Marcela Trujillo, Colombia
Shortly after getting married I was diagnosed with cancer of the cervix. I had an operation and other treatment, and came through it. I have to say it was due to my husband’s love, and to a priest qualified in medicine who advised me to refuse a medical procedure that would prevent me from having children, as long as there was any other option. Three years after my cure, Maria Antonia arrived. Three years after her came Nicolas and Isabel. Our youngest daughter was born with Down’s Syndrome.When I was a girl, someone gave me a great little book called The Way, which is still a huge help to me today. Years later, at the University of La Sabana, I started going to Christian formational activitiesgiven by people in Opus Dei. The supernatural counsels that I learned from St Josemaria in The Way have helped me to accept the hardest things happily, since you can never find happiness if you take the temporary short-cut of pleasure. When I offer something to God wholeheartedly I can see that the “inner satisfaction” and “spiritual benefit” are endless, and that gives one great strength. It’s a totally different kind of happiness.
The Trujillo family
I can change the world
I am a Co-operator of Opus Dei. It is something that constantly rejuvenates my Catholic faith, helps me to live out my faith and talk about it, and try to live up to it, to say no to things that are contrary to God’s plans, and yes to what helps to leave this world a better place than I found it. On top of that, I know lots of people are praying for me and that I can give more and do better, so that I’m not just a passive spectator in the Church, but a living part of it like everyone else. It helps me to realize that I can change the world from my daily work, my calling, where God has placed me.
I co-operate with Opus Dei in lots of different ways, having a very special bond with it and being very grateful. I manage to contribute financially in a small way, and it is always included in my daily prayers. It made me very happy when Maria Antonia asked me if she could give her little figure of Baby Jesus in a porcelain crib (which she loved dearly because it had belonged to me when I was little) to an Opus Dei center that was just starting up.
