Getting to Know Each Other!

Here's just a small sampling of our Cooperators who have helped Clevemont over the years. We hope to introduce our Cooperators to you as time goes on with a photo and a brief biographical note or comment. Stay tuned to meet our lovely people!

Her obituary states that “She then moved to Washington, DC, in 1988 to begin work as an international consultant to multilateral investment institutions, government agencies, and private sector utilities. Her emphasis was energy infrastructure and environmental sustainability. She set aside her flourishing professional career in 2001 to devote herself to family. And then in 2012, she transitioned back to her professional career to teach her areas of expertise at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX.” (Read more of her obituary here.)

Vickie Bigliano recalls working with Mayra on decorating Yuma when it first opened: “I first met Mayra when Yuma was under construction and the Interior Design was being developed. As a Cooperator of Opus Dei she volunteered to spearhead and pull together all the necessary furniture for the building. No small feat. But the moment we met I knew Yuma was in good hands. Working with Myra was a lesson in the beautiful spirit of poverty we live in Opus Dei. She had an intuitive sense of style and beauty that could spot an item to fulfill a specific need in the building. Together we arranged and rearranged donations for the living rooms, hallways and public spaces until we identified what had to be bought to finish the space. Myra then carefully pictured the end result, inspired by secondhand pieces or the re-working of an old lamp or chandelier. She would generously offer to refinish the piece herself or bring it to a workshop that could complete the task for a reasonable price. The results were marvelous and meant precious time and money saved for what was a large amount of space to finish. Myra gave herself 100% to completing Yuma in a timely fashion. She never wasted a moment pursuing ideas or looks that did not support our sense of family and apostolate. I know I was lucky to be able to spend so much time with her, and the joy and outreach Yuma provides today is part of her legacy as a Cooperator.”

I loved the peaceful, half lit darkness of the meditations, the way the priest would draw the gospel passage into a tender, vivid image of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. And we especially loved the party after the Christmas Eve Mass, with platters of buttery cookies, cut glass bowls of punch and eggnog, and Christmas carols beside the magically lit creche. 

It was only later, as a high school student helping out at the administration behind the scenes at the centers, that I saw the other half of the picture. There a lovely, warm group of ladies each gave their own special touch to the Center they took care of. I saw the thoughtfulness, creativity, and exacting attention to detail that they put into their work. The patient precision in ironing every last inch of a shirt, pouring over a stack of cookbooks to put together a special menu, cleaning with a level of intensity that was truly athletic. And at the same time laughing, joking, and occasionally sitting down together to enjoy a delicious meal. They were a living example of everything I had heard about loving God in your work.

It was when I moved away to college that I felt for the first time that my spiritual life was entirely up to me. Up to that moment everything had been given to me, but now I had to invite it in. And it was then that I began to appreciate Opus Dei in a new way. In the overwhelming busyness of the academic and the professional world, it became a beautiful way to stitch together the material world and the spiritual reality. It helped me to see beyond just “being good”. Slowly, steadily, through the means of formation it helped me to discover the personal relationship with God that is the heart of everything. Here was the intangible heart behind the joy, the beauty and the excellence that I had always sensed in Opus Dei from the very beginning. 

I became a Cooperator at that time in college, and 19 years later I am still more grateful for what that has meant. As a stay at home mom, my life is made up of countless small moments. There can be a temptation to feel that these are unimportant, of small value. I have such a gift in Opus Dei, to see the possibility and the value of living each moment with God.

At that time, when we had three elementary school-aged girls, who are now 26, 23, and 22, I started studying the Faith more deeply, and throughout those years we welcomed two boys to our family.

In 2018 my husband began to grow closer to the Work and shared what he was learning with me. While reading “The Way” and other publications passionately, I was enthralled how I, too, was called to holiness in my daily life, performing ordinary tasks. At my request a supernumerary started giving me doctrinal formation.

Then, after spending some time in the USA and Germany, we returned to Rio de Janeiro where I learned more about The Work, attended doctrinal studies, recollections, and an annual retreat. While in Brazil, I became a Cooperator of The Work.

Currently while living in Washington, D.C., I have been attending Circles and Doctrinal Studies, Daily Mass, praying the family Rosary, and visiting the Catholic Information Center. I spend my days homeschooling the boys, caring for the house, cooking, and happily awaiting our first grandchild. I am also studying French since we will be heading for Cameroon. It is wonderful to know there is a center of the Work there! ~ Renata G. Kühner

Kristina