PODCAST | Genuine Peace
In today’s podcast, we continue with the second installment of our three-part series exploring the prominent themes in Towards Holiness – a homily by St. Josemaria Escriva on the universal call to holiness.
St. Josemaria explains that “in order to bring peace, genuine peace, to souls; in order to transform the earth and to seek God Our Lord in the world and through the things of the world, personal sanctity is indispensable. We must come to know him through prayer; we must speak to him and show him, through a heart-to-heart conversation, that we love him” (Friends of God, 294).
Reflecting upon the importance of genuine peace, Fr. Javier explains that we must seek peace with God through examining our conscience and going to confession regularly and getting to know God in prayer. We must also seek peace within ourselves so that we can fully embrace our identity as a child of God. As we obtain peace with God and within ourself, we are then motivated to go out and seek peace with others in order to build a culture rooted in the love and mercy of Christ.
Rev. Javier del Castillo
Fr. Javier del Castillo is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei and currently serves as President of the St. Josemaria Institute. He earned a degree in electronic engineering and moved to Rome to complete his ecclesiastical studies, where he was ordained a priest in 2005 and earned a doctorate in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in 2007. He worked as a chaplain in high schools in the Washington, D.C. and Chicago areas for several years, offering spiritual accompaniment to students, parents, and teachers. From 2015 on, he served as the vicar of Opus Dei in the midwest; he was appointed regional vicar of the United States in 2022. He became vicar of the United States and Canada in 2024, following the restructuring of the regions, until his appointment as Vicar General in April 2025.
