St Josemaría always preached, in word and in writing, what we read in one of his homilies: "We Christians should launch out along all the paths of the earth to be sowers of peace and joy with what we say and what we do" (Christ is passing by, 168).

Download Newsletter no. 28 here: Sowers of peace and joy [PDF)

Bishop Javier Echevarría, former Prelate of Opus Dei, lived in Rome with the founder for twenty-five years. . In his book Memoria del Beato Josemaría Escrivá (“Memories of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá”) he described him as follows: “He stood out as a perennially serene person, without sudden ups and downs or changes of mood. He always maintained perfect control over the impulses of his character. Of course, he was not insensitive to events, but he acted with peace and strength, no matter how pressing the problems, joys or sufferings.”.

Further on, he adds: "He declared – and this was no mere formula – that he only had friends: friends on the right and friends on the left. And he insisted that we could not close the doors of our hearts against those who came to us, wherever they came from. He never refused to shake hands with people he knew, if they were involved in unpleasant situations, motivated by malice, slander or misunderstanding. I remember several clerics, fallen from favour and abandoned by their companions and by those who had served them, who found companionship in Monsignor Escrivá. He did not hide his friendship with these people even from those who had created the unpleasantness for them.”