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Home Gallery Contact Silas Guestbook Fanfiction Library Opus Dei |
Opus Dei is a very strict sect of Catholicism and is Silas' religion, along with Bishop Manuel Aringarosa and Bezu Fache! Here, you will find out many of the details of Opus Dei. Opus Dei was founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer. Opus Dei means "God's work" in Latin. There are over 80, 000 member world-wide. It's made up of spirtual practices such as daily Mass, rosary, spiritual reading, and mental prayer, as well as Opus Dei prayers and customs. The different classes of member are: Numerary members pledge to remain celibate and generally live in Opus Dei houses. They commit their entire salaries to Opus Dei, submit incoming and outgoing mail to their directors, and practice various forms of corporal mortification, including use of the cilice, a spiked chain worn around the thigh, and use of the discipline, a knotted rope for whipping. Supernumerary members may be married, and live with their families. They follow the same "plan of life" as the numeraries, but generally do not know about many of the details of numerary life. They contribute large portions of their income to Opus Dei, often at the expense of their local parishes. Numerary priests join Opus Dei as lay members, but are then hand-picked by Opus Dei superiors to become priests of Opus Dei. Numerary priests hold the top government positions in Opus Dei. Many hold important positions in the Vatican. Each Opus Dei house is assigned a numerary priest, whose responsibilities include saying Mass, hearing confessions and giving spiritual direction to the Opus Dei members. Associate Opus Dei members also pledge celibacy, but they generally do not live in Opus Dei houses. They include people who have not acquired university degrees, or who must remain with their families for personal reasons. Numerary assistants are women who pledge celibacy, and are responsible for the care and cleaning of all Opus Dei residences. Cooperators of Opus Dei provide financial support, but are not considered members of Opus Dei. Unlike Opus Dei members, cooperators do not have to be Catholic. Although, there are some questionable practices. Here are examples of some: Corporal mortification Aggressive recruitment / undue pressure to join Lack of informed consent and control of environment Alienation from families One of the things you see out of Silas in the book/movie is Corporal Mortification. It is one of the most misunderstood concepts of writing fanfics. In Opus Dei, all of the practices of corporal mortification, especially for the numerary celibate members, all the practices are manditory if they wish to live in "The Spirit of Opus Dei". The "Spirit of Opus Dei" is the standard of living, as outlined by the Opus Dei directors, for which all truly dedicated Opus Dei members strive. They do this corporal mortification to suffer as Christ suffered during the crucifixion. They believe this brings them closer to God. This is called "chastising" the body. Some of the practices of corporal mortification are: The Cilice: The cilice is a spike chain worn around the upper thigh (although Silas seems to do it more) for 2 hours a day, except of Sundays, Church Feast Days and certain times of the year. The Discipline: The Discipline is a cord-like whip used on the buttocks or back once a week. They need special permission to use it more, which many do. Cold Showers: Most numeraries take cold showers every day and offer it up for the intentions of the current Prelate. Meals: Numeraries generally practice one small corporal mortification at every meal. Ex: Skipping dessert, not taking seconds, not buttering your toast, etc. They also do not eat between meals. They fast (not eat) on the Church's perscribed days and have to have special permission to fast on their own. The Heroic Minute: Numeraries are encouraged to jump out of bed and kiss the floor as soon as the door is knocked in the morning. As they kiss, they say "Serviam," Latin for "I will serve." Silences: Each night after making an examination of conscience, numeraries do not speak to one another until after Holy Mass the following morning. (They do not say "Good morning" to anyone as they are getting ready.) In the afternoons, they try to avoid speaking until dinnertime. On Sundays, numeraries generally do not listen to music, especially in the afternoons. Males also must: sleep on the floor once a week and sleep without a pillow once a week. Females also must: Sleep on boards laid on top of the mattress, sleep without a pillow once a week and they may not smoke or enter a bar. The Founder believed that women had passions that required more discipline to tame.
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