March 19th, 1935
Ricardo Fernandez Vallespin, Juan Jimenez Vargas and others were the first members of the Work to make their definitive juridical incorporation* to Opus Dei - which some members do when they reach adulthood and have been members for some years now.
They did it before the wooden Cross for the future Chapel of the Ferraz residence. Isidoro Zorzano nor José María González Barredo were not able to make it as they were outside Madrid. The ceremony included the imposition of a ring to each which, on the inside, had engraved the date, and the word “serviam”.
St. Joemaria asked each of them, one by one: “You, if the Lord disposed of my life before the Work had the necessary canonical approvals, would you continue working to carry it out, even at the price of your estate, your honor, your professional activity -- in one word -- all your life to the service of God in the Work?
* From opusdei.org:
Incorporation in the Prelature
In order to join Opus Dei a person must freely ask to do so, in the personal conviction of having received this divine vocation. Such a calling is a specification or determination of the Christian vocation received at baptism, and it leads them to seek sanctity and participate in the mission of the Church according to the spirit with which God inspired St. Josemaría.
The request is made in writing and needs to have been accepted by the authorities of the Prelature, and admission is granted after a minimum of six months. After an additional period of at least one year, the person can be temporarily incorporated into the Prelature through a mutual declaration, which is renewable annually. In accordance with canon law, no one may be juridically incorporated into the Prelature who has not reached 18 years of age. After a minimum of five more years, the incorporation can become definitive (that is, at a minimum age of 23).
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