June 24th Comments (100) / RSS Post Filed under The Da Vinci Code

It turns out that Opus Dei really does have a secret, but somehow it’s been overlooked in all the fuss about money, mortification, power, obedience, and politics – red herrings one and all. Once, St. Josemaria was showing some visitors around Villa Tevere, the main center of Opus Dei in Rome. At one point, he [...]

June 19th Comments (63) / RSS Post Filed under The Da Vinci Code

This weekend, I was in Malta – one of my favorite places and probably the most Catholic country on earth Рfor two events closely related to the theme of this blog: the celebration of a Mass for the feast of St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, and a conference on – what [...]

June 14th Comments (130) / RSS Post Filed under John Wauck, On Opus Dei, Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code

Perhaps the easiest way to give a sense of what a numerary’s life is really like is simply to look at the closest one at hand. I joined Opus Dei when I was in high school. Naturally, I lived with my parents. Opus Dei did not separate me from my parents or family. In fact, [...]

June 14th Comments (174) / RSS Post Filed under On Opus Dei, Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code

Somewhere between the reality on the ground and the printed pages of Dan Brown and Time Magazine, a new creature has appeared under the sun: a fantastic beast known as the cloistered Opus Dei numerary. Certainly, one of the tougher things to communicate about Opus Dei is what it’s like to live as a numerary [...]

June 7th Comments (240) / RSS Post Filed under Life of Jesus Christ, On Opus Dei, Recommended Posts, The Da Vinci Code

Never have I read and heard so much about Opus Dei as in the last year. First came the novel The Da Vinci Code, then all the articles and television programs. Then the movie. Although much of the coverage has been quite good, I’m left with the sensation that, in the move from the reality [...]

June 6th Comments (83) / RSS Post Filed under The Da Vinci Code

Sometimes loosely, sometimes closely, the fantastic legends of the Holy Grail were always tied in one way or another to the real mystery of the Eucharist. An exciting new book has just been published that explains what exactly everyone has been looking for, whether they know it or not. The book is The Grail Code: [...]

June 6th Comments (8) / RSS Post Filed under The Da Vinci Code

The Canadian Catholic Channel, Salt and Light, will be broadcasting a documentary on Opus Dei called, if I’m not mistaken, “Decoding God’s Work”, which will air June 8 (8:00 PM) and June 10 (9:00 PM). The journalist who put the show together is David Naglieri. I don’t know if anyone waters plants while wearing a [...]

June 5th Comments (72) / RSS Post Filed under The Da Vinci Code

A friend has kindly called my attention to this insight, posted on David Frum’s blog, from Charles Moore’s column in The Spectator (May 27, 2006), which touches on a number of issues discussed on this blog: “This column has not been kind to the Da Vinci Code, but it strikes me that there is a [...]

June 5th Comments (74) / RSS Post Filed under The Da Vinci Code

News to tickle the heart of Barbara Nicolosi, who pushed the famous “othercott” in favor of Over the Hedge: The very useful website Box Office Mojo has this weekend‚Äôs estimated US revenues for both The Da Vinci Code and the animated film Over the Hedge. The two movies opened the same day in the US, [...]

June 2nd Comments (22) / RSS Post Filed under The Da Vinci Code

This Sunday, June 4th, Faith and Values Media will be presenting, on the Hallmark Channel, a British-produced documentary called “Opus Dei and The Da Vinci Code.” Naturally, being here in Italy, I haven’t seen it, but I’m told that it is well worth watching. The show is at 10 PM Eastern Standard Time in the [...]

June 2nd Comments (287) / RSS Post Filed under The Da Vinci Code

In discussions about the place of women in the Catholic Church, there seems to be a certain resistance to accepting the claim that Catholic devotion to the Virgin Mary is a sign of the Church’s esteem for women generally. She is said, quite correctly, to be an exceptional case. She is conceived without Original Sin [...]

June 2nd Comments (62) / RSS Post Filed under The Da Vinci Code

When people ask me – and they often do – whether it’s true that I use the cilice and the disciplines, my instinctive reply is something along these lines: Give me a break! I do much more shocking things than that. First of all, I worship a crucified man who was also God. Perhaps we’ve [...]