The Key to Understanding Opus Dei

[@jaimevale]

Agree, I have the exact same experience. As you said: “The person who is dishonest in very little will also be dishonest in much” We, the plain “numerarios” just saw a lot of these “red flags” but we were always trying to “accept that the directors were always right”, Now (many years after I leave) all this kind of “beautiful pictures” are clear as they are, a bunch of lies. A manifestation of the “opus dei” way to create a nice narrative far from reality. Because the reality was not as perfect as they -directors, “cronica” editors, movie editors of tertulias, etc- trying to show. The “institution” in the opus has no interest in the reality, really Thanks a lot for your videos. First time here. (ex-n from 1983 to 2000)

[@josephine2202]

I was considering making St. Josemaria my confirmation saint because of the role Opus Dei had in bringing me back to the faith. After some cursory research on his life I fell down a rabbit hole of testimonies about the group's cult-like tendencies and was massively disappointed. I brought up my concerns with a friend who is an associate and she encouraged me to research it and bring her my questions. Unfortunately I haven't found anything to disprove what I originally found online. I had really hoped I was wrong- I had secretly been thinking about joining, but hadn't brought it up with anyone so I could form my own assumptions first. I should have known it was too good to be true. Such a shame.

[@carmencharo8226]

Si un alma caritativa lo tradujera...sería Fantástico. Gracias. Un fuerte abrazo

[@commscompany1502]

If you click on the settings icon on top right of the video (which is a gear symbol), then choose captions , then auto translate and Spanish, you will see the Spanish text translation on the video. Blessings

[@prewittdoit]

I was wondering if there's anyway I can send you a personal message? Just thought it would nice to get some advice from someone who is in it and understands it. I am not but am suffering the consequences of people I love being in it, but I just didn't want to say all of those personal things in the comments. I also want to say I appreciate all these videos. It's been eye-opening to watch them.

[@nopusdei]

I apologize for my delay in responding. I tried to respond earlier, but I see my message didn't post for some reason. You can reach me at [e-mail]. Please note that I only check that email address once a week or so. But if you write, I will reply eventually. :)

[@gbujanda]

For me, the key idea in understanding Opus Dei is that it flourished as a movement in Franco's Spain. Indeed, many of its members served in Franco's regime, and, to my knowledge, there are no contemporary writings from any OD members courageous enough to publicly denounce Franco. Spain is, today, a nation coming to grips with the truths of its recent past and expunging false narratives and false heroes - like Francisco Franco. The mindset (or Zeitgeist, if you like) of that time in that country was not one of freedoms and openness, but of authoritarianism, secrecy, and control. Opus Dei leaders are conditioned to always control the narrative of how they are seen or perceived. I think your anecdote is illustrative of this mindset: censorship, fake freedom and control. In that sense, OD's worldview is in sharp contrast with the existing value of most Western Liberal democracies, indeed the United States above all.

[@justaguy1807]

Are you still in the Church? You should note that in your videos.

[@nopusdei]

It should be fairly obvious from the videos that I am still in the Church. But confusion may arise when people are unable to distinguish the Work from the Church and assume that all criticism of the Work comes from people who don't like the Church.

[@josephgonzales1815]

I wouldn't say it's "the key," but it's one of the keys. In order to understand Opus Dei, you need to drill down to the theology on which it is erected. No easy thing to do because the organization is Orwellian. Last thing - lying is a telltale sign of the devil's work.