Yesterday, May 24, Archbishop Oscar Romero was beatified in San Salvador in a public ceremony attended by 250,000 people. I am without words: this is such a profound and moving moment that I am really unsure what to say. So instead, I want to present a florilegium in his honor. I begin with a photo of Romero taken moments after his assassination:
I continue with a brief excerpt from the letter from Pope Francis read at the beatification ceremony:
Archbishop Romero invites us to sanity and reflection, to respect for life and harmony. It is necessary to renounce “the violence of the sword, of hate” and to live “the violence of love, that left Christ nailed to the Cross, that makes each one of us overcome selfishness and so that there be no more such cruel inequality between us.” He knew how to see and experienced in his own flesh “the selfishness that hides itself in those who do not wish to give up what is theirs for the benefit of others.” And, with the heart of a father, he would worry about the “poor majority”, asking the powerful to convert “weapons into sickles for work.”
May those who have Archbishop Romero as a friend of faith, those who invoke him as protector and intercessor, those who admire his image, find in him the strength and courage to build the Kingdom of God, to commit to a more equal and dignified social order.
Next, a selection of posts from the archives of Vox Nova on Oscar Romero. This list is an attempt to be complete: if I missed anything, please let me know.
Januar, 2015, News on Arcbishop Oscar Romero
December, 2014, Romero’s Last Christmas Homily
September, 2014, A Pair of Troubling Crosses for Modern Times
March, 2014, Oscar Romero, A Tireless Seeker
June 2011, Words From The Last Homily — With Zombies
March, 2011, Three Speeches from Oscar Romero
March, 2010, “Si me matan, resucitaré en el pueblo salvadoreño.”
December, 2009, Christmas Homily Excerpts from Oscar Romero
April 2009, “We will follow God’s order, not men’s”
June, 2008, Archbishop Oscar Romero on Marxism
March, 2008, March 24, Servant of God Oscar Romero of the Americas
Finally, the prayer for the beatification of Oscar Romero, which is as timely as ever:
Oh Jesus, Eternal Shepherd, you made Monseñor Oscar Romero a living example of faith and charity, and you granted him the grace of dying at the foot of the altar in a supreme act of love for you. Grant us, if it is your will, the grace of his beatification. Make us follow his example of love for the Church, for your Word, for the Eucharist, and love for you in the poor and the needy. We ask this through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace. Amen.
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