June 26 | Saint Josemaría Escrivá

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, we are traveling back in time to the 1930s. Picture this. It's the middle of the Spanish Civil War. The streets are dangerous, political instability is tearing the country apart, and there is intense hostility against anyone religious. A man is slipping through enemy territory, holding his breath.

He's dressed in plain clothes, disguised as a regular civilian. He's trying to blend into the shadows to escape Republican-controlled territory and reach safety. If he's caught, it could mean the end of his life. But this man isn't a secret agent or a soldier. He's a Catholic priest. And the radical message he is risking his life to protect isn't about escaping the world. It's about changing the world from the inside out. His bold idea? That you, sitting in your bedroom doing math homework, can be just as holy as a monk living in total silence.

Today, we're talking about the... Architect of Ordinary Sanctity, St. Josemaria Escrivá. Our story starts way before his daring escape. Jose Maria was born on January 9, 1902, in Barbastro, a town in northern Spain. He grew up in a very devout Catholic family, but his childhood wasn't easy.

Imagine coming home from school one day to find out your family has lost absolutely everything. His father's business collapsed completely, forcing his family to pack up, move to the city of Logroño, and start over with... Almost nothing. These tough experiences of sacrifice and insecurity actually shaped his understanding of perseverance and hard work. As a team major, Jose Maria started to feel a mysterious tug on his heart, a call from God, though he had no idea what he was supposed to do.

Then came the moment that changed everything. It was a freezing winter day. As he walked outside, he noticed footprints pressed deep into the freezing snow. He looked closer. They weren't from boots or shoes. They were from bare feet. They belonged to a Carmelite monk who was walking barefoot in the freezing cold as a sacrifice to God. That single moment deeply moved Jose Maria, awakening a massive desire in him for truth. Total dedication to God. He entered the seminary and became an ordained priest in 1925.

Three years later, on October 2, 1928, Father Jose Maria was on a spiritual retreat in Madrid. Suddenly, he experienced a lightbulb moment of profound spiritual clarity. He finally understood exactly what God was calling him to do. He was meant to promote a totally new path in the church.

God wanted ordinary men and women to discover that Their everyday jobs, family life, and daily chores could become a direct path to holiness. This giant idea became the foundation of Opus Dei, which means work of God. Escrivá believed that a lawyer writing up documents, a mom taking care of her kids, a mechanic fixing a car engine, or a student studying for finals could actually become holy by simply doing their work with love and excellence. But getting this message out wasn't easy.

The years of the Spanish Civil War were filled with extreme poverty and political chaos. Despite the constant threat to his life and having to go into hiding in disguise, Escrivá and his companions didn't give up. He kept Opus Dei alive, emphasizing that regular life had to be built on daily prayer, frequent confession, and devotion to the Eucharist. He also became a huge author, writing spiritual classics like The Way, Christ is passing by, and friends of God, which have been translated into many languages.

In the decades after World War II, Opus Dei exploded in growth. It spread all across Europe, over to the Americas, and eventually the entire world. Josemaria spent his final years in Rome, guiding this massive organization, and never stopping his preaching that sanctity, being a saint, is possible for absolutely everyone. He died suddenly in 1975, and is remembered as the priest who brought unusual clarity to a truth that was often overlooked. Holiness isn't just for extraordinary personalities. It's for regular people in ordinary circumstances.

On October 6, 2002, Pope John Paul II canonized him as a saint. Saint Josemaria Escrivá is the patron saint of people seeking holiness in daily work, as well as the patron saint of Opus Dei. Fittingly, one of his main attributes or symbols is a globe, which represents the sanctification, the making holy, of ordinary work everywhere in the world.

Here is your challenge for today, based on his example. The next time you are faced with something completely ordinary or even boring, like taking out the trash or cleaning your room, don't just rush through it or complain. Instead, do it as perfectly and excellently as you can.

Right before you start, take a breath and silently say, God, I am offering this work to you. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.