antigüedad. La inclinación vocacional hacia esta profesión surge desde que el
hombre primitivo empezó a enfermarse. La compasión y el amor hacia sus seme-
jantes hicieron que algunos se ofrecieran a tratar de curar o aliviar o al menos a
tan siquiera consolar a los que sufren. Con la historia ha ido avanzando la medi-
cina y sus profesantes. Las corrientes de pensamiento han estado siempre pre-
sentes influyendo en la conducta de las personas y obviamente de los médicos.
Ciencia, medicina, fe, justicia y religión van de la mano. Expondré brevemente mi
experiencia y mis puntos de vista sobre este asunto.
Dios quiso que naciera en un hogar católico y mi educación pre-universita-
ria se desenvolvió en ese ambiente. Llevé a cabo la carrera para obtener el título de
Médico-Cirujano en la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, en un ambien-
te de secularismo total. Allí me tocó conocer excelentes maestros —la mayoría— y
otros no tanto. Pero la línea de no hablar de Dios ni de religiones la seguían todos
y a todos los niveles. Conservar la fe y cumplir con los mandamientos de la ley de
Dios, no fue fácil, tanto más cuando uno veía que sus compañeros de bachillerato y
los de años precedentes perdían la práctica de la religión católica y aún la fe.
Practiqué tres años Oncología y posteriormente me especialicé en Gineco-
logía y Obstetricia. Conocí, siendo estudiante de medicina, a Lucila, también
católica; y el ejemplo de mis papás y demás parientes y mi noviazgo me mantu-
vieron dentro de la religión católica. Pronto me sentí atraído por la medicina aca-
démica y la docencia y a los cinco años de ser médico, ya había ingresado a la Aso-
113
ciación Mexicana de Ginecología y Obstetricia. A los seis años, por concurso
obtuve mi puesto de maestro en la Universidad.
Un año y medio después de haberme recibido de médico contraje matri-
monio con Lucila y, gracias a Dios, tenemos cinco hijos, aunque además perdimos
tres embarazos. Yo creo que me sentía un buen católico: no faltaba los domingos
a Misa, me confesaba con frecuencia, y mi esposa y yo enseñamos a nuestros hijos
las primeras oraciones y los preparamos para hacer la Primera Comunión.
Yo iba avanzando como médico en la atención de mis pacientes y en la
enseñanza de la Ginecología y la Obstetricia a mis alumnos; empecé a publicar
trabajos y participar en congresos. Cuando empezó la píldora anticonceptiva,
comencé a tener dificultades con mis colegas y con mis pacientes, por no prescri-
birla. Pasé una temporada de dudas personales que no me abandonaron total-
mente cuando en 1968 se promulgó la Encíclica Humanae vitae. En la defensa de
ese documento tuve que enfrascarme en frecuentes y desagradables discusiones
con colegas y con pacientes. A veces salía airoso, pero en otras me faltaban argu-
mentos convincentes, sobre todo cuando mis oponentes no tenían fe ni conocían
la Encíclica. Aunque yo me confesaba y recibía la Sagrada Eucaristía, me sentía
dentro de un círculo que me atrapaba. Sentía la indiferencia de bastantes de mis
colegas, y aún el rechazo de muchos, por no prescribir ni aceptar evaluaciones de
los anticonceptivos que iban surgiendo.
Tenía ya 15 años de médico en 1970, cuando estuvo en México el Beato
Josemaría Escrivá. Personalmente fue una experiencia humana inolvidable. Me
propuse saber más de él y pronto me di cuenta que sus pensamientos, sus escri-
tos y sus homilías me estaban mostrando un campo de acción que hasta entonces
no había sido capaz de apreciar en justa medida. Como he dicho, yo me creía un
buen católico porque no faltaba a Misa los domingos, me confesaba con relativa
frecuencia, rezaba rutinariamente mis oraciones, me negaba a prescribir anticon-
ceptivos y me sentía una buena persona. Fue a partir de mi encuentro con el ahora
Beato Josemaría y el Opus Dei que encontré la grandeza de la vida ordinaria.
Me fui dando cuenta de que en mi vida conyugal, en mi vocación como
esposo y padre de familia, como médico, como maestro, como miembro de agru-
paciones científicas, esto es, en mi vida de todos los días y a todas horas, yo tenía
la oportunidad de santificarme y de santificar mi trabajo y santificarme con mi
trabajo. No tuve ninguna duda de que se me abría una oportunidad de vivir en la
presencia de Dios. Estaba sin preparación para lograrlo y vi que nada lograría si
limitaba mi trato con el Señor solamente a los domingos. Era necesario acudir a
diario a la Santa Misa. Allí tendría la oportunidad —ahora empezaba a compren-
derlo— de poder recibir cotidianamente el Cuerpo, la Sangre, el Alma y la Divi-
nidad de Cristo Nuestro Señor. Pero ¿cómo comprender a fondo todo esto?
Rápidamente me di cuenta de que desconocía mucho, muchísimo de mi religión.
114 - CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ DEL CASTILLO S.

