Today is the 32nd anniversary of the murder of Oscar Romero who was shot by a sniper as he celebrated Mass.
As the Archbishop of San Salvador during El Salvador's brutal civil war,
Romero became the "bishop of the poor" for his work defending the
Salvadoran people.
Archbishop Romero was one of about 75,000 people killed during El Salvador's 12-year civil war that ended in 1992.
After calling for international intervention to
protect those being killed by government forces, Romero was assassinated
on March 24, 1980.
"I
have often been threatened with death," Archbishop Oscar Romero told a
Guatemalan reporter two weeks before his assassination :
"If they kill me, I shall arise in the Salvadoran people.
If the threats come to be fulfilled, from this moment I offer my blood to God for the redemption and resurrection of El Salvador.
Let my blood be a seed of freedom and the sign that hope will soon be reality."
"If they kill me, I shall arise in the Salvadoran people.
If the threats come to be fulfilled, from this moment I offer my blood to God for the redemption and resurrection of El Salvador.
Let my blood be a seed of freedom and the sign that hope will soon be reality."
Only moments before he was shot, he reminded the mourners of the parable of wheat:( which we have in the Gospel in this 5th Sunday of Lent's Mass.)
“Those who surrender to the service of the poor through the love of
Christ will live like grain of wheat that dies…
The harvest comes because
of the grain that dies…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.”
"How
easy it is to denounce structural injustice, institutionalised
violence, social sin!
And it is true, this sin is everywhere, but where
are the roots of this social sin?
In the heart of every human being.
Present-day society is a sort of anonymous world in which no one is
willing to admit guilt, and everyone is responsible.
We are all sinners,
and we have all contributed to this massive crime and violence in our
country.
Salvation begins with the human person, with human dignity,
with saving every person from sin. And in this Lent this is God’s call:
Be converted!"
An estimated 500,000 people attended his funeral when small bombs
were hurled into the ground and 40 mourners died while hundreds were
seriously wounded.
Julian Miglierini speaks to those who remember Romero, and
travels to a village in El Salvador's poor north, where he is revered as
a saint.
An excellent liturgy resource here
Special U.S. Catholic Article here.
Archbishop Romero Trust Site with many links and archive of his homilies
Originally released by Claretian Publications for the 20th anniversary
of Romero's martyrdom in 2000, "The Church: Called to Repentance; Called
to Prophecy" can be used to celebrate the March 24 anniversary any year
through liturgy or other events.
A Romero Liturgy here
Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent revolt of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism.
Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty.
- Archbishop Oscar Romero (1917-1980)
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