Romana

The University of Saint Thomas, situated in the prefecture of Hyogo in Japan, invited Rev. Toshihiro Sakai to coordinate several cycles of classes on the teachings of St. Josemaria. The classes were organized in two courses: an intensive course in the summer (from July 25 to 29), and another held on a weekly basis throughout the academic year. The sessions took place in the classrooms of the new church of Osaka Umeda.

In the summer course, Fr. Toshihiro spoke about the canonization of Justo Ukon Takayama to illustrate the universal call to sanctity, the core of the inspiration that St. Josemaria received from God on October 2, 1928, date of the foundation of Opus Dei. During his classes he spoke about each person’s possibility to be a Ukon Takayama of the twenty-first century.

In the second course, a number of speakers gave presentations throughout the year. In November, Fr. Sakai highlighted various aspects of St. Josemaría’s teachings, reminding people that holiness is not a goal reserved for a few extraordinary beings, but that everyone, with God’s grace, can attain it in their daily life. He cited the example of the married couple Tomás Alvira and Paquita Domínguez, and that of Alexia Gonzalez-Barros, whose biography in Japanese he himself published several years ago. These three people have all had their cause of canonization begun.

Some thirty people attended the summer course, and around seventy attended the second one. One of the participants remarked: “I learned many things in these classes, especially the real possibility of becoming a saint through my ordinary life. I was also moved by seeing scenes of get-togethers with St. Josemaria, who spoke with great energy about love for Jesus and our Lady.