Era necesario que yo me formara. Sentía que Dios me llamaba para dar testimo-
nio de El en todas mis actividades. El Beato Josemaría, me había caído del cielo.
Me acerqué al Opus Dei y platiqué mis inquietudes. Quería formarme para ser un
buen esposo católico y un buen médico católico.
Empecé mi formación y mi vida interior me empezó a transformar. Nunca
había yo llevado una dirección espiritual; antes yo pensaba que eso era para gen-
tes que se iban a un convento y no para un cristiano corriente. Todo empezó a
cambiar porque mejoraba mi vida de manera integral. En el aspecto profesional
empecé a tener cada vez más pacientes; intervine en la política médica porque lle-
gué a ocupar cargos en mesas directivas de las agrupaciones médicas a las que
pertenecía; mis alumnos comenzaron a rendir más. Yo no hacía, o no creía hacer
nada extraordinario para progresar profesionalmente, excepto que me propuse
tener siempre presencia de Dios y creer firmemente que soy un hijo de Dios y que
debo comportarme como tal. Pronto la gente notó algo diferente en mí: más ale-
gría, más sencillez, más sinceridad, más eficiencia.
El punto de controversia con mis colegas era, es y lamentablemente pien-
so que seguirá siendo, lo referente a la anticoncepción, la esterilización y el abor-
to, ya se trate de mujeres solteras o de matrimonios los que lo pidan. La forma-
ción que traté de adquirir para ser un buen católico y mis estudios médicos con
criterio filosófico me han permitido explicar en diversos foros la necesidad de
respetar la delicada fisiología neuroendócrina y orgánica de la mujer. He procu-
rado aclarar también los siguientes puntos: la expresión más elocuente de la salud
femenina es la fertilidad; la fertilidad no es una enfermedad que deba tratarse con
un medicamento como lo es la píldora anticonceptiva y los medicamentos hormo-
nales inyectables o subdérmicos; no es válido exponer la salud de las mujeres con
la ingestión de anticonceptivos que tarde o temprano ocasionaran efectos
indeseables para la salud.
Con respecto al dispositivo intrauterino, hay que saber que actúa infla-
mando el interior del útero lo que impide el embarazo y posiblemente ocasiona
abortos frecuentes por impedir la implantación del embrión; pero los médicos no
estamos para inflamar ninguna parte del cuerpo de nadie; los tejidos inflamados
fácilmente se infectan y la infección endometrial favorece las salpingitis y el
embarazo tubario. Por otra parte, la cirugía es para curar órganos enfermos, no
para inutilizar órganos sanos y las ligaduras tubarias y las vasectomías son inter-
venciones quirúrgicas que se hacen sobre órganos sanos. La cirugía no está para
matar a nadie y los abortos son intervenciones quirúrgicas que matan a un ser
humano en etapa de embrión o de feto, y los médicos hemos estudiado para sal-
var vidas y no matar personas aunque sean todavía embriones.
He tenido que explicar también que la manera natural de engendrar nue-
vas vidas es hacerlo dentro del matrimonio y mediante el acto sexual de una pare-
LA MEDICINA AL SERVICIO DE LA VIDA - 115

ja que se ha comprometido a unirse de manera exclusiva y definitiva para educar
a sus hijos. La fertilización asistida extracorpórea ha terminado con la vida de dos
o tres veces el número de bebés que felizmente han podido llegar a este mundo.
En la fertilización asistida se cometen injusticias con los gametos y muchas per-
sonas nunca sabrán quién es su verdadero padre o su verdadera madre, si la que
rentó o prestó su útero, o la que donó o vendió sus gametos. Y también, que los
ancianos y los enfermos terminales deben morir con dignidad espontáneamente.
He defendido la vida, el matrimonio y la familia tratando de construir cul-
turas de vida.
Profundizando en la vida interior, he aprendido a pedir al Espíritu Santo
que ilumine mi inteligencia, fortalezca mi voluntad y purifique mi corazón.
Muchas veces, estando ante una multitud, he invocado interiormente la ayuda de
la Santísima Virgen María, de mi Angel Custodio y de los Angeles Custodios del
auditorio, pidiendo al Señor que me dé el “don de lenguas”, y me he quedado
sorprendido, casi pasmado de lo que he podido decir sin temor.
Muchas gentes se han enterado que desde hace treinta años procuro pro-
fundizar en el mensaje del Beato Josemaría y eso no ha sido impedimento alguno
para ocupar la presidencia de las agrupaciones científicas de Ginecología y Obs-
tetricia y de Cirugía más importantes de mi país. He sentido la gozosa obligación
de dar testimonio de mi manera de pensar y he tenido la oportunidad de expre-
sarlo en foros médicos y jurídicos, convencido que la norma moral está en fun-
ción del destino eterno del hombre.
116 - CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ DEL CASTILLO S.

