Welcome to “Ut sit! Let it be!”

Whether you participated in World Youth Day in the past and/or are eagerly preparing for World Youth Day 2013 in Brazil, this webpage has been created especially for you!

After these amazing events we are often faced with some challenging questions:  What do I do now?  What is God asking of me?  Why me? Can I really make a big difference?  Can I always live my faith 100%?

These are tough but good questions.

You can respond by taking a significant step toward your vocation or taking on great missionary work.  But sometimes we just need to do better the normal things we do each day and that will help us find the answers to our tough questions and help us make a difference.

By providing you guides that are real and honest, we hope to encourage you along the way as you live out the resolutions you make on your journey and inspire you to deepen your faith. 

The guides we are sharing with you are inspired by the teachings and spirit of St. Josemaria Escriva, a Spanish priest who died in 1975 and was canonized in 2002.  While the goal of the St. Josemaria Institute is to promote his life and teachings, we do it with the hope that you will walk away having been moved and enriched by the wisdom and sincerity of St. Josemaria's to live a full and committed life of faith and friendship with God.

Top 10 tips before/after World Youth Day

Click on any of the points below for reflections to help you live each tip.

1. Pray—it’s obvious, it’s challenging, it’s essential.
2. Grow in self-giving and self-denial.
3. Study and work with order and intensity.
4. Be humble.
5. Be constant.
6. Read—for spiritual growth, for fun, for knowledge, for the benefit of others.
7. Be a good friend.
8. Go to Mary and to the Saints.
9. Deepen your understanding of the Church.
10. Commit to a daily examination of conscience before the end of the day.

What’s the meaning of “Ut sit! Let it be!”?

The Latin expressions Domine, ut videam!, Domine, ut sit! (Lord, let me see!, Lord, let it be!) are inspired by the exclamations of the blind man in the Gospel who cried out to Jesus Christ who was passing by to cure him of his blindness (Luke 18:35). 

St. Josemaria Escriva often meditated on this Gospel scene and repeated the expressions, “Lord, please let me see!” “Lord, let it be!”, as he begged and prayed to see God’s will throughout his life.  He experienced many hardships as a young man, primarily because his path in life was not very clear, yet he felt that God was calling him to carry out a special mission.  St. Josemaria Escriva wrote about his experience as a teenager saying:

“Time passed, and many hard and distressing things happened, which I will not tell you about… They were axe blows struck at the tree by our Lord. From that tree, he was shaping a beam that would be used, in spite of its weakness, to do his work. Almost without realizing it, I kept repeating Domine, ut videam! Domine, ut sit! [Lord, let me see! Lord, let it be!] I did not know what it was he wanted, but I went forward . . . without doing anything unusual, working with just average intensity.”

St. Josemaria teaches us that by living our normal, everyday life with love and intensity we can find God, love God, and serve God in everything.  And, we will move forward, growing closer and closer to God’s plan for each one of us.

St. Josemaria had great confidence in young people—“flames that can set the world on fire with new life”.  He managed to open up great horizons for young people, encouraging them not to limit their goals to mere dreams because dreams can fall short of reality.  He encouraged young people to live with the dignity of a child of God through daily prayer, study, service, friendship, and openness to the will of God.  

What is the St. Josemaria Institute?

The St. Josemaria Institute is dedicated to promoting the life and teachings of St. Josemaria Escriva using new media and communications so that everyone everywhere can apply them to their everyday lives and transform their outlook on the challenges and activities of daily life.

Do you want to share your ideas and inspire young people?  Have you been impacted by the teachings and life of St. Josemaria and other holy men and women? This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ! You could be featured on our website and blog.  We are happy to accept written and video entries.

You can also “friend us” and post your comments on our Facebook and Twitter pages.