Amidst the waves of controversy which seem to follow Opus Dei particularly with the cinema release of the Da Vinci Code, I thought it worthwhile posting some words from its founder Josemaria Escriva on the Liturgy. I have never had time for the organization itself but as for the man, his maxims can be described as in the tradition of a St Philip Neri or St Francis De Sales.

"Your prayer should be liturgical. How I would like to see you using the psalms and prayers from the missal, rather than private prayers of your own choice." (The Way, 86)

"Have veneration and respect for the holy Liturgy of the Church and for its ceremonies. Observe them faithfully. Don't you see that, for us poor men, even what is greatest and most noble, must enter through the sense?" (The Way, 522)

"The Church sings, it has been said, because merely to speak would not satisfy its desire for prayer. You as a Christian - and a chosen Christian - should learn to sing liturgically." (The Way, 523)

"Isn't it strange how many Christians, who take their time and have leisure enough in their social life , in following the sleepy rhythm of their professional affairs, in eating and recreation , find themselves rushed and want to rush the priest, in their anxiety to shorten the time devoted to the most holy Sacrifice of the Altar?" (The Way, 530)

"Piety has its own good manners. Learn them. It's a shame to see those pious people who don't know how to attend Mass - even though they go daily - nor how to bless themselves [they throw their hands about in the weirdest fashion], nor how to bend the knee before the tabernacle [their ridiculous genuflections seem a mockery], nor how to bow their heads reverently before a picture of Our Lady." (The Way, 541)

"You saw me celebrate the holy Mass on a plain altar and stone, without a reredos. Both Crucifix and candlesticks were large and solid, with wax candles of graded height, sloping up towards the Cross. The frontal, of the liturgical colour of the day. A sweeping chasuble. The chalice, rich, simple in line, with a broad cup. No electric light, nor did we miss it.

And you found it difficult to leave the oratory: you felt at home there. Do you see how we are led to God, brought closer to him, by the rigour of the liturgy?" (The Way, 543)

"Keep struggling, so that the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar really becomes the centre and the root of your interior life, and so your whole day will turn into an act of worship - an extension of the Mass you have attended and a preparation for the next. Your whole day will then be an act of worship that overflows in aspirations, visits to the Blessed Sacrament and the offering up of your professional work and your family life." (The Forge, 69)

"In the Holy Sacrifice of the altar, the priest takes up the Body of our God, and the chalice containing his Blood, and raises them above all things of the earth, saying: Per Ipsum, et cum Ipso, et in Ipso.

Unite yourself to the action of the priest. Or rather, make that act of the priest a part of your life." (The Forge, 541)

"Since you call yourself a Christian, you have to live the Sacred Liturgy of the Church, putting genuine care into your prayer and mortification for priests - especially for new priests - on the days marked for this intention and when you know that they are to receive the sacrament of Order." (The Forge, 646)

"We should dwell on those words of Jesus, and make them our own: Desiderio desideravi hoc Pascha munducare vobiscum. There is no better way to show how great is our concern and love for the Holy Sacrifice than by taking great care with the least detail of the ceremonies the wisdom of the Church has laid down." (The Forge, 833)