Working for Life in India
Josephine Kunnacherri
Doctor in Medicine and a Surgeon, specialising in Gynecology (University of Navarre). She has
exercised her profession in Nigeria, where she started the Niger Foundation Hospital of Enugu.
Currently she is Director of ‘Family Health Care’, New Delhi.
Blessed Josemaría often said that the faithful of Opus Dei owe ninety per-
cent of their vocation to their parents1. The deep life of faith and piety of my father
and the generosity of my mother were certainly fertile ground in which the seed of
my vocation could take root. They were true promoters of the culture of life. The
value that my mother placed on life was exemplified by the case of my youngest
brother. That was her tenth pregnancy and she was already 45 at the time.
In terms of my career, my parents and my older brother really wanted me
to study Medicine at a good foreign university. While I applied to several univer-
sities, it was the quick response of the University of Navarre in Spain that con-
vinced my father of their professional seriousness. The influence of Blessed Jose-
maría’s spirit of doing work well was fruitful even in this little detail. Around that
time, my brother had also met two students at Harvard who were faithful of
Opus Dei and they had made a very good impression on him. They also recom-
mended that I attend this university.
I studied at the University of Navarre and did my internship at the univer-
sity clinic. When I was living in one of the university residences, I started to read
The Way and other writings of Blessed Josemaría. I remember the impact that the
chapter dedicated to study had on me. It was there that I encountered something
which was completely new for me: the fact that I could sanctify my professional
work!
At that time, my country, India, was experiencing a boom in ‘family plan-
ning’, with the government organizing large-scale campaigns to promote it. How-
1 Cfr. Conversations, 104.
117
ever, appreciation for children was very deeply rooted in the country. In addition,
Catholics had received the grave and clear message given by Pope Paul VI in the
Encyclical Humanae Vitae. My parents never doubted that they were called to
obey the Pope on this matter; they consciously chose to live in accordance with
life values once again. I, on the other hand, was not quite sure what to think of the
matter. It was true that we needed to resolve many urgent problems in the coun-
try with such a large population faced with hunger and other forms of human
misery.
It was then, while reading the points of The Way and other writings of
Blessed Josemaría about marriage, that I started to get a glimpse of other alterna-
tives, and little by little I began to realize the great value of every human life.
Thanks to the clarity of the doctrine of Blessed Josemaría and his positive influ-
ence on the University and Clinic of Navarre, I learned about Medicine as an
authentic instrument with which I could work for a culture of life, rather than as a
mere laboratory science. I began to see that my country — and so many others that
are heading in the same direction — could find better solutions to their problems.
While I have thousands of beautiful memories about my years at universi-
ty, there is one which I hold especially dear. It was a manifestation of the family
spirit which Blessed Josemaría, as Grand Chancellor, had sown in this university.
When I received my grades for my thesis, Eduardo Ortiz de Landázuri, another
promoter of the culture of life, immediately sent a telegram to my parents to let
them know the grade that their daughter — already a doctor — had received.
My desires and my drive to defend life grew progressively, due in part to
the energetic and optimistic spirit which I found in all that I heard and read of
Blessed Josemaría. Soon I even had the opportunity to meet him personally.
While I had looked forward to that meeting, I never expected it to have the
impact on my life that it did. When he saw me, he spoke about one day returning
to India and helping to start the apostolic work of Opus Dei there. This meeting
with him encouraged me many times afterwards to prepare myself better to
defend life at all stages so that I could better serve my country and the whole
human family, which is so seriously threatened by the looming culture of death.
Many years passed, however, before this desire shared by Blessed Josemaría and
myself became a reality. In the meantime, I practised medicine in Spain and in
Nigeria where I acquired experience both of life, and unfortunately also of death.
A few years before, thanks to the good advice of a close friend, I had decid-
ed to specialize in Gynaecology and Obstetrics. In Spain, I was fortunate to work
with professionals of the calibre of Eduardo Ortiz de Landázuri and Juan
Jiménez Vargas, who taught me with mastery and with a true Christian outlook
on life, to value every human life regardless of whose it is or in what condition it
is in. They worked inspired by the spirit of Blessed Josemaría. From Dr. Jiménez
118 - JOSEPHINE KUNNACHERRI

Vargas I learned about healthy and upright natural family planning, which could
make the desire of the parents to live in accordance with the designs of God com-
patible with the need to take various other circumstances into account and enable
them to live in every moment in accordance with the natural law and with the law
of God. I also learned how to find convincing arguments to persuade women to
carry their pregnancies to term despite external pressure. I remember one case of
a drug-addicted girl who was admitted to the Emergency Room of the clinic. She
was pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. The example of the patience,
affection and understanding of a mother and a father which Dr. Ortiz de
Landázuri showed to that girl, coming to see her at the clinic at midnight, marked
my professional life and strengthened me in my desires to defend the unborn. It
goes without saying that he convinced her to keep her baby.
In Nigeria, I met truly beautiful and heroic women who were dealing with
difficult pregnancies and precarious economic situations, but who brought their
children into the world despite the dangers of terminal diseases. One sickness in
particular, called thalasemia is quite frequent there. I remember one woman from
the north of the country who had had various Caesarean sections, and who had
scarce economic resources, but who was willing to undergo any type of treatment
so that she could carry her child to term. Many couples with incompatibility of
blood group attended consultations with a genuine hunger to have children.
Other women, apparently less generous at the beginning of their visits, wanting
to end their pregnancies, left convinced of the treasure that they carried within: a
new life with all of its possibilities, with all of the blessings that this baby would
bring to the family. It was a cause of joy to see these families embrace the truth,
since the idea of a child as a blessing lies so deep within the African soul. It is the
propaganda of anti-life campaigns that so often seeks to rob Africans of their nat-
ural and traditional values.
Another time a former patient came to the hospital, moved by what had
just happened to her. She had been going with her husband directly to a hospital
in Enugu in order to abort her child. However, as the car passed by our hospital
(the Niger Foundation Hospital), and she saw the sign, she realized that she
could not commit this crime and she changed direction, returning to the NFH.
After a number of years, we were finally able to fulfil the desire of Blessed
Josemaría to start to work in India. I arrived in Delhi thinking that things would
be easy. I had not realized the changes that my country had experienced since I
had left to attend university in Spain 30 years earlier. Nevertheless, with the sup-
port and the encouragement that I have always received from Blessed Josemaría
and from so many people committed to the same struggle for life, I started a med-
ical dispensary in Delhi.
WORKING FOR LIFE IN INDIA - 119

