Oscar Romero
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Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (August 15, 1917 – March 24, 1980), commonly known as Monseñor Romero, was a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador. He later became the eighth Bishop and fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding the long-reigning Luis Chávez y González.
As archbishop, he witnessed ongoing violations of human rights and started a group which spoke out to the poor and also victims of the country's civil war. Chosen to be archbishop for his conservatism, once in office his conscience led him to embrace a non-violent form of liberation theology, a position that has led to comparisons with Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Later, in 1980, he was assassinated by gunshot shortly after his homily. His death provoked international outcry for human rights reform in El Salvador. After his assassination, Romero was succeeded by Msgr. Arturo Rivera y Damas. Romero is honored by other religious denominations of Christendom, including the Church of England through its Common Worship. He is one of the ten 20th-century martyrs from across the world who are depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, London. |
Quotes
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“We must not seek the child Jesus in the pretty figures of our Christmas cribs. We must seek him among the undernourished children who have gone to bed at night with nothing to eat, among the poor newsboys who will sleep covered with newspapers in doorways.
-Archbishop Oscar Romero, December 24, 1979 God's reign is already present on our earth in mystery. When the Lord comes, it will be brought to perfection. That is the hope that inspires Christians. We know that every effort to better society, especially when injustice and sin are so ingrained, is an effort that God blesses, that God wants, that God demands of us. -Archbishop Oscar Romero, March 24 1980 (*These were the last words of Oscar Romero, said at Mass shortly before an assassin entered via a back door and shot him.) In the most sublime homily ever given, Christ closes the book and says, "These things have been fulfilled today." That is what a homily is: saying that God's word is not about times past, but a living and spiritual word that is being fulfilled here. Hence our effort to apply God's eternal message to the people's concrete circumstances. -Archbishop Oscar Romero, January 27, 1980 When we leave Mass we ought to go out the way Moses descended Mt Sinai: with his face shining, with his heart brave and strong to face the world's difficulties. -Archbishop Oscar Romero, June 17 1979 Those who, in the Biblical phrase, would save their lives – that is, those who want to get along, who don’t want commitments, who don’t want to get into problems, who want to stay outside of a situation that demands the involvement of all of us – they will lose their lives. What a terrible thing, to have lived quite comfortably, with no suffering, not getting involved in problems, quite tranquil, quite settled, with good connections politically, economically, socially—lacking nothing, having everything, to what good? They will lose their lives.“ But those, who for love of me, uproot themselves and accompany the people and go with the poor in their suffering and become incarnated and feel as their own the pain, the abuse–they will secure their lives, because my Father will reward them.” Brothers and sisters, God’s word calls us to this today. Let me tell you with all the conviction I can muster, it is worthwhile to be a Christian. -Archbishop Oscar Romero, April 1, 1979 “If we are worth anything, it is not because we have more money or more talent, or more human qualities. Insofar as we are worth anything, it is because we are grafted on to Christ's life, his cross and resurrection. That is a person's measure.” -Archbishop Oscar Romero, March 4 1979 “If there were love of neighbor there would be no terrorism, no repression, no selfishness, none of such cruel inequalities in society, no abductions, no crimes.” – Archbishop Oscar Romero Authority in the church is not command, but service. Among Christians, those who do not become simple as children cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. To my shame, as a pastor, I beg forgiveness from you, my community, that I have not been able to carry out, as your servant my role as bishop. I am not a master, I am not a boss, I am not an authority that imposes itself. I want to be God's servant, and yours. -Archbishop Oscar Romero, September 10, 1978 For the church, the many abuses of human life, liberty, and dignity are a heartfelt suffering. The church, entrusted with the Earth’s glory, believes that in each person is the Creator’s image and that everyone who tramples it offends God. As holy defender of God’s rights and of his images, the church must cry out. It takes as spittle in its face, as lashes on its back, as the cross in its passion, all that human beings suffer, even though they be unbelievers. They suffer as God’s images. There is no dichotomy between man and God’s image. Whoever tortures a human being, whoever abuses a human being, whoever outrages a human being, abuses God’s image, and the church takes as its own, that cross, that martyrdom. Archbishop Oscar Romero, December 31, 1977 We have never preached violence, except the violence of love, which left Christ nailed to a cross, the violence that we each must do to ourselves to overcome our selfishness and such cruel inequalities among us. The violence we preach is not the violence of the sword, the violence of hatred. It is the violence of love, of brotherhood, the violence that wills to beat weapons into sickles for work .