Two men dove to their deaths in a freezing, fast-moving river fed by Sierra Nevada snowmelt on June 18. Matt Anthony and Matt Schoenecker were trying to save Val Creus from drowning at Rattlesnake Falls in California, but instead they joined him in a watery grave 45 feet under the falls. The event made international news.
After spending years with these friends, I would have expected nothing less from them. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” said Jesus. Most of us don’t get an opportunity to do this literally, but instead hope to live out this ideal of selflessness in small acts of service. It was a lifetime of such small acts that made Matt and Matt so quick to make the ultimate sacrifice when the time came. And I have no doubt they would have dived in to save anyone, not just a close friend.
I learned a lot about self-sacrifice from all three men – they were great examples of service in daily life.
When I lived with Matt Anthony, in an Opus Dei center in Washington, he spent nearly every evening running programs for high school kids. He was a real intellectual, but he had a striking capacity to relate to young people. He argued with them about whether Batman or Superman would win in a fight, and listened attentively to their deeper concerns. He taught many young people to pray, and inspired them to get closer to God.
I remember a conversation I had with Matt Schoenecker once when I lived with him: he gently pointed out to me that I showed more enthusiasm when speaking about my own interests than when others spoke. Matt was never judgmental – he did it for my sake, not his own. It was a hard thing to hear, but I’ve remembered it for years now, and it helped me to improve at putting other people first.
Val was known for being cheerful and full of humor, always there when someone needed help. Through the "Ahead Leadership Program" in Los Angeles, he shaped the lives of hundreds of young Angelinos in their faith, family, and professional aspirations.
The spirit of sacrifice of the three men encompassed their entire lives. All were numeraries in the Catholic Prelature of Opus Dei. Numeraries are laymen or laywomen who commit themselves to a vocation of celibacy while remaining fully in the secular world, pledging their lives to Christ for the sake of helping people find God in the midst of ordinary life.
Val was a partner at an accounting firm; Matt Schoenecker had a Ph.D. in bioengineering; and Matt Anthony was a talented classicist. While most numeraries continue their careers throughout their lives, the two Matts were asked by Opus Dei to work internally in its leadership, and they willingly gave up their original plans to do so.
St. Josemaria, Opus Dei’s founder, said: “Let us live out and enjoy our adventure of Love, for we are in love, in love with God” (Friends of God, n. 22). Matt, Matt, and Val each lived life as an adventure of love, whether they were diving into a raging river current or doing paperwork at a desk. May God grant all of us the grace to do likewise.
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Peter Bancroft is a member of the faculty of The Heights in Potomac, Maryland.