I have witnessed many marvellous things since 1997. I have seen many
people change their attitude about life and we have saved the lives of many chil-
dren who have had to struggle to survive in the wombs of their mothers. And the
best part was seeing the joy of these parents when they held their children in their
arms. These parents, influenced as they are by cruel propaganda which makes
them believe that each couple should only have two children at most, see abor-
tion as the natural solution when any additional children are conceived. I have to
admit that I commended myself to Blessed Josemaría before every consultation,
and if it was a difficult case, I redoubled my petitions. I also tried to keep the
guardian angel of each of my patients very busy, as he advised.
We also give classes about different topics from the Women Health Cen-
ter. We held sessions for several months with postgraduate students of the most
prestigious hospital in India (AIIMS) about the different methods of natural fam-
ily planning. At the end of these sessions, which were mostly scientific in content,
one postgraduate student approached me, amazed at the new horizons that had
been opened to her. In all her years of studying Medicine, no one had ever
explained these things to her. There were only two options presented: either con-
traception or abortion. These are signs of a return to a culture of life.
One Hindu doctor and mother who works with me is also changing her
personal and professional outlook on life. She realizes that what they taught at
medical school was imbued with the culture of death, and that now with us, a cul-
ture of life is beginning to take root. Now it is she who studies the ways of help-
ing patients to find the solutions within the framework of life, in accordance with
matrimonial dignity. We also attend many patients at a dispensary that we have
set up in one of the poorest areas.
What I have just said is a pale reflection of the reality of what I experience
every day. I would like to express my profound gratitude to Blessed Josemaría
and to all of my teachers at the University of Navarre. I am especially grateful for
that seed that was sown in me in my first meeting with Blessed Josemaría and the
inspiration of his message, full of life and optimism, that has been guiding my life.
120 - JOSEPHINE KUNNACHERRI

Construyendo una cultura de la vida
en la opinión pública
Dolores Voltas Baró
Médico endocrinólogo, Vocal de la Sociedad Catalana de Bioética de la Academia de Ciencias

Médicas de Cataluña y Baleares, Secretario General de la Federación Española de Asociaciones
Pro Vida y Presidenta de la Asociación Pro Vida de Barcelona.
En 1954 empecé la carrera de Medicina en la Universidad de Barcelona.

Mi hermano mayor me animó para que el año siguiente me trasladara a estudiar
a Navarra, donde comenzaba una universidad nueva; y me entusiasmé. En reali-
dad, no era todavía universidad. Mi hermano, médico recién licenciado, me pre-
sentó al Prof. Jiménez Vargas, que después de entrevistarme, me ofreció un tra-
bajo en Pamplona en el Departamento de Fisiología Humana del Consejo
Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). Esto me permitiría costearme la
estancia allí. Además, solicité matrícula gratuita, que me concedieron por buen
expediente académico. Dos años después volví a Barcelona para terminar la
carrera. Pero recuerdo como si fuera ayer varios sucesos de aquellos dos años en
Pamplona, que orientaron y marcaron mi vida para siempre.
Mi trabajo en el CSIC no tenía mucho que ver con la importancia de su
nombre: empecé abriendo cajones de madera repletos de material de laboratorio
y colocándolos en repisas de ladrillo que antes tuve que limpiar. Colaboré muy
activamente en la preparación del cadáver para las primeras prácticas de Anato-
mía de mi propio curso —la primera promoción de médicos de Navarra—, y
ayudé también en la preparación de las primeras prácticas de Fisiología con ani-
males. Así aprendí con rapidez y de modo práctico que todo lo grande empieza
siendo pequeño. Y descubrí algo nuevo: que el trabajo que siempre había consi-
derado importante, podía ofrecerse a Dios.
En mis ratos libres, mecanografiaba el manuscrito de un libro sobre la Vir-
gen, que escribía un sacerdote del Opus Dei, y fui, por tanto, la primera en leer-
lo. El libro mostraba con claridad que la vocación de cristiano es una llamada de
121
Dios. Está empapado de las enseñanzas del Beato Josemaría y me mostró el modo
concreto de ser una buena cristiana. El autor me preguntó mi opinión sobre el
libro y después me dijo: «Yo, de ti, me echaría a nadar como los patos». Supe un
tiempo después que ésta era una manera coloquial que el Beato Josemaría usaba
para animar a confiar en Dios, a no tener miedo ante las dificultades.
Ya me había familiarizado con el espíritu del Beato Josemaría cuando me
hice novia del que después sería mi marido. Nos había presentado mi hermano
médico, que era compañero suyo de carrera. Nos casamos en 1962, un año des-
pués de licenciarme. Participé mi boda al Beato Josemaría. Al regresar del viaje
de novios, encontré una carta de su parte desde Roma, en la que enviaba su ben-
dición para mi nuevo hogar. Comprendí que el matrimonio era importante, muy
importante. Lo sabía, pero que el Beato Josemaría contestara, y a vuelta de
correo, me impresionó mucho. Pocos meses después, tuve la suerte de conocerle
en Barcelona y de que diera una bendición especial a las que esperábamos un
hijo. Yo estaba embarazada del primero; luego vinieron otros seis.
Siempre tengo presentes unas palabras suyas referidas al amor de nuestros
padres: «Yo bendigo ese amor con las dos manos, y cuando me han preguntado
que por qué digo con las dos manos, mi respuesta ha sido inmediata: ¡porque no
tengo cuatro!»1. En esas mismas fechas, durante una catequesis por España en
1972, tuve ocasión de pedirle consejo para mantener un equilibrio entre el traba-
jo del hogar —la profesión del hogar— y otra profesión. Y me contestó: «Si lo
preguntas, es porque te preocupa y lo estás haciendo bien». Sus palabras me ani-
maron a seguir haciendo lo que hacía; y quizá no fue tanto por las palabras con-
cretas, sino por la confianza que me hizo sentir.
Muy pronto mi esposo y yo empezamos a dar sesiones de preparación al
matrimonio a parejas de novios en varias parroquias de la Archidiócesis de Bar-
celona. Lo hicimos durante más de diez años. También procuramos colaborar al
máximo en los colegios de nuestras hijas y nuestros hijos: formando parte de la
junta directiva, dando sesiones a padres, profesores y alumnos. Yo había dejado
pronto el ejercicio de la Medicina para dedicarme a mi familia, pues médicos hay
muchos, madre de mis hijos sólo yo. Busqué la manera de transmitir a los hijos de
otros lo mismo que intentaba transmitir a los míos. En el colegio de mis hijas
empecé a dar unas clases a las adolescentes, que ellas llamaban ‘clases de amor’; y
antes me reunía con sus madres. El Beato Josemaría decía a veces que él había
“matado muchas cigüeñas”, refiriéndose a la necesidad de formar con claridad,
con limpieza a los adolescentes en este campo, y a esa formación he procurado
contribuir.
122 - DOLORES VOLTAS BARÓ

