Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri (Madrid, 1916 – Pamplona, 1975) was one of the first women to join Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer in his efforts to spread the universal call of Christians to holiness, through Opus Dei. The text of the decree promulgated by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints highlights how Guadalupe lived the virtues to a heroic degree, and “with joy, gave herself completely to God and to the service of the Church, experiencing divine love with intensity” (Decree on the Heroic Virtues of Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri).

She knew how to find God in the daily efforts of her scientific research and teaching; in the various tasks of formation and government that Saint Josemaria entrusted to her; and in her illness, which she bore with a strong Christian spirit.”

The Spanish chemist, who also spent various years in Mexico and Italy, is the first lay person in Opus Dei to be raised to the altars.
Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri will be beatified in Madrid, her hometown, on Saturday 18 May 2019, the anniversary of her First Holy Communion.

The Holy Father approved the miracle needed for her beatification on 8th June 2018.

Read more….

Edmund Hernandez passed away on Sunday, April 14th at the age of 93 in California. He was one of the first lay members of Opus Dei to come to Kenya on 25 Aug 1958. An architect by profession, Ed opened his own firm soon after arriving and began the architectural work that he continued to practice In Kenya for another 25 years.

Ed Hernandez was born in Peoria, Illinois to Michael and Juanita Hernandez. Ed had five brothers (George, Robert, Raymond, Henry and Louis) and one sister (Connie), all of whom were educated in the public Catholic Schools of Peoria, Illinois.

When Ed was 16 years old he drove down to the Peoria Department of Motor Vehicles.. The clerk asked him how he got there, and when he told him he drove, they gave him his license without any further questions. He served in the US Army at the very end of the World War II during which he was posted to the Aleutian Islands. Thanks to the GI Bill that financed higher education for former armed forces personnel, for which he was ever grateful, he was able to attend the University of Illinois, where he graduated with both an undergraduate and a master´s degree in architecture. Ed started practicing his profession while working as an adjunct professor for two years at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Ed then went to live in Rome for two years, where he worked as an architect at the Roman College of the Holy Cross and helped in the initial construction of the buildings for the headquarters of Opus Dei in Rome.

One day Ed met Fr Joseph Muzquiz, one of the first priests of Opus Dei and one of the first people to go to US to start Opus Dei, and told him that he had dreamt of marrying and having a large family, just as his parents had done. He could not imagine that God was going to be much more generous with him and give him the even bigger family that Opus Dei really is.

After his two years in Rome he was one of the first people of Opus Dei whom Saint Josemaria asked to go to East Africa.

After spending 25 years in Kenya working as an architect and helping in the work of Opus Dei, he returned to the US where he continued his architectural practice..

Ed was a good and kind man. He was described as a gentleman by many of his friends. He was also very smart and would amaze people with his great recall of details of events from 50 to 60 years prior.

His funeral took place in St Mary’s Catholic Church in Oakland on April 23, 2019 and he was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California, US.

Everybody in Kenya and in many parts of East Africa are grateful to him for his fidelity, for being one of the first to come to Kenya and for planting many seeds of the spirit of Saint Josemaría in this part of the world.

Who is a Saint? What does it take to be a Saint? To be a saint is to live a life of heroic virtue. St. Josemaría used to say that being a saint is not difficult, but that it was also not easy. He would add that sanctity is not for some people, it is for all people.

This year we are celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the arrival of Opus Dei to Kenya (Since 1958) and the 90th Anniversary of the foundation of Opus Dei (Since 1928). As a sign of our thanksgiving for this double celebration, we decided to celebrate the feast of St. Josemaría this year with a special one-week (26th June to 2nd July 2018) challenge.

During the “St. Josemaría Week”, students were challenged to put into practice the spirit that St. Josemaría wanted for Strathmore. We would like to remind all students that being a saint is possible and that it is not a boring chore but an exciting adventure. Striving for sanctity is very much like playing competitive sports – easy to begin, difficult to persevere but very rewarding.

With the aid of a number of select quotes from St. Josemaría, students were guided through the challenge. The idea is not only to do them for one week, but persevere in doing them; to slowly and gradually put all of them into practice in daily life.

Try it, you won’t regret it!

Day 1: Tuesday 26th (Hour of Study …)

Challenge:

Offer up an hour of study today

3 Easy Steps:

1. Single out an hour of the day from your study timetable.
2. Say a simple prayer like, “My God, I offer you this hour of study,” before you begin
3. Try to study as well as you can (no distractions).

