Life has been very hectic over the last six months so it has been a long time since I last posted. I’m afraid I no longer have the time to run this blog in the way that I used to, but I will try and keep you posted on Sunday Mass times for central London’s main churches (saves you from purchasing Saturday’s Daily Telegraph), advertise the odd event, and also make this blog a little more personal.
So for personal matters:
Last December I asked for admission to Opus Dei (a procedure known colloquially as “whistling”) and earlier this year I started a new job, which means that I no longer have time to keep tabs on absolutely everything Catholic-related in London.
Opus Dei can raise a few eyebrows (especially for those who have only encountered it through the Da Vinci Code) so I thought I would do a few posts based on my own personal experience with them, perhaps to smoothe over some qualms and also to satisfy people’s interest (assuming, of course, that they are interested).
I have also been prompted to do this after having read John Allen’s book on Opus Dei, where he suggests that Opus Dei members “need to realize that whether they like it or not, they are the ambassadors for Opus Dei in their social and professional environments” and therefore should volunteer to “speak out of their own experience, and in so doing help put a face on this group that most people know only through the media or watercooler gossip.” He cites the example of Matthew Collins’ question-and-answer format blog about Opus Dei which can be found here and suggests that such initiatives “could be multiplied…assuaging public concerns about transparency and helping to create a different image for Opus Dei.”
I hasten to add that I am no official spokesperson, not formally incorporated as a member yet, and everything I say is my subjective experience. Indeed, there are long-standing members who would be much better qualified to answer these questions and talk about their experience but I shall try my best…
A few matters I might deal with include:
What is Opus Dei?
What does membership in Opus Dei entail?
Why do people join Opus Dei?
How does one join Opus Dei?
Do members of Opus Dei take vows?
What is “apostolate”?
What is a “circle”?
What is the “Preces”?
What are the “norms”?
Why do I need spiritual direction?
Why are the men’s branch and women’s branch separate?
Isn’t Opus Dei elitist?
What distinguishes a supernumerary member of Opus Dei from other faithful lay Catholics leading ordinary lives?
Let me know if you have any more questions though and I will do my best to answer them.
P.S. I look to publish Sunday’s Mass times and details of an event tomorrow, so look out for that!