Creo que las enseñanzas del Beato Josemaría me han ayudado a lo largo de
mi vida a ir tomando decisiones y a asumir tareas favorables a la vida. No es que
de la noche a la mañana me haya dedicado a construir una cultura de la vida. Sino
que el espíritu de servicio, el afán de hacer las cosas bien, esos ánimos para ser úti-
les y dejar poso, que el Beato Josemaría difundió2, hacen que una empiece a com-
plicarse la vida poco a poco. Una cosa te lleva a otra y cada vez te sientes más pre-
parada para ayudar a los demás.
Mientras iban naciendo mis hijos, estudié para titularme en una especiali-
dad médica que me permitiera trabajar manteniendo la dedicación a mi familia, y
lo logré. Empecé a ejercer de nuevo la Medicina hace 25 años. Y hace 25 años
también, promoví junto con mi esposo y con otras personas la primera Asocia-
ción Pro Vida en España. Tenía un buen aprendizaje. Había comenzado a cons-
truir una cultura de la vida “desde sus raíces”, como dice el Santo Padre Juan
Pablo II3: el matrimonio, las relaciones conyugales, educar a los hijos propios y
ajenos para el amor. Me faltaba la ayuda directa a las madres con dificultades por
motivo de su maternidad; y no sólo dificultades materiales, que siempre tienen
solución. Me refiero sobre todo a las mujeres que piensan que un hijo estorba sus
planes. Pero esto exige una acción en paralelo en los lugares de elaboración del
pensamiento, de la investigación, del mundo académico. Esto le toca a otros. A
mí me toca estar en el Colegio Profesional, fomentar más asociaciones cívicas que
promuevan una cultura de vida. Desde hace 20 años pertenezco también a la
Comisión Deontológica del Colegio de Médicos de Barcelona.
Con perspectiva se comprueba la importancia de “estar” en los lugares en
que nos corresponde: primero, en mi casa, con mi marido y mis hijos; luego en los
colegios; después, en la profesión, ejerciéndola en el colegio profesional, en los
puestos donde se toman decisiones; y en la sociedad en que me ha tocado vivir,
asociándome con otras personas, ciudadanos que como yo quieren alcanzar obje-
tivos concretos. En mi caso, esos objetivos son: ayudar a madres y familias en difi-
cultades, y promover una cultura de respeto a la vida.
El haber estado en el lugar conveniente, en el momento adecuado da sus
frutos. En estos años he podido ayudar a miles de madres que han podido tener
y amar a sus hijos y a muchas mujeres que han perdido el miedo a la maternidad.
Actualmente existen en España más de 30 asociaciones en defensa de la vida
humana, unidas en una Federación de la que soy Secretaria General.
He tenido ocasión de hablar y promover el respeto a la vida en radios, tele-
visiones, foros universitarios, escuelas, centros culturales, reuniones políticas. Y
de debatir y relacionarme con personas que promueven una cultura de muerte,
2 Cfr. Camino, 1.
3 Cfr. JUAN PABLO II, Enc. Evangelium Vitae, 97.
COSTRUYENDO UNA CULTURA DE LA VIDA EN LA OPINIÓN PÚBLICA - 123

con quienes he procurado siempre hablar con claridad, pero sin herir. Nunca con
odio o falta de respeto, esforzándome por hacer amable la verdad. También he
publicado artículos y entrevistas en prensa escrita.
En las reuniones de trabajo de la Comisión de Deontología y Ética Profe-
sional, he tenido muchas ocasiones de dar mi opinión. He tenido que documen-
tarme bien, estudiar. Decir la verdad sobre determinados temas muy cuestiona-
dos hoy en día es a veces costoso: hay que ser firme, incluso audaz. No se trata de
decir la verdad porque es tuya, sino porque tú te has adherido a ella y otras per-
sonas la hacen suya también cuando tú has empezado a hacerlo. La gente necesi-
ta que alguien rompa el hielo hablando con claridad sobre estas cuestiones.
Hay cosecha, hay que seguir poniendo la semilla, hay que trabajar un poco
la tierra, pero desde el Cielo llueve: contamos con la ayuda de Dios. No pienso
continuamente que mi premio será la felicidad eterna, aunque lo haya considera-
do en muchas ocasiones. El Beato Josemaría decía que Dios nos quiere felices
aquí en la tierra4. Sólo lo seremos viviendo una vida cristiana coherente en los
ambientes en los que nos toca vivir y trabajar.
4 Cfr. Camino, 217; Amigos de Dios, 141.
124 - DOLORES VOLTAS BARÓ

