No Small Goals: The Life of Dr. Ernesto Cofiño

By Thomas A. McDonough

What is the purpose of professional training and the work derived from it? From the time Ernesto Cofiño returned from Paris with a doctorate in pediatrics, he made his work available for the benefit of others in his native Guatemala, dedicating himself to patients, rich and poor, and then to medical students, caregivers and many others. At the peak of his very distinguished career he encountered Opus Dei and discovered that being a child of God was not just a figure of speech but a profound reality and that his dedication to others through work done generously and in a spirit of service was the precise way that God was calling him to holiness. From then on he worked relentlessly as a pediatrician, educator, and fund-raiser doing it all for the glory of God, “putting on Jesus Christ” until becoming himself Opus Dei. 

 This book tells the story of a Guatemalan-born doctor who, after obtaining an excellent medical education in Paris, returned to his native land to serve its people through his medical practice. In spite of obstacles that include dpolitical strife, and social and economic challenges, he remained faithful to his land and people through his work as a doctor It is an extraordinary lesson on how one’s ordinary work can be converted into a tool of service and improvement for all of society.  

Dr. Ernesto’s cause of holiness for sainthood is now underway.