INTRO
There's a saying, I'm sure you've heard it: "It always looks impossible until someone does it." We understand this truth, and greatly value it, when it comes to something like innovation.
Electricity, indoor plumbing, and flying machines all looked impossible to most of our ancestors. And we're glad someone did things that proved them to be realistic.
100 years ago every single standing athletic world record looked impossible.
When I was a kid, touch interfaces and video calls were the stuff of science fiction.
Then someone did it. So now we all do it, and think nothing of how wondrous what we are doing actually is.
The greatest things always look impossible ... Until someone does it.
In this series, we just want to help you notice how strange it is, then, that we tend to fail to appreciate this same principle when it comes to other things our age does not tend to value a much. Like ancient and religious things.
Why does the gospel seem so impossible to us, when history if full of saints who have done it? Who have lived in ways that show us what is really possible when we trust God's presence and help.
This time we introduce to you St. Oscar Romero. And over the course of this series we will look at what he shows us, in Christ, by the Spirit, and in this world is possible in the areas of communication, community, and liberation.
[TRANSITION TO ALL THINGS INTRO]
STORY:
[MUSIC BEGINS/CONTINUES]
[Romero Audio Recording: "Episode 1: The-Church-Serves-Personal-Communal-and-Transcendent-Liberation--The-Archbishop-Romero-Trust, Part 4 – 13:45-14:50]
El Texto Original:
“La Iglesia, defensora de los derechos de Dios, de la ley de Dios, de la dignidad humana, de la persona, no puede quedarse callada ante tanta abominación. Queremos que el Gobierno tome en serio que de nada sirven las reformas si van teñidas con tanta sangre*. En nombre de Dios, pues, y en nombre de este sufrido pueblo, cuyos lamentos suben hasta el cielo cada día más tumultuosos, les suplico, les ruego, les ordeno en nombre de Dios: ¡cese la represión!*.”
Translation:
[13:45-14:50] The church defends the rights of God, the law of God, and the dignity of the human person and therefore cannot remain silent before such great abominations. We want the government to understand well that the reforms are worth nothing if they are stained with so much blood. (Applause) In the name of God, then, and in the name of this suffering people, whose laments rise up each day more tumultuously toward heaven, I beg you, I beseech you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression! (Applause) [Kevin Read]
If Óscar Romero knew we were looking for a way to introduce him to you, Romero would be pleased if we said first, that he was a Pastor. Romero was certainly many things. He was a Roman Catholic, Salvadoran, priest, prophet, preacher, and archbishop. Through whatever means he was capable, Romero defended the poor -– which in El Salvador were known as campesinos -- and he worked against the use of violence as a means to an end. He did this with such determination and conviction that he was eventually assassinated for it. And with all this in mind, saying Romero was primarily a pastor does not reduce him to just that one thing; rather that one thing encompasses and unifies all these other aspects of his identity. To Romero, the honor of growing into someone who could faithfully carrying out the role of pastor was the greatest gift God gave him.
And by living into the role of Pastor, Romero's life became something that can illuminate for us ways we might creatively, intelligently, and courageously engage our culture through things like preaching; advocacy; prayer; love expressed in nonviolence, fortitude, fidelity, and ultimately Christian perfection. Which is a huge claim, but we'd do him an injustice by settling for anything else. Óscar Romero embodied the kind of Christlikeness that our Tradition has decided is best named by the word "saint."
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French Catholic novelist, Leon Bloy, wrote: "The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint." There are some traits common to all saints. You can't be a saint without love, courage, or generosity. But there are also as many ways into saintliness as there are people. No two people become courageous of generous by exactly the same path. So how did Óscar Romero get there? Romero was born on August 15th, 1917, in Ciudad Barrios: a rural & poor town in northeastern part of El Salvador. His parents were Guadalupe De Jesus Galdamez and Santos Romero. Óscar was the second eldest of 8 children. His family made ends meet by selling coffee, cotton, or sugarcane -- but just barely; Óscar occasionally had to sleep on the floor.
Romero's father was not particularly religious, but his mother, Guadalupe, was a devout Catholic. So Óscar was baptized when he was 2 years old, and his mother taught him and his siblings how to pray and led them through rosary devotions every night.
As a child, Romero was quiet, serious, and introspective. His siblings remembered him as being too intense, particularly in regard to his faith. Romero's favorite childhood game was "playing processions," where he would put on one of his mother's aprons and walk on the streets pretending to be a priest leading a Mass. Óscar's father trained him to be a carpenter, but at the age of 13 he informed his parents he wanted to enter the priesthood.