“Drowning Evil in an Abundance
of Good”: Working Towards
the Culture of Life in Holland
Jose van Dijck
She is a physiotherapist who specializes in child physiotherapy and cerebral palsy (treatment of
cerebral lesions). She is President of Cure & Care, a Holland-based commission which organizes
activities aimed at promoting the culture of life. She also gives palliative care classes about the tre-
atment of terminally ill patients, and co-ordinates “Solidair met kinderen, solidair met ouderen”,
a project designed to help disabled children and elderly people in Holland, Poland and Lithuania.
From the time when I was very young, I had great desires to help those
who were in need. I liked to listen to the problems of my friends, to give money
to those in need, and above all I wanted to work as a doctor who cared for poor
children in a developing country. At the same time, I was very reticent to the idea
of living in accordance with my Catholic faith. I wanted to be ‘free’ from what I
saw as impositions on the part of the Church. The people I most despised were
those whom I took to be hypocrites, sitting in the first pew at church in order to
be seen by others. While I realize now that my difficulties were rooted in misun-
derstandings, they were sufficient for me at the time to stop practising my faith.
By what seemed like an accident at the time, I ended up living in a univer-
sity residence that was directed by some faithful of Opus Dei. My confrontation
with the oratory and with people who had a serious life of prayer prompted me
to try to justify my own behaviour, in order to quiet my conscience. My resistance
was great, but short-lived, because in that residence I found people who were
open, simple, and sincere in serving God. They were Christians who tried to live
in accordance with their faith in their ordinary lives. It was through these faithful
of Opus Dei that I first came into contact with Blessed Josemaría Escrivá.
My contact with the teachings and message of Blessed Josemaría, incarnat-
ed in the lives of ordinary coherent Christians, led to a radical change in my own
life. Up until that point, my ideals of serving the poor and needy had been noble,
125
but limited in scope. Inspired by the teachings of the founder of Opus Dei, I real-
ized that I could serve humanity with even higher ideals and with even greater
effectiveness, if everything I did was motivated by the love of God. The passion-
ate love that Blessed Josemaría had for the whole world became a new source of
inspiration for my social work and the treatment of my patients. “Children. The
Sick”, he wrote in The Way. “As you write these words, don’t you feel tempted to
use capitals? The reason is that in children and in the sick a soul in love sees
Him”1.
In studying the life of Josemaría Escrivá, I came to see that his entire exis-
tence was an expression of his love. I learned how he sacrificed himself for the
sick and the dying in the hospitals of Madrid, risking his own health and even his
own life in order to help others. I was especially impressed by the example of
Blessed Josemaría as recounted by Herrero Fontana in José María Somoano in the
Beginnings of Opus Dei. This first-hand witness says: “I carry this image imprint-
ed on my soul: the Father, kneeling beside a sick person laid out on a mat on the
floor, encouraging them with words of hope and comfort [...] I cannot erase this
image from my memory: the Father, kneeling beside the headrest of a dying per-
son, consoling him and speaking to him about God [...] An image which reflects
and which summarizes those years of his life”2.
Later on, the founder of Opus Dei was the driving force behind innumer-
able social projects for the sick and the marginalized. His desire for a better life
for all people was translated into inspiring words and deeds. Blessed Josemaría’s
interior attitude as expressed in the phrase that his role was “to hide and disap-
pear” was a discovery for me of how to love and serve the truth. The prejudices
that I had from the time of my youth against some Catholics were overcome by
his discreet example.
In my country, trying to create a culture of life means being very counter-
cultural. As everyone knows, Holland has been a ‘pioneer’ in terms of legalizing
euthanasia. Euthanasia has become more widespread and more accepted since its
decriminalization in 1993 up until the recent reform of the law in 2001.
In such a culture, one could very easily become discouraged. In my con-
versations with my patients, it is quite rare that I find support for my pro-life argu-
ments. I have come to see first hand that the perspective of people without faith
in an afterlife is very different from my own. I have also seen the insidiousness of
evil and its cleverness in spreading itself. As can be imagined, seeing so many peo-
ple so blind and so lost is a great cause of suffering for me and for all those who
1 The Way, 419.

