LOVE FOR GOD'S WILL WAS PARAMOUNT IN ST. JOSEMARIA

VATICAN CITY, OCT 7, 2002 (VIS) - At the end of the Mass this morning in St. Peter's Square, presided over by Bishop Javier Echevarria, the prelate of Opus Dei, Pope John Paul addressed the faithful who had come to Rome from many countries for yesterday's canonization of Blessed Josemaria Escriva.

"Love for God's will," said the Pope in Italian, "stood out in the founder of Opus Dei. There was a sure criteria for holiness: faithfulness in fulfilling the divine will right up to the final consequences. The Lord has a plan for each one of us, He entrusts to each one an earthly mission. ... St. Josemaria was chosen by the Lord to proclaim the universal call to holiness and to indicate that everyday life, common activities, are the path to holiness. One could say that he was the saint of the ordinary."

Speaking Spanish, the Holy Father noted that "Escriva de Balaguer was a saint of great humanity. Everyone who dealt with him, from whatever culture or social condition, felt that he was like a father, totally committed to the service of others because he was convinced that every soul was a marvelous treasure; indeed, every man was worth all of Christ's blood."

The Pope remarked in English that "St. Josemaria was profoundly convinced that Christian life entails a mission and an apostolate: we are in the world to save it with Christ. ... His message impels the Christian to act in places where the future of society is being shaped. From the laity's active presence in all the professions and at the most advanced frontiers of development, there can only come a positive contribution to the strengthening of that harmony between faith and culture which is one of the greatest needs of our time."

In concluding remarks in French, John Paul II observed that "St. Josemaria Escriva spent his life in the service of the Church. In his writings, priests, the laity who followed the most diverse paths, and men and women religious found a stimulating source of inspiration."

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