So by 14, Romero entered the seminary.
What are you doing with your life?
[MUSIC]
Romero's pastoral formation and seminary experience was a lot like living in a monastic community. There were about 40 other seminarians, aged 13-18, who lived and studied together. Each seminarian was initially taught to pastor people by being assigned a plot of land to tend. The fruits and vegetables they grew were used for the seminary kitchen. They also kept something like a Benedictine daily routine. The boys woke up at 5:30 each morning, attended Mass an hour later, ate breakfast, and went to classes for a total of 8 hours which were punctuated with midday prayer, lunch, work and study, and evening prayer and night prayer.
After graduating at the age of 18, Romero received a scholarship to attend a major seminary in Rome. He accepted and spent the next 6 years becoming deeply formed by the Vatican and Roman Catholicism. This period instilled in Romero a deep love for, and fidelity to the Church, an unwavering devotion to her doctrines and teachings and deep appreciation for Jesuit spirituality. This cannot be overstated: Romero was a devout Catholic was loyal to her tradition throughout his whole life. It vital to remember this especially when trying to understand some events from later in his life when he might appear to be against the Church.
During his time in Rome Romero became deeply inspired by Pope Pius XI. Óscar loved Pius' emphasis on global mission, the ordination of native people, his commitment to social issues and justice, the integration of Christian faith and the sciences, the use of radio for preaching, and for the way Pius exemplified the virtue of fortitude in preaching. Pope Pius XI wrote encyclicals against, and publicly rebuked Benito Mussolini in speeches and sermons, especially when Mussolini sided with Hitler in persecuting the Jews. Romero stated later in life that he learned how to preach against the powers that be from Pope Pius.
Romero was ordained a priest in 1942 and wrote his doctoral dissertation on the theology of Christian Perfection in the work of 16th century Jesuit, Luis De La Puente. Romero became convinced that the whole goal of the Christian life was Perfection in Love after the patter given by Jesus. Romero said, quote, "The Lord has inspired in me a great desire for holiness. I've been thinking of how far a soul can ascend if it lets itself be possessed entirely by God."
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Romero was diligent. From 1944 to 1970, alongside his priestly duties, Romero worked in administration for his whole diocese and acted as secretary to the archbishop, organized catechism classes, conducted spiritual direction, and counseling for young adult organizations, chaplained, and ran a radio ministry for people in the streets.
Romero always had a heart for the poor; he organized an association of homeless shoeshine boys to make sure they were fed and had a place to sleep. He founded a trade school that taught poor children practical vocations. He visited the local jails and prisons, to offer spiritual direction and bring movies for them to watch. Romero arranged dietitians to teach proper nutrition to his parishioners. He gave away alms to beggars, peasant farmers, and prostitutes. But he would also hang around the wealthy to leverage their resources for the benefit of the poor.
Romero also always had a special heart for those addicted to alcohol, because his father and his brother suffered from the same disease.
But like any human -- and every saint is all the way human -- Romero's diligence came with a shadow side: He struggled with perfectionism and judgmentalism. He would often get into debates with his fellow priest over things like whether or not they should wear cassocks and looked down on those priests who did not follow the rules and disciplines of the Vatican. Romero was overworked, overextended, exhausted, and obsessive-compulsive. For much of his life he struggled with chronic stress and mental anxiety.
[OMINOUS PAD BEGINS]
You should know, though, that it would be unfair to say his fears were unfounded. To understand the darkness and violence looming over later episodes of Romero's life, you need to know something about two two councils that took place in the life of the Roman Catholic Church. The first is Vatican II. It took place from 1962 to 1965 and renewed and reoriented the Church in many directions. This council issued critical changes in the liturgical worship of the Church, redefined the ministry and role of the laity, took a positive stance towards ecumenicalism, called for a return to the sources of the Scriptures & the Church Fathers and called everyone to recover the importance of prayer through the Liturgy of the Hours.
Most controversially, the council called for a change in relationship between the Church and the larger Society. To this day, Catholics remain divided over whether Vatican II was a great step forward or a terrible step toward the grave.
The second is the Latin American Bishops Council in Medellín, Columbia. This Council was called to discern the best ways to appropriate Vatican II's ecclesial reforms throughout the Latin American context. Pope Paul VI opened the Medellin council and proclaimed as a guiding principle a key emphasis from Vatican II: quote, "The Mission of the Church is to personify the Christ of a poor and hungry people" endquote. In Latin America, there was a serious imbalance of wealth and power which effected the church's spiritual vitality. And Pope Paul exhorted the wealthy to detach from the stability of their position of privilege and serve those who need what they have. The Latin American Bishops coined this phrase: God has a, quote, "preferential option for the poor."
