Commemoration: Oscar Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador, Martyr, d. 1980

Monday, March 24, 2014

Commemoration

Oscar Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador, Martyr, d. 1980

Reflection

Apprenticed as a carpenter as a youth, Oscar Romaro never lost touch with the working poor. Completing his religious studies in Rome during World War II, Romero went on to be named Archbishop of his native El Salvador in 1977. The religious and military powers-that-be assumed he would maintain the privilege of the elite, but he became a tireless advocate for economic and social justice, even living in a modest apartment. When two of his priests were murdered, he demanded an inquiry into the events and set up a permanent commission for the defense of human rights. He condemned all forms of what he called “the mysticism of violence.” He was shot through the heart by the military as he was celebrating the Lord’s Supper. The vestments he was wearing are on display in his apartment, a hole from the bullet plainly visible. Just before he was shot, he had preached, “We know that every effort to improve society, above all when society is so full of injustice and sin, is an effort that God blesses, that God wants, that God demands of us.” Knowing his life was in danger, he had said, “You may say, if they succeed in killing me, not to waste their time. A bishop will die, but God’s Church, which is the people, will never perish.”

Prayer

Gracious God, Thank you for the witness of your servant, Oscar Romero. May his memory inspire your people to work tirelessly in the cause of justice. In Jesus’ name. Amen.