Archbishop Romero

Today in the calendar of the church we have been honoring Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador and the Martyrs of El Salvador.  The Archbishop was shot to death while celebrating Mass at a small chapel near his cathedral on March 24, 1980.  Although a Roman Catholic Archbishop, Romero is honored as a martyr by many Christian denominations.

Romero let the experiences of his life, including the assassination of one of his friends, convert him into becoming a powerful voice for the voiceless poor.

In this morning's Eucharist we heard this passage from Romero:

"It is very easy to be servants of the word without disturbing the world:  a very spiritualized word, a word without any commitment to history, a word that can sound in any part of the world because it belongs to no part of the world. A word that creates no problems, starts no conflicts. What starts conflicts and persecutions, what marks the genuine Church, is the word that, burning like the word of the prophets, proclaims and accuses:  proclaims to the people God's wonders to be believed and venerated, and accuses of sin those who oppose God's reign, so that they may tear that sin out of their hearts, out of their societies, out of their laws--out of the structures that oppress, that imprison, that violate the rights of God and of humanity."
(Oscar Romero, "The Violence of Love")

Archbishop Romero would urge us on this day with words he once spoke:  "Each of us can do something."  And we can!

For the journey,
Stephen

This reflection is adapted from our new book of Lesser Feasts, Holy Women, Holy Men, and from resources provided by Cristosal.