The way (book)

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The publication "The Way" is the earliest and most widely distributed book by Opus Dei founder Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y Albás . (1902-1975).

background

The book consists of 999 aphorisms that reflect his pastoral efforts since 1925. It first appeared in Cuenca (Spain) in 1934 under the title Consideraciones Espirituales (Spiritual Reflections). In the extended edition, which appeared in Valencia in 1939, the book was given the title Camino . So far it has had a circulation of around 4,500,000 copies in 43 languages.

According to statements from Opus Dei, the aphorisms address the reader directly, assume the Christian faith, and are intended to confront him with God's requirements. In L'Osservatore Romano , the Vatican's newspaper , on the occasion of the appearance of the Italian first edition in 1949, one could read: “Prelate Escrivá de Balaguer has not only created a masterpiece here; he has taken his own heart in his hands and his points of view go to the heart ”.

Der Spiegel, on the other hand, wrote: Escriva's textbook “Camino” (The Way) consists of formulaic sayings such as: “Humble yourself. Don't you know that you are the trash can? ”But it is also clear that Opus members are born to higher things:“ Insert you? You - in bulk? You were born to be a leader. There is no room for lukewarm below us. "

The first German translation came out in 1957 under the title "Der Weg". The second followed in 1962. Since the third German-language edition, the Spanish original Escrivás has been weakened in numerous places: Even in the second German edition, this "Textbook of Holiness" (Osservatore Romano) translated a corresponding demand of Escrivá verbatim: "Blindly obey your superiors - path of holiness ". Since the 3rd edition, contrary to the Spanish editions, "blind obedience" has been deleted and replaced by "obedient with unreserved trust".

Well-known Catholic church people have also criticized the book Escrivás. The Swiss theologian and Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988), a contemporary of Escrivá, wrote: "When leafing through the 999 aphorisms, sentences and slogans we are shocked: Should the author really be of the opinion that he is developing a real spirituality here, even one that is enough to feed such a huge elite corps Christian? It's a handbook for higher scouts. "

expenditure

  • Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, Santo .: Consideraciones espirituales. Cuenca 1934, OCLC 431866620 .
  • Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, Santo .: Camino. CID, Valencia 1939, OCLC 850958486 .
  • Josemaría Escrivá: The way. Adamas-Verlag, Cologne 1984, ISBN 3-920007-80-8 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Secret Organization: You are a sandbag . In: Der Spiegel . No. 12 , 1965, p. 71 f . ( online - March 17, 1965 ).
  2. ↑ a b The way. from escrivaworks.org, accessed February 14, 2015.
  3. ↑ Pedro Rodriguez: The Way and Spirituality of Opus Dei . Adamas-Verlag, Cologne 1985, ISBN 3-920007-89-1 , p. 4 .
  4. ↑ Catholics: Holy Mafia . In: Der Spiegel . No. 20 , 1992, pp. 196-198 ( Online - May 11, 1992 ).
  5. ↑ José M. Escrivá: The way . 2nd Edition. Adamas-Verlag, Cologne 1962.
  6. ↑ José M. Escrivá: The Way, No. 941 . 2nd Edition. Adamas-Verlag, Cologne 1962, p. 191 .
  7. ↑ Hans Urs von Balthasar: Integralism . In: Word and Truth. Journal of Religion and Culture . Herder, Freiburg i. Br. December 1963, p. 742 f .