My Debt To Opus Dei by Dr Pravin Thevathasan
Humanly speaking, I owe my conversion to the Catholic Church to Opus Dei. I was told by well meaning folk to steer clear of them while I was making inquiries. Clifford Longley had just written against them. The BBC had brought out a program against them. I myself was in a state of confusion. I wanted to be "Catholic" within the Anglican fold because I thought all religions are basically the same. A Dominican Catholic priest I approached told me that after Vatican II, Catholics no longer "poach" people from other denominations. The Dominicans are a lot better now. The only people who challenged me were members of Opus Dei. I think the first time I realized they were not in a cult/sect/church within the Church was when I looked carefully at a photo of the founder of Opus Dei. It struck me deeply that I was looking at the picture of a very holy man. I was received into the Church at Netherhall House, a corporate undertaking of Opus Dei. I was able to choose my hymns: Newman, Faber, Alphonsus. An incredibly happy day. A week or so later, I was confirmed by the bishop to the sound of "walk in the light." A more challenging experience. Was I put under pressure to join Opus Dei? No. I was gently asked to think about it. By then, I had come under the influence of the great Father Thwaites. The people I knew in Opus Dei respected my freedom too much to put me under any kind of undue pressure. I now have some slight disagreements with them, but I would
like to think of these as what happens in any normal family. I believe that the Traditional Latin Mass is integral
to the Catholic restoration. I believe that even the Holy Father can be respectfully challenged when he says things
at variance from Catholic Tradition.
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