Attention North American customers: this book is published in North America by Scepter Press.
This book is a theological reflection on the spirit and apostolic praxis of Opus Dei. Its general thrust is ecclesiological - to explain Opus Dei's place in the Church. In the first chapter Pedro Rodríguez examines the structure and mission of Opus Dei as a personal prelature made up of lay people and priests who promote the spread of the universal call to holiness in the world; in this context he discusses how Opus Dei fits into the universal Church and particular Churches. The second chapter, by Fernando Ocáriz, looks at the features of vocation in general and vocation to Opus Dei in particular, and how a wide diversity of members is compatible with one and the same vocation. José Luis Illanes contributes the final essay, which focuses on the secular condition of members of this prelature. 'Throughout these pages,' Bishop Alvaro del Portillo, prelate of Opus Dei (1982-94), says in his foreword, 'one can see that the authors have understood and expounded the ecclesiality of Opus Dei using two principle sources - the writings of its founder and the living reality of the prelature.' The authors make extensive use of published works of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá, his unpublished writings addressed to Opus Dei members (Letters and Instructions), and the prelature's Statutes, approved in 1982 by Pope John Paul II, which are included in the book as an appendix.