Romero was in agreement with the majority of these reforms and his peers recognized his authenticity and ability. So in 1975, he was named the new bishop of Santiago De Maria.
At the time, ⅔ of the population under Romero's care were living in poverty. That's a staggering number. Unsurprisingly, given that bit of context, El Salvador's wealthy elites were being challenged by union workers, political activists, and campesinos (poor peasant farmers). Those advocating for reform quickly became associated with Marxist ideology and communist revolutionaries. Violence became a tragic new normal. Much of this was perpetrated by the national guard, ORDEN, an intelligence-gathering arm of the government ordained to detect and eliminate communists. ORDEN transfigured into death squads who would kidnap, torture, and murder anyone considered to be a Marxist or communist sympathizer. As just one example, on June 21, 1975, guardsmen attacked Tres Calles, which was in Romero's diocese. They raided the houses of peasant farmers and pulled 5 men into the open air and hacked them to death with machetes. When Romero protested this action to the local commander, the commander responded: quote, "Cassocks are not bulletproof!"
Then in 1977, Romero was appointed as Archbishop of San Salvador, which meant that he had pastoral oversight for the entire country of El Salvador.
He was elected because he was a conservative, reserved, and quiet Christian, and people assumed he would not be the kind of person who would stir trouble through his preaching. Romero did frequently addressed the problems of El Salvador, but usually in a purely spiritual ways. But given his fidelity to the councils we mentioned, and because of his experience living in close contact with the poor, Romero's perspective and approach began to shift. He later stated: quote, "By God, the poor were the ones who revealed to me my true vocation."
When he became Archbishop on February 10th, 1977, 2% of the country's population owned 60% of the cultivatible land. 20% of the land was too mountainous or rocky to farm, so that left only 20% of usable land to 98% of the country's population. Most of the people were unemployed and in existed in crippling poverty, and a tiny handful were incredibly wealthy and powerful. Given this situation, El Salvadore was ripe for Communist conversion, which led El Salvador to become a player in the Cold War. U.S. President Jimmy Carter began bankrolling the Salvadoran military and provided help in training national guardsmen who then became death squad members. Romero wrote to President Carter, asking him to stop sending weapons and money to El Salvador, explaining that this way of resisting communism was only further hurting the poor and killing Salvadoran peasants.
In response to the violence of national guardsmen and death squads, resistance groups were formed. Their original purpose was to lobby for campesino civil rights, unions, fairer wages, and agrarian reform, but they too eventually fell victim to the demon of violence and became guerilla soldiers who would commit their own share of murder and regularly kidnap wealthy Salvadorans to finance their resistance.
Romero frequently condemned both sides of the conflict for their violence and urged all people to find nonviolent ways to institute justice. Yet, as is often the case when truth leads someone to refuse to join sides, neither side would listen to him. Some priests, in wanting to side with the poor, became Marxist. The government and wealthy class then created a slogan: Haga patria, mate a un cura – "Be a patriot, kill a priest." And other bishops and priests allied themselves with the government. While the political divisions and commitments of El Salvador seeped their way into the lives of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, Romero increasingly found himself alone.
[MUSIC]
Romero had one very close Jesuit friend. His name was Rutilio Grande. Both Rutilio and Romero were born in rural towns to modest families, pretended to be priests as children, and were awkward and shy. During the troubles, these two would take long walks, share memories of their childhoods, and discuss their hopes and vision for the Church.
Rutilio Grande organized base communities that educated and resourced the poor. This was enough to make the Government suspicious he was teaching Marxism and training those he helped in Guerilla warefare for revolution. Neither was true, but the National Guardsmen still took matters into their own hands.
One day Grande was driving 4 farmers, two of whom were young children, when his car was ambushed. The 2 young children were let free, but Grande and the others were riddled with bullets.
Romero went to investigate and when he saw his best friend's corpse, he was angry. He was shocked. He was broken and weeping. And he was marked; from that time on Romero was indelibly changed.
A little later he said, quote, "If they killed Grande for doing what he did, then I must walk the same path." Romero wrote in his journal: "I believed in conscience that God was calling me to take a stand that contrasted with my temperament and my 'conservative' inclinations. I've been awakened to take a positive stand to defend my Church and, on behalf of the Church, to stand with my greatly oppressed people." He stated in another place: "I prefer to call that moment a 'change in attitude' or 'development in the process of awareness.'" Romero spoke of God awakening in him the virtue of fortitude: the courage to confront fears, even the fear of death. The following quotes exemplify the way Romero began to preach against the principalities and powers of the world:
"The world does not say: blessed are the poor. The world says: blessed are the rich. You are worth as much as you have. But Christ says: Wrong! Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, because they do not put their trust in what is transitory."
