Encounters: Finding God in All Walks of Life
This podcast explores the lives of ordinary men and women who have found God in their everyday experiences, inspired by St. Josemaría's teaching that God calls everyone to holiness through their daily work and family life. Each episode tells the story of a different person, from an American plumber to a Swiss philanthropist, showing how faith can transform all walks of life. The series aims to encourage listeners to live a life of deep faith and commitment to their call to holiness.
Episodes
Ernesto Cofiño: Pediatrician
Ernesto Cofiño, a Guatemalan pediatrician, was in his mid-fifties when he joined Opus Dei. Ernesto worked tirelessly to remedy the problems of Guatamala’s marginalized indigenous population. He carried out a wide ranging personal apostolate with people from all walks of life and played a key role in founding and developing several apostolic activities of Opus Dei.
Resources to learn more about Er
Ed Dillett: Plumber
Ed Dillett was a plumber and the third married member of Opus Dei in the United States. Ed learned in Opus Dei to see plumbing as a way of coming closer to God and of bringing other people closer to him.
For more information about Opus Dei or to inquire about Opus Dei activities in your area, visit www.opusdei.org.
You can buy the book "Encounters: Finding God in All Walks of Life" from
Toni Zweifel: Foundation Executive
Toni Zweifel was an engineer who studied at the Swiss equivalent of MIT but spent most of his career directing a foundation he founded to support social projects in poor countries. The foundation mostly focused on projects for women. Toni’s cause of canonization began in 2000.
Resources to learn more about Toni Zweifel:
Website for His Cause of Canonization.
López Kindler, Agustín. Given
Pepe Serret: Businessman
Pepe Serret was a businessman and the father of a large family. He had contagious good humor and an extraordinary capacity for friendship. He touched the lives of many people ranging from a gardener to the CEO of a company that competed with his.
Resources to learn more about Pepe Serret:
Raventos Artes, Lluis. Pepe Serret. Himno a la vida. Madrid: Palabra, 2000. (Amazon, in Spanish)
Rico, Octa
Montserrat Grases: Teenager
Montserrat Grases died in Barcelona of bone cancer at 17 years of age. Throughout her painful illness, Montse, as she was known to her family and friends, maintained a contagious cheerfulness and a focus on her friends and family rather than on herself. In a 2016 decree, Pope Francis confirmed that Montse had lived a life of heroic virtue and named her as venerable.
Resources to learn more about V
Isidoro Zorzano: Engineer
Isidoro Zorzano was an industrial engineer. He worked for a Spanish railroad and was one of the earliest members of Opus Dei. During the Spanish Civil War he was undaunted by the many dangers he faced in supporting the founder of Opus Dei and its members in war-torn Madrid. In 2016 Pope Francis declared him Venerable.
Resources to learn more about Venerable Isidoro Zorzano:
Website for His C
Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri: Chemist
Guadalupe Ortiz de Landazuri was one of the first Spanish women to earn a PhD in chemistry. She played a major role in starting Opus Dei in Mexico and was known for her smile and good humor. She was declared Blessed by Pope Francis in 2019.
Resources to learn more about Blessed Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri:
Website for Her Cause of Canonization.
Del Rincón, María, and María Teresa Escob
Ana Gonzalo: Eurocrat
Ana Gonzalo was a career official of the European Union and oversaw EU social projects in many parts of the world. Ana was deeply committed to her Catholic faith, but knew how to appreciate the virtues of the people of other religions her work put her in contact with.
Resource to learn more about Ana Gonzalo:
Gonzalo Castellano, Blanca. Una prolongada carta de familia. Mi hermana Ana—Un testimon
Fr. Joseph Múzquiz: Engineer and Priest of Opus Dei
Fr. Joseph was one of the first three priests of Opus Dei and led its early apostolic efforts in the United States. He was an extraordinarily good listener and easily made friends with people of all sorts. His cause of canonization is open in the Archdiocese of Boston.
Resources to learn more about Fr. Joseph Múzquiz:
Website for His Cause of Canonization.
Coverdale, John. Putting Down Root
Eduardo Ortiz de Landázuri: Professor of Medicine
Eduardo’s knowledge and his clinical and diagnostic skills made him one of the leading physicians of his generation in Spain, but his outstanding characteristic was the personal interest he took in each of his patients, to whom he generously dedicated all the time they needed.
Resources to learn more about Eduardo Ortiz de Landázuri:
Website for the Cause of Canonization of Him and His Wife L
Dora del Hoyo: First Numerary Assistant
Dora was a homemaker for her sisters and brothers in Opus Dei. Through her work cooking and cleaning, she helped give the centers of Opus Dei where she worked the warm, welcoming environment of a Christian family home.
Resources to learn more about Dora del Hoyo:
Website for Her Canonization Cause.
Medina Bayo, Javier. Dora del Hoyo: A Lighted Lamp. Hounslow, UK: Scepter, 2017. (Scepter Publ
Carlos Martínez: Fish Seller
Carlos grew up in an extremely poor family and was an active member of the Communist Youth organization before the Spanish Civil War. He was a political prisoner of the Franco regime and served in the Spanish Foreign Legion. He worked in a fish shop and eventually started a fish shop of his own. After his conversion and joining Opus Dei, he dedicated much of his energy to trying to improve the liv
Tomás and Paquita Alvira: Early Married Members of the Work
Tomás and Paquita were among the earliest married members of Opus Dei. Tomas taught high school, ran a boarding school for orphans, was a college professor of pedagogy, and helped found a network of parent-sponsored primary and secondary schools. Paquita was also a high school teacher and principal as well as an artist, but decided to dedicate herself to her family. She helped organize the early a
Ruth Pakaluk: Wife, Mother, Friend, Activist
Ruth was an extraordinarily warm, talented, and engaging woman. She entered Harvard University as a pro-choice atheist. After her conversion to Catholicism, she dedicated herself to raising her family and to pro-life activism. At age 33, Ruth was diagnosed with cancer. She refused to allow the final eight years of her life to be dominated by the disease. In addition to carrying on with her pro-lif
Introduction to the Series
The people who appear in this podcast are very different, ranging from a plumber to a professor of Medicine, but they all tried to find God in their daily lives following the spirituality of Opus Dei. This introduction offers an overview of that spirituality. It provides the necessary background for readers who are not familiar with Opus Dei.
For more information about Opus Dei or to inquire about
