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Name
Damon Owens |
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Hometown
Orange, NJ |
Occupation
Husband, father, Entrepreneur, amateur singer |
Introduction
When Damon Owens was a kid he started a business
selling coffee to people waiting at the gas
stations during the gas crisis in ’78.
Today, Damon is a successful entrepreneur who
has worked in multiple fields. He is a devoted
husband and father of five daughters. St. Josemaria’s
Spirituality has helped him to live as a Christian
in every part of life, whether he is closing
a business deal or spending time with his daughters.
How did you first meet the Spirituality
of St. Josemaria?
I was invited to an Opus Dei retreat by a friend.
I had attended an Opus Dei Evening of Recollection
many years earlier but at the time I didn’t
connect with the spirituality. However, by the
end of the first day of the retreat I knew the
Spirituality of St. Josemaria fit me well.
What do you feel you have now that
you didn’t have before you met the Spirituality
of St. Josemaria?
Unity of life – practical formation and
a daily plan to maintain unity in all areas:
work, home, faith, and social. At its center
the spirituality is a down-to-earth practical
way of living profound truths.
Also, I am not alone in my day to day struggles.
I have brothers and spiritual directors with
whom I choose to be accountable. It is a blessing
to have such formation geared for me as a layman
who wants to live my faith more earnestly in
the world.
What do you find hard about the spirituality
of St. Joseamaria?
The hardest part for me is weekly spiritual
direction and confession. Fortunately, it is
also the most rewarding. Before I was never
accountable to anyone else for my progress (or
lack thereof) in the spiritual life. Baring
my soul to a trusted brother is as real as it
gets in working to be the man God wants me to
be.
The truth is I would make little or no spiritual
progress without having my spiritual director.
He’s sort of my “wing-man”
whom I have empowered to help me.
How has St. Josemaria’s Spirituality
helped you?
I had never really understood how to “be
in the world, but not of the world” or
that I could be a saint. I always had a drive
to work hard and excel at whatever I worked
on, but I always approached work as the means
to get something for myself: money, prestige,
respect, or praise. Now, having been taught
to recognize work as an occasion to sanctify
myself and evangelize by example, I am far more
attentive to the small, unseen disciplines and
sacrifices available throughout the day that
are the real moments of sanctification and accomplishment.
As my career moves out of the stable, corporate
engineering environment to more unpredictable
start-up and self-employment environments, I
am weathering the storms with a calm confidence
in Christ that I directly attribute to the spirituality
of St. Josemaria.
Are you a happier person now than you
were before you met the Spirituality of St.
Josemaria?
I am certainly more joyful– and there
is a meaning, purpose, and order to my world
(at work, at home, with family and friends,
etc). That order brings real peace. That peace
gives me joy.