"A church that doesn't provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn't unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone's skin, a word of God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed–what kind of gospel is that?"
"The Beatitudes are not something we can understand fully, and that is why there are young people especially who think that the love of the Beatitudes is not going to bring about a better world and who opt for violence, for guerilla war, for revolution. The church will never make that its path. Let it be clear, I repeat, that the church does not choose those ways of violence and that whatever is said to that effect is slander. The church's option is for what Christ says in the Beatitudes."
"How do I treat the poor? Because that is where God is. The degree to which you approach them, and the love with which you approach them, or the scorn with which you approach them--that is how you approach your God. What you do to them, you do to God. The way you look at them is the way you look at God." [Kevin]
They also show how Romero became a prophet.
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And like prophets tend to do, Romero suffered greatly. His friend Grande was not the only priest who was killed under Romero's oversight as bishop. In all, he lost about 7 other priests he considered friends.
Other Bishops and priests who sided with the El Salvadorian government and elite began to speak of Romero as a, quote, "traitor," who had, quote, "abandoned us." The President and the National Guard accused Romero of joining the Marxist communists and revolutionary Guerrilla soldiers, and then his fellow clergy added to the accusations.
On the other side, the revolutionaries did not trust Romero either, because they grew tired of hearing that "love and peace can change things." And Romero got into heated arguments with fellow priests who took up guns to fight on behalf of the peasants and poor.
And yet, also like a prophet, Romero continued to preach faithfully and courageously in the face of loneliness and opposition. He spoke against the oppression and atrocities of the National Guard, the El Salvadorian government, the wealthy, and the powerful, and called them to love and care for the poor. On the other end Romero continued to preach against the violence of the revolutionaries, pleading with them to find alternative solutions for peace and justice. Against the powers and trends of his day he advocated for the, quote, "violence of love" that could tear down oppression by seeking the well-being and salvation of all.
But, as all Pastors know all too well, Romero saw nothing changing in response to his exhortations. The violence of El Salvador only escalated. In one of his final sermons, Romero preached: quote, "The denouncements of the left against the right and the hatred of the right for the left appear irreconcilable, and those in the middle say: Wherever the violence comes from, be tough on them both. There can be no love at all where people take sides to the point of hating others. We need to burst these dikes, we need to feel that there is a Father who loves us all and awaits us all. We need to learn to pray the "Our Father" and tell him: Forgive us as we forgive." [Kevin] Endquote.
On March 23rd, 1980, the 5th Sunday of Lent, Romero delivered his last recorded sermon. He preached that the mission of the church was to open up God's Word for all people, both the oppressed and the oppressor, in order to shed light on the social, political and economic realities challenging the nation. To preach that way is not to meddle in politics, he said, but a proclamation of the Easter promise of Christianity --- the prospect of the victory of divine justice and peace in the face of the world's death. Liberation does not come magically, nor does it come with violence. According to Romero, it comes only through a fidelity to Jesus Christ that leads to actions based upon his teachings and example. Romero ended with a call to stop the repression in the name of God. It was at the same time a lament and a command.
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Throughout this final sermon the parish responded with resounding applause with "Amens" breaking through their clapping. Romero had become so immersed in both the life of Christ and the life of his people that his sermons were simultaneously proclamations of the Gospel and the cries of the Salvadoran people.
At 6pm on Monday, March 24th, 1980, Romero was scheduled to celebrate the Eucharist for the 1st anniversary of the death of a friend's mother. The Mass was held in the same place he lived: a hospital run by nuns for people dying of cancer. As Romero was blessing the bread and wine, and lifting the cup of the blood of the Lord, a single rifle shot exploded from outside the open doors of the church. The bullet hit Romero squarely in the chest. He collapsed with blood streaming from his mouth and nose. Horrified sisters ran to him, cried, held him, prayed, and consoling him in his last moments on earth.
Just as he predicted, 3 years and 12 days after his best friend, Rutilio Grande, was killed, Romero shared the same fate.
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In October of 2018, Pope Francis canonized Óscar Romero as a Saint and named him a Christian martyr who laid down his life for preaching Jesus Christ. The Pope referred to Romero as: "A ... shepherd after the heart of Christ, evangelizer and father of the poor, heroic witness of the kingdom of God." During the ceremony another Archbishop referred to Romero as, quote, "defender of the poor," a title that was also given to the ancient church fathers. Today, Romero is known as "the father of the Latin American Church."