2 J.M. CEJAS, José María Somoano en los comienzos del Opus Dei, Madrid 1995, p. 96. (My
translation).
126 - JOSE VAN DIJCK

value every human life. Oftentimes, I also feel much less capable than my fellow
doctors or the professors whom I invite to give lectures in our symposia.
One has to be courageous to speak the truth about life in such a climate. One
also has to be able to make sound philosophical arguments. But above all, one
needs to be very optimistic. It would be very easy just to remain silent and not
‘make a problem’ out of these great miseries. But I am incapable of doing that. In
such difficult moments, I think of how Blessed Josemaría lived through a very dif-
ferent type of persecution during the Spanish Civil War and of his enduring opti-
mism. “The task for a Christian is to drown evil in an abundance of good”, he wrote
years later. “It is not a question of negative campaigns, or of being ‘anti’ anything.
On the contrary, we should live positively, full of optimism, with youthfulness, joy
and peace. We should be understanding with everybody, with the followers of
Christ and with those who abandon him, or do not know him at all. But under-
standing does not mean holding back, or remaining indifferent, but being active”3.
By virtue of international pressure, the government of Holland started to
foster palliative care as an alternative to euthanasia. One of these measures imple-
mented was to organize courses for those who cared for the terminally ill. Unfor-
tunately, in these courses, euthanasia is presented as a perfectly acceptable option
to palliative care, as it is viewed as such in almost all of our hospitals. I have seen
in this field of teaching and practising palliative care, a wonderful opportunity to
truly care for the sick and dying and to help others to do the same.
The positive attitude and coherent Christian life of Blessed Josemaría con-
tinually encourage me to organize pro-life activities in my country even though at
times I feel quite isolated in my efforts. I am thankful that I have met good peo-
ple who are now helping me, and they in turn are now finding opportunities to
understand these topics more in depth and to share the truth with others. For
example, Rinie was seriously considering dropping out of medical school because
of all the complex moral issues doctors have to face. However, she persevered
and now she is both a good doctor and a good mother. By helping us in our ‘Cure
& Care’ program, she is helping to spread the truth about life issues and is now
more confident about expressing her opinion on ethical issues. Similarly, another
doctor named Frans is improving his abilities to express himself about euthana-
sia as he gives classes and writes articles about the topic. He is encouraged by see-
ing that he can do something to help the participants in our activities.
While it is a privilege for doctors to spend time at the side of their patients,
it is not possible for them to be there all the time due to their other duties. This is
why it is equally important to educate other hospital staff about how to care for
3 Furrow, 864.
“DROWNING EVIL IN AN ABUNDANCE OF GOOD” - 127

the patient. When I give classes on palliative care to nurses, paramedics and hos-
pital volunteers, I can already see by the first or second day how much they gen-
uinely care for the patients and how much they want to help them, even though
they do not always know how to channel these desires. These classes help them to
learn how to exercise their freedom in a more responsible and fully human way,
that is, in harmony with the truth. For some, these classes reinforce their existing
principles, and provide an opportunity to give more serious consideration to
these topics, and develop arguments to defend and promote life. For others such
as Caroline, it is a real discovery having someone explain with such clarity and
conviction that every human has inherent dignity and natural rights that need to
be respected. These classes have helped her to take her faith more seriously.
Franz, Rinie and Judith take turns leading one of the sessions in the course. This
active participation helps to confirm them in their ideas, which they in turn pass
on to their colleagues.
Josemaría Escrivá has helped to make the profound meaning of suffering
more comprehensible for the ordinary person and has consequently shed light on
the value of the professions that serve the sick and the dying. He once wrote: “To
bring happiness to its loved one, a noble heart will not hesitate before sacrifice.
To bring comfort to a suffering face, a great soul will overcome all repugnance
and give itself unstintingly”4. Many of my students have learned that they can
help people precisely by being close to them in their pain. Trying to console their
patients and alleviate their pain is a way for them of gaining a deeper under-
standing of the meaning of suffering, and of life.
One of my students was a Swedish singer who took the course because she
wanted to reflect on suffering, after having lost her only daughter to cancer. After
the course, she offered to work as a volunteer in the hospital. Another student
helped a terminally ill patient who wanted to end her life to reconsider her deci-
sion by speaking to her about God. Yet another student, from her first aid vol-
unteer post, was able to help many young people and families who were among
the victims of a recent New Year’s Eve fire. Some have also come into contact
with the person and message of Blessed Josemaría, and now have recourse to his
intercession to help them when they are in need.
The life and example of Josemaría Escrivá continue to be an incentive for
me to begin and maintain enthusiasm in social projects, especially activities
involving palliative care and treatment of my patients. His words help me to
struggle towards creating a culture of life in Holland, where many have lost con-
sciousness of the fact that we do not own ourselves.
4 The Way of the Cross, 5:3.
128 - JOSE VAN DIJCK

Indice / Index
WORKSHOPS
PRESENTACIÓN
Ana Marta González
FOREWORD
Ana Marta González
I. AMOR Y MATRIMONIO /
LOVE AND MARRIAGE
INTRODUCCIÓN
Antonio Monserrat
INTRODUCTION
Antonio Monserrat
CLAVES ANTROPOLÓGICAS DE UNOS CONSEJOS.

