DEDHAM -- Archbishop Richard G. Henning celebrated a Mass in honor of St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Dedham on June 16.

The church was packed with people and families, many of them affiliated with Opus Dei. The personal prelature was founded by St. Josemaria, a Spanish priest, in the 1920s to encourage lay Catholics to live daily lives of holiness. It now has members in over 90 countries and counts clergy and laypeople among its roughly 85,000 members.

"The Work of Opus Dei has been such a blessing to my family to help sanctify my daily life, and I have benefitted personally from formation and spiritual direction for many years," said Ivy Schmalzried, who presented the gifts at Mass with her husband Peter Schmalzried and their young children James, Samuel, Josephine, and Lucia.

Ivy Schmalzried is a cooperator of Opus Dei, meaning that she is not an official member but supports the prelature's work. St. Josemaria laid out a "plan of life" for the followers of Opus Dei, including daily Mass attendance, spiritual readings, weekly confession, adoration, and praying the Angelus. Ivy Schmalzried said "the Work," as Opus Dei followers call the organization, is "a way of life that will get us to heaven."

"It's really been impactful, just to have a plan for our children, for our family, and the foundation that we can all come together," she said.

Before going to bed, Opus Dei followers reflect on the events of each day.

"You ask God to share light into your heart and all the acts of your day, and then you ask for forgiveness for anything that you've done wrong and the grace to continue on better than that," Ivy Schmalzried said.

Peter Schmalzried was raised in an Opus Dei household.

"I watched my parents go through the plan of life, living that example of reflecting themselves each day, and then reading spiritual reading every day, and making that public within our household," he said.

When he moved out, he discovered that people "live very different lives" from what he experienced growing up.

"I saw a lot of peace in my family, extended in my family, and that's something I wanted," he said.

The example his family set inspired him to attend the Mass of St. Josemaria.

"It's important to be a part of something that's bigger than ourselves, and that's what the Work is all across the world," Ivy Schmalzried said.

Twenty-four-year-old Opus Dei member Michael Egan grew up attending the Heights School, an Opus Dei-affiliated academy in Maryland. He was inspired by the way his teachers lived.

"I think they're an example of being incredibly virtuous and cheerful, and clearly had their things together, which me as a high schooler didn't necessarily have," he said.

He moved to Boston for work, but still follows Opus Dei's "plan of life."

"It's like a breath of fresh air throughout the day, where I can have times of prayer or spiritual reading, or reading the New Testament, or the rosary, and being able to reconnect with my purpose throughout all that I do," he said.

He said it was "beautiful" to see St. Mary's filled with people honoring St. Josemaria. He thought of "the impact that one man can have, bringing so many people to the Church."

"I was struck and inspired that that's the sort of person that inspired the charism that I am able to live out," he said.