Day 2: Wednesday 27th (Little Things)

Challenge:

Make your bed in the morning.

It seems like a trivial matter right? Why should you make your own bed knowing that you will sleep in it in the evening?

1. A made bed creates the appearance of a neat and pulled-together bedroom. What’s so great about a pulled-together bedroom? It’s a small thing, in a way, but also not so small, because coming home to a tidy and pulled-together-looking bedroom will make you feel proud, calm, in-control, and grown-up.

2. If you start by setting up everything with purpose, your room will set the stage for what you do in the house and how you should act that day. Setting up your room in the morning therefore means confronting the “devils in your house and in your day”.
3. Because it only takes one minute: You are not busy, you are just lazy. Plus if you make the bed every day, the act of doing so starts to get quicker and quicker—in part because a bed that’s made every day gets less disheveled while you sleep, and in part because your bed-making skill level will improve.

Day 3: Thursday 28th (Friend in Deed)

Challenge

Go to the chapel to Greet Jesus

Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, in the tabernacle

He is there because he knows you need him. Do you bother to greet him? He is waiting.

1. Pass by the chapel as soon as you arrive in school to tell Jesus “hi”.

2. Pass by at the end of the day to tell Him “bye”.

Day 4: Friday 29th (The First Battle)

Challenge:

Heroic Minute

The heroic minute is a chance to exercise heroic virtue at the moment of waking up. Rising instantly sounds easy, but if that were true, we would all do it and there would be no such thing as a snooze button.

Here are three suggestions that may help you:

1. Pray about it the night before – Our wills are weak, and we need graces to do even the smallest good act.
2. Don’t give yourself excuses – Just do it! Move your alarm – Where is your alarm in the room? This can make a big difference. If it’s far from the bed and you have to get up to shut it off, you are far more likely to get up right away.

Day 5: Saturday 30th (Honour Your Mother)

Challenge:

Give a genuine compliment to your Mother

Jesus had a mother and he honoured her. Honouring our parents is also a commandment.

You need reasons? Here are some: You can compliment her when/because …

• She tells you the truth, even if you don’t want to hear it.
• She always pick up the phone when you call.
• She will cook you dinner when you return home.
• She always makes sure you have everything you need, even if it’s more than enough.
• She makes you want to be a better person.
• She is your biggest fan and supporter.
• She is the only one listen to you talk about yourself for hours.
• She listens to your complaints and doesn’t complain about you complaining.

Day 6: Sunday 1st July (Honour Your Father)

Challenge:

Do something with your Father

Practicle examples:

1. Wash the car
2. Mow the lawn
3. Go for a walk
4. play chess or draughts
5. Play golf etc.

Day 7: Monday 2nd July (Giving Thanks)

Challenge:

Get used to saying thanks

Practicle Examples:

Say a simple thanksgiving prayer (Grace) before each meal:

Example of a simple prayer: “For what I am about to receive, I give thanks.”

Following the death of Bishop Javier Echevarria on 12^th December 2016, an elective congress was conceived in Rome in which Mosignor Fernando Ocariz was elected Prelate. On the same day, The Holy Father, Pope Francis confirmed him as the new Prelate of Opus Dei. Until then Mosignor Ocariz was the Auxilluary Vicar. In this role, he was the principal assistant to Bishop Javier Echevarria.

Monsignor Fernando Ocariz was born in Paris on October 27, 1944, in a Spanish family exiled in France due to the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The youngest of eight children, he graduated from the University of Barcelona with a degree in Physical Sciences in 1966. He received a licentiate in Theology from the Pontifical Lateran University in 1969 and a doctorate in Theology from the University of Navarra in 1971, the year he was ordained a priest. In his first years as a priest he was especially involved in ministry to young people and university students. Over the past 22 years he has accompanied the previous Prelate, Bishop Javier Echevarria, on his pastoral trips to more than 70 countries. Monsignor Ocariz becomes the third successor to Saint Josemaria.

A Mass of the Holy Spirit was held here in the school on 23^rd January to pray for guidance for those electing the new prelate. On 27^th January, a Mass of thanks giving attended by very many students and members of staff was held in the school chapel to thank God for the gift of the new Prelate.

All of us are invited to pray for the new Prelate as he takes over his new role as shepherd and Father of many sons and daughters including those in Strathmore School.