As a true shepherd, Romero knew his people, cared about his people, and loved his people by working and sacrificing greatly for them.
On March 24th, 1980, as the gunman rested his rifle on the door of the car that pulled up outside the open doors of the church, Romero saw the shooter. But he made no movements to escape. Because he was a shepherd, and as a shepherd he did not want to put any of his people in attendance in harm's way. In this moment, Romero proved he was no longer the anxious and fearful priest of his youth, but a saint, who could defeated the temptation run and instead stand firm. He was not, in Jesus' words, quote "a hireling who flees when the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep --- a hireling runs away because they do not care about the sheep." Saint Oscar Romero laid down his life for the flock of God, like the Good Shepherd does.
And you may not know this, but the word Pastor means "shepherd."
May we have more pastors like Romero.
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MEDITATION
[PAD AND MELODY SWELL AND FADE THROUGHOUT]
If Saints show us something about possibility, about human potential in Christ, this meditation seeks to help some of Romero's example flow into your actual experience.
So, from the introduction to Romero provided in the podcast, think about the early episodes of his life and ministry, and note, like ever saint, Romero did not begin as a saint. Like all of us, who in our own ways find fear to be one of the major forces holding us back from a fuller life, Romero spent much of his priesthood avoiding conflict. His core convictions about his faith may have changed very little, and some not at all, but early on Romero often pulled back from speaking directly to the events and issues of his world by overly spiritualizing the issues, and speakin only in terms of principles. Thus, Romero didn't betray his faith or convictions, but this did allow each side to interpret the principles in ways that justified their own conclusions and actions.
So, in what ways are you afraid to engage your world because of fear of backlash or criticism from people on other sides?
Be honest about your fear, and open your heart to the Spirit. What do you sense the Spirit of God saying to you about your fear?
Now, in fearful and polarized times like Romero's, and ours, most Christians would agree that the Gospel and Scriptures should enable to see things differently, and call us to something higher. But notice what the Bible itself tells us about the way the Word guides us: in Jesus day, many people, whole crowds and multitudes, heard Jesus' sermons. And many of these folks failed to recognize the divine power and truth in his words. So they stayed caught up the the same power games.
Just hearing Jesus' words in Scripture don't guarantee we will truly be guided by God through difficult and contentious seasons. And without God's guidance and grace, we won't act as witnesses to God's transcendent kingdom.
So now notice, those who tended to follow Jesus where he went, to watch what Jesus did and then emulate his actions, these became the ones who could recognize in Jesus' words the power of eternal life. And these became embodied witnesses of what is possible when Christ's enternal power flows through our thoughts and actions.
In Romero's day and time, he spent much of his life in the places Jesus said he would be -- with the sick and the poor. And in those places, Romero practiced keeping Jesus example. This allowed Romero to really hear God's voice in the Scriptures, and this is why Romero said the voice of the poor became the place where he heard his true vocation from God. and all this is what allowed Romero act as a saintly witness in a violent and unjust world.
So, if in our own divisive time, you want to let not just your opinions about the Bible guide your responses to the fear and violence of the world where you find it in yourself and in external circumstances ... but instead want to find God's voice guiding you through the Scriptures, and shaping you into an instrument of justice and peace, in what ways do you currently, or could you, actually engage and practice the Scriptures, live the Gospel, to give it opportunity to speak?
Where could you hang our where you'd be likely to meet the Jesus witnessed to in the Gospels? What might he call you to do there?
Finally, if you're willing and ready, think about the murder of Romero's best friend, Rutilio Grande. And put yourself in Romero's place. Imagine someone you cared deeply for was killed simply for trying to do something good. Honestly, how would you react?
Given what you would feel, what sorts of images or fantasies do you think would take over your mind?
Romero responded to his friend's murder by calling for, and working for, an end to all methods of violence. What is you initial reaction to, or evaluation of, Romero's response?
In spending time not just with his friend and the poor, but also with his enemies, Romero came to understand how everyone suffers in times of violence and fear. Even enemy soldiers have children and loved ones. And when they lose a parent or friend, they too suffer the kind of pain that tempts them to continue the very cycles of hatred and violence that caused their suffering. So Romero find in Christ the grace to sublimate his pain and anger and put it somewhere redemptive.
What do you think it would take for you to have genuine empathy for the loved ones of your enemies? For your enemies themselves?
And because of Romero's sacrifice, people on all sides of the conflict benefitted.
So how do you think you would react if in response to your pain, obeying Jesus' guidance led to healing and redemption for your enemies?
[END]