E232: "No Greater Love": How 3 Opus Dei Friends Gave Their All | Lila Rose Show episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 18, 2025 · 1H 45M

E232: "No Greater Love": How 3 Opus Dei Friends Gave Their All | Lila Rose Show

from The Lila Rose Show · host Lila Rose

When we hear the words of John 15:13, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” most of us assume it’s a metaphor, not a literal call. But on June 18, that verse became a lived reality. Three friends, Val Creus, Matt Schoenecker, and Matt Anthony lost their lives in an act of heroic brotherhood. When Val jumped into the swimming hole at Rattlesnake Falls and called for help, both Matts jumped in after him without hesitation. Today, we’re joined by their close friend and fellow Opus Dei member, Matt Bowman, who shares how these men were remarkable not just in their final sacrifice, but in the way they lived: humbly, joyfully, and always in service to others, drawing people closer to Christ. We also remember another quiet hero, diver Juan Heredia, who risked his own life to recover their bodies and bring some measure of peace to grieving families. Their story reminds us to live with purpose, to love without delay, and to lead others to the source of all love: Christ Himself.Zephyr Institue: https://www.zephyr.org/Juan's Angel Diver site: https://angelsrecoverydiveteam.org/NEW: Join our exclusive Rose Report community! https://lilaroseshow.supercast.com - We'll have BTS footage, ad-free episodes, monthly AMA, and early access to our upcoming guests.A big thanks to our partner, EWTN, the world’s leading Catholic network! Discover news, entertainment and more at https://www.ewtn.com/ Check out our Sponsors:-Seven Weeks Coffee: https://www.sevenweekscoffee.com Buy your pro-life coffee with code LILA and get up to 25% off!-Hallow: https://www.hallow.com/lila Enter into prayer more deeply this season with the Hallow App, get 3 months free by using this link to sign up! -Covenant Eyes: http://covenanteyes.sjv.io/Kjngb9 Sign up to grow in purity and gain traction over sexual addiction: use code “LILA” for a free month!00:00:00 - Intro00:04:01 - Understanding Opus Dei00:09:04 - Seven Weeks Coffee00:10:01 - Is DaVinci Code Accurate?00:12:53 - Response to Vatican II00:16:27 - What happened in the accident? 00:29:16 - Hallow00:30:06 - The Rescue Mission00:36:58 - Covenant Eyes00:38:02 - Who is Val?01:00:43 - Matt Schoenecker01:16:21 - Matt Anthony01:32:52 - Life after Matts and Val01:36:00 - Healthy Male Friendship

When we hear the words of John 15:13, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” most of us assume it’s a metaphor, not a literal call. But on June 18, that verse became a lived reality. Three friends, Val Creus, Matt Schoenecker, and Matt Anthony lost their lives in an act of heroic brotherhood. When Val jumped into the swimming hole at Rattlesnake Falls and called for help, both Matts jumped in after him without hesitation. Today, we’re joined by their close friend and fellow Opus Dei member, Matt Bowman, who shares how these men were remarkable not just in their final sacrifice, but in the way they lived: humbly, joyfully, and always in service to others, drawing people closer to Christ. We also remember another quiet hero, diver Juan Heredia, who risked his own life to recover their bodies and bring some measure of peace to grieving families. Their story reminds us to live with purpose, to love without delay, and to lead others to the source of all love: Christ Himself.Zephyr Institue: https://www.zephyr.org/Juan's Angel Diver site: https://angelsrecoverydiveteam.org/NEW: Join our exclusive Rose Report community! https://lilaroseshow.supercast.com - We'll have BTS footage, ad-free episodes, monthly AMA, and early access to our upcoming guests.A big thanks to our partner, EWTN, the world’s leading Catholic network! Discover news, entertainment and more at https://www.ewtn.com/ Check out our Sponsors:-Seven Weeks Coffee: https://www.sevenweekscoffee.com Buy your pro-life coffee with code LILA and get up to 25% off!-Hallow: https://www.hallow.com/lila Enter into prayer more deeply this season with the Hallow App, get 3 months free by using this link to sign up! -Covenant Eyes: http://covenanteyes.sjv.io/Kjngb9 Sign up to grow in purity and gain traction over sexual addiction: use code “LILA” for a free month!00:00:00 - Intro00:04:01 - Understanding Opus Dei00:09:04 - Seven Weeks Coffee00:10:01 - Is DaVinci Code Accurate?00:12:53 - Response to Vatican II00:16:27 - What happened in the accident? 00:29:16 - Hallow00:30:06 - The Rescue Mission00:36:58 - Covenant Eyes00:38:02 - Who is Val?01:00:43 - Matt Schoenecker01:16:21 - Matt Anthony01:32:52 - Life after Matts and Val01:36:00 - Healthy Male Friendship

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E232: "No Greater Love": How 3 Opus Dei Friends Gave Their All | Lila Rose Show

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When we hear the words of John 15:13, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” most of us assume it’s a metaphor, not a literal call. But on June 18, that verse became a lived reality. Three friends, Val Creus,...

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