Opus Apostolorum
We are a Religious Order comprised of Priests, Nuns and Lay Faithful who profess our faithfulness, loyalty and devotion to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We are traditional in our Liturgy and use a non-Vatican II reformed Ambrosian Rite with no compromises in it that would fall into modernist heresy and belief as the Roman Catholic Church has sadly done to its own Liturgies.
We believe that Salvation is only possible through Jesus Christ who is, "The Way, The Truth, and The Life".
We also believe that all baptized Christians are called to be Apostles even in today's world.
We are required to defend the Catholic Faith and to evangelize the world in our witness to the wondrous Love of God.
Ordinary life and the "universal call to the Apsotolate"
Opus Apostolorum emphasizes the universal call to holiness and the sharing of all humanity in furthering the redemptive mission of Christ : the belief that everyone should aspire to be a saint, not just a few special individuals. Most members of Opus Apostolorum lead ordinary lives, with traditional families and conventional careers, and strive to "sanctify ordinary life". Opus Apostolorum's spirituality commits lay people to sanctify themselves in the same place where they were before they met Opus Apostolorum and their place in the world is the means for their sanctification.
Christians can become saints and apostles right there where they work and live. Whatever work they do is to be done with a spirit of excellence as an effective service for the needs of society. Their work then becomes a fitting offering to God. Sanctifying work means to work with the spirit of Jesus Christ, to work competently and ethically, with the aim of loving God and serving others, and thus to sanctify the world from within, making the Gospel present in all activities whether they be outstanding or humble and hidden. In the eyes of God what matters is the love that is put into work, not its human success.
Our young people working on a project to give mobility to those who need a helping hand
Unity of Life
A related characteristic is Opus Apostolorum's emphasis on uniting spiritual life with professional, social, and family life.
A Christian who practices these teachings has no double life, a life of faith divorced from daily work. Instead, he has a "unity of life" -- a profound union with Jesus Christ, both fully God and fully man, one person in whom divine power is fused with ordinary human activity. A Christian's work should be God's work, as He designated in the Apostles, opus apostolorum. This Christian, despite all his defects, which he humbly tries to remove, is an apostle charged with the Mission by no other than Christ himself.
Hector turns into the "bread man" on Saturdays
Love for freedom
Christians should love freedom because God the Son himself, in becoming man, took on human freedom. He sanctified mankind through love: by freely giving himself, "obeying" his Father's will throughout his ordinary life, "until death on the cross." (Phil 2,8) Jesus "gave himself, because he wanted to." (Is 53,7) Through his freedom, each man controls and shapes his life, being responsible for cooperating or not with God's loving plan of holiness.
Prayer and mortification
Love, the essence of sanctity and apostolate, is nurtured by constant child-like prayer which is supported by norms of piety involving the Eucharist, the Bible, and the Virgin Mary. Mortification, "the prayer of the senses," is especially done by striving to practice all the human virtues, such as being kind, hardworking, sincere and cheerful despite difficulties and failures. Great holiness consists in carrying out the little duties of each moment. These actions are co-offered in the Holy Mass, the same redeeming sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Sanctifying grace flows down especially through communion and confession.
Good Friday devotion in one of our Missions
Charity and the Apostolate
Christians are to give the highest importance to the virtue of charity: being, understanding and caring for each person. Included are service towards the needy in society and the practice of human courtesy, refinement, warmth, affection and fraternal correction. Love, which should be orderly, starts by performing one's duties well and is first directed towards the Church. And it overflows when one generously gives the best to people, bringing them closer to their Father God, source of peace and joy.
If you think you have what it takes to be an Apostle write us to find out more !