Happy Feast Day of St. Josemaria Escriva!
St. Josemaria Escriva is the founder of Opus Dei and the saint who stressed the importance of seeking holiness in ordinary life. He had a lot to say about holiness, especially the holiness of the lay faithful. As we prepare to celebrate his feast on June 26th, we're sharing some of our favorite St. Josemaria Escriva quotes about holiness in ordinary life.
10 St. Josemaria Escriva Quotes about Holiness:
"Do you really want to be a saint? Carry out the little duty of each moment: do what you ought and concentrate on what you are doing." - The Way #815
"Let me stress this point: it is in the simplicity of your ordinary work, in the monotonous details of each day, that you have to find the secret, which is hidden from so many, of something great and new: Love." - Furrow #498
"So you have failed? You — be convinced of it — cannot fail. You haven't failed; you have gained experience. On you go!" - The Way #405
"Let us work. Let us work a lot and work well, without forgetting that prayer is our best weapon. That is why I will never tire of repeating that we have to be contemplative souls in the middle of the world, who try to convert their work into prayer." - Furrow #497
"Have you that urge, that divine madness, to bring souls to know the Love of God? In your ordinary life, then, offer up mortifications, pray, do your duty, and conquer yourself in all kinds of tiny details." - The Forge #870
"To follow Christ — that is the secret. We must accompany him so closely that we come to live with him, like the first Twelve did; so closely, that we become identified with him." - #299 from his homily Toward Holiness
"Naturalness. Let your lives as christian men, as christian women — your salt and your light — flow spontaneously, without anything odd or silly: always carry with you our spirit of simplicity." - The Way #379
"Jesus, our Lord and Model, growing up and living as one of us, reveals to us that human existence — your life — and its humdrum, ordinary business, have a meaning which is divine, which belongs to eternity." - The Forge #688
"Our life — a Christian’s life — has to be as ordinary as this: trying every day to do well those very things it is our duty to do; carrying out our divine mission in the world by fulfilling the little duty of each moment.—Or rather, struggling to fulfil it. Sometimes we don’t manage, and when night comes, in our examination, we’ll have to tell Our Lord, “I am not offering you virtues; today I can only offer you defects. But with your grace I will be able to count myself a victor.”' - The Forge #616
"Don't be content to ask Jesus pardon just for your own faults: don't love him just with your own heart...Console him for every offence that has been, is, or will be done to him. Love him with all the strength of all the hearts of all those who have most loved him. Be daring: tell him that you are crazier about him than Mary Magdalen, than either of his two Teresas, that you love him madly, more than Augustine and Dominic and Francis, more than Ignatius and Xavier." - The Way #402