EL BEATO JOSEMARÍA Y EL AMOR MATRIMONIAL
THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF SOME WORDS OF ADVICE:

BLESSED JOSEMARÍA AND CONJUGAL LOVE
MEETING THE CHALLENGE: HOW THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS

OF BLESSED JOSEMARÍA ESCRIVÁ HAVE HELPED MY MARRIAGE
W. Bradford Wilcox
HOW THE TEACHING OF BLESSED JOSEMARÍA HAVE INFLUENCED

MY LIFE AS A HUSBAND AND FATHER
Markus Schwartz
129
THE EVOLUTION OF FAMILY LIFE IN IVORY COAST IN LIGHT
OF THE TEACHINGS OF BLESSED JOSEMARÍA ESCRIVÁ
Eliane Ekra
THE MEANING OF LOVE: SOME PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

Parehuia Tutua-Nathan
II. CONSTRUIR CULTURAS DE VIDA /

BUILDING UP CULTURES OF LIFE
INTRODUCCIÓN
Paul Swope
INTRODUCTION
Paul Swope
DREAM AND YOUR DREAMS WILL FALL SHORT OF REALITY

Mary Hamm
DEVELOPING A MORE COMPASSIONATE ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDE

Samuel B. Adeloju
LA BATALLA POR LA VIDA EN HONDURAS

Martha Lorena de Casco
MI TRABAJO EN GEODEMOGRAFÍA DESDE LA PERSPECTIVA

DE LA CULTURA DE LA VIDA
Manuel Ferrer Regales
LA MEDICINA AL SERVICIO DE LA VIDA

Carlos Fernández del Castillo S.
WORKING FOR LIFE IN INDIA

Josephine Kunnacherri
CONSTRUYENDO UNA CULTURA DE LA VIDA EN LA OPINIÓN PÚBLICA

Dolores Voltas Baró
“DROWNING EVIL IN AN ABUNDANCE OF GOOD”:

WORKING TOWARDS THE CULTURE OF LIFE IN HOLLAND
Jose van Dijck
130 - FAMILIA Y CULTURAS DE VIDA / FAMILY & CULTURES OF LIFE

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THE GRANDEUR

Familia y culturas de vida

Familia y culturas de vida

Family and Cultures of Life

Eds. Marta Brancatisano Manzi

II. Construir culturas de vida

1 El 6 de octubre de 2002, Juan Pablo II canonizó a Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. Hemos

6 - ANA MARTA GONZÁLEZ

2 The Way, 831.

10 - ANA MARTA GONZÁLEZ

Love and Marriage

1 JUAN PABLO II, Ex. Ap. Familiaris consortio, 11.

1 JOHN PAUL II, Apost. Ex. Familiaris Consortio, 11.

1 A. DE FUENMAYOR - V. GÓMEZ-IGLESIAS - J.L.ILLANES, El itinerario jurídico del Opus Dei.

24 - MARTA BRANCATISANO MANZI

1. EL CAMINO PARA IR AL CIELO, PARA TI,

Palabras de tono aparentemente romántico, que abren sin embargo la

CLAVES ANTROPOLÓGICAS DE UNOS CONSEJOS - 25

2 JUAN PABLO II, Ex. Ap. Familiaris Consortio, 11.

26 - MARTA BRANCATISANO MANZI

Detrás de esta afirmación, aparentemente dura e intencionalmente para-

CLAVES ANTROPOLÓGICAS DE UNOS CONSEJOS - 27

3. ¿QUIERES A TU MARIDO? ¿LO QUIERES TAMBIÉN CON SUS DEFECTOS?

Una provocación afectuosa e irónica, se podría decir. Es, en cambio, una

28 - MARTA BRANCATISANO MANZI

CLAVES ANTROPOLÓGICAS DE UNOS CONSEJOS - 29

30 - MARTA BRANCATISANO MANZI

1 A. DE FUENMAYOR - V. GÓMEZ-IGLESIAS - J.L.ILLANES, The Canonical Path of Opus Dei. The

32 - MARTA BRANCATISANO MANZI

1. YOUR PATH TO HEAVEN HAS A NAME: THAT OF YOUR HUSBAND

These apparently romantic words bring us to the consideration of marriage

THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF SOME WORDS OF ADVICE - 33

3 JOHN PAUL II, Apost. Ex. Familiaris Consortio, 11.

34 - MARTA BRANCATISANO MANZI

Behind these apparently harsh and intentionally paradoxical words is an

THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF SOME WORDS OF ADVICE - 35

3. DO YOU LOVE YOUR HUSBAND… WITH HIS DEFECTS?

36 - MARTA BRANCATISANO MANZI

THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF SOME WORDS OF ADVICE - 37

38 - MARTA BRANCATISANO MANZI

I must begin with a confession. I have a doctorate in the sociology of the

1 The Way, 813.

MEETING THE CHALLENGE - 41

INFLUENCE ON MY LIFE AS A HUSBAND AND FATHER - 45

2 Cfr. Furrow, 652; Friends of God, 73-93.

INFLUENCE ON MY LIFE AS A HUSBAND AND FATHER - 47

4 Cfr. ibidem, 91.

6 Cfr. Christ is passing by, 22, 27.

INFLUENCE ON MY LIFE AS A HUSBAND AND FATHER - 49

INFLUENCE ON MY LIFE AS A HUSBAND AND FATHER - 51

Professor of Family Studies, Catholic University of West Africa.

1. THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS

a) At the Level of the Family Unit

1 Ivory Coast contains close to sixty different ethnic groups.

b) At the Level of the School

THE EVOLUTION OF FAMILY LIFE IN IVORY COAST - 55

Democracy which has been badly assimilated and misapplied by a sizeable

2. PERSONAL ADHERENCE TO THE TEACHINGS OF BLESSED JOSEMARÍA

3. THE APOSTOLATE OF THE FAMILY IN IVORY COAST

THE EVOLUTION OF FAMILY LIFE IN IVORY COAST - 57

In order to spread the message of Blessed Josemaría — which is intended

b) Apostolate through the Media

While it is certainly premature to carry out an in-depth evaluation of the