happy
Happy
http://opusdeiblogs.es/unjovenamigo/y-llego-el-dia.html
Javier, our young friend, wishes to tell us how HAPPY he is joining Opus Dei after a long wait of 430 days!
(Here's a translation into English of what he wrote; click url above for original chronicle.)
And the day came!
Exactly 430 days have passed since the day I decided to tell the director of my center that I wanted to whistle, that is, to ask admission to the Work. And boy! did I think it was going to be quick…
And so, my waiting began on 8 April 2008, which had moments of all sorts: from ‘vocational hopelessness’ to very intense moments of faith. But in spite of those bad moments, I never lost the hope that one day I could be in Opus Dei. From all this I learnt two things:
At times, waiting and making people wait is a good thing. It helps people ―and me― allow time to clear up one’s thoughts, reinforce one’s decisions, and allow logic to act and the Holy Spirit to fill with wisdom the one who waits.
You feel very much what has been said: “You need to push/knock hard to enter; but if you want to leave, the door is wide open”. Here you realize that what is truly important is the vocation of the person.
And then the day came: 12 July 2009! It turned out to be a sunny Sunday. But that afternoon was to be a turning point in my life. After a simple conversation of hardly 50 seconds with my center’s director, a smile was painted on his face as he told me that I could write the letter asking for admission in Opus Dei. More than fear, it was a great joy that struck me. I counted 430 days or 10,320 hours or 619,200 minutes or 37,152,000 seconds… of a long wait that ended in but a second’s duration.
And I’m so happy. I would, thus, like to share with all of you my great joy through this blog entry, today, 11 days after I whistled.
I’d like to take advantage of this to thank the almost 100 people who I know were at least praying for me. My gratitude goes to:
Antonio González, creator of Opus Dei Al día and promoter of Opus Dei blogs. Without all of his online apostolate, my struggle would’ve easily waned;
The director of my center: who has had to move so many ‘threads’ so that many people would pray for this;
Opus Dei’s Prelate, who I’m sure prayed specially for me, since my director explicitly told him in a get-together they had with him in Rome one Holy Week;
The Priests of my center: specifically my spiritual director, who has helped me so much to live my life as a good Christian;
The monitors and mentors in my center, as well as to those countless others who wanted me to ‘get to port’ safely;
My professors, who must’ve prayed a lot for me so that all this would turn out well;
My colleagues and companions, both those in the Work and those who are not. Many have prayed so that this vocation would come to fruition;
My parents, who have understood my decision and who have given me all their love;
My uncle, who gave me much support during the wait;
My closest friends, who accompanied me in this entire process, giving me encouragement;
And to all those countless others whom I’m unable to name.
To everyone, thanks a lot. Let’s pray for the future vocations…
On his original blog (url above), you may send your comment or message.
You may also email me at: aliza.racelis@up.edu.ph