-Archbishop Oscar Romero, November 27, 1977 “It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the church's mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything. This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen.” -Oscar Romero “No one can celebrate a genuine Christmas without being truly poor. The self-sufficient, the proud, those who, because they have everything, look down on others, those who have no need even of God – for them there will be no Christmas. Only the poor, the hungry, those who need someone to come on their behalf, will have that someone. That someone is God, Emmanuel, God-with-us. Without poverty of spirit there can be no abundance of God.” -Oscar Romero “Humanity’s mystery can be explained only in the mystery of the God who became human. If people want to look into their own mystery—the meaning of their pain, of their work, of their suffering, of their hope—let them put themselves next to Christ. If they accomplish what Christ accomplished—doing the Father’s will, filling themselves with the life that Christ gives the world—they are fulfilling themselves as true human beings. If I find, on comparing myself with Christ, that my life is a contrast, the opposite of his, then my life is a disaster. I cannot explain that mystery except by returning to Christ, who gives authentic features to a person who wants to be genuinely human.” -Oscar Romero Source: The Violence of Love “There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried” -Oscar Romero “We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.” -Oscar Romero “A church that suffers no persecution but enjoys the privileges and support of the things of the earth - beware! - is not the true church of Jesus Christ. A preaching that does not point out sin is not the preaching of the gospel. A preaching that makes sinners feel good, so that they are secured in their sinful state, betrays the gospel's call.” -Oscar Romero “When we leave Mass, we ought to go out the way Moses descended Mt Sinai: with his face shining, with his heart brave and strong to face the world's difficulties.” -Oscar Romero The present form of the world passes away, and there remains only the joy of having used this world to establish God’s rule here. All pomp, all triumphs, all selfish capitalism, all the false successes of life will pass with the world’s form. All of that passes away. What does not pass away is love. When one has turned money, property, work in one’s calling into service of others, then the joy of sharing and the feeling that all are one’s family does not pass away. In the evening of life you will be judged on love. ~Oscar Romero Source: The Violence of Love “We must overturn so many idols, the idol of self first of all, so that we can be humble, and only from our humility can learn to be redeemers, can learn to work together in the way the world really needs. Liberation that raises a cry against others is no true liberation. Liberation that means revolutions of hate and violence and takes the lives of others or abases the dignity of others cannot be true liberty. True liberty does violence to self and, like Christ, who disregarded that he was sovereign, becomes a slave to serve others.” Oscar Romero: The Violence of Love “No one can serve two lords. There is only one God, and that God will either be the true one, who asks us to give things up when they become sin, or it will be the god of money, who makes us turn our back on Christianity’s God. The spiritual life does not remove us from the world, but leads us deeper into it.” ~Oscar Romero “Unfortunately, brothers and sisters, we are the product of a spiritualized, individualistic education. We were taught: Try to save your soul and don’t worry about the rest. We told the suffering: Be patient, heaven will follow, hang on. No, that’s not right, that’s not salvation! The salvation that Christ brings is salvation from every bondage that oppresses human beings.” ~Óscar Romero Source: The Violence of Love “We must not love our lives so much that we avoid taking the risks in life that our history calls for” -Oscar Romero “God is not a God we’re unable to find. That is what is most amazing. God became man and walked along human highways in order to encounter people. In Christ we find God’s justification. Christ is the God who pardons, the God who justifies. Christ is the God who has come not to condemn but to forgive (John 3:17). Christ is the shepherd who goes out in search of the lost sheep so that they come and join in the joy of his flock of the justified, from which no one is excluded. With what longing he said, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold, and they must be brought in” (John 10:16).” -Oscar Romero Source: The Scandal of Redemption “Only by humility can we be redeemers and collaborators in the true collaboration that the world needs. Liberation that cries out against others is not true liberation. No liberation brings true freedom if it causes hateful, violent revolutions that destroy the lives and offend the dignity of people. True freedom is that which does violence to itself just as Christ, almost disregarding his sovereign power, becomes a slave in order to serve others. These are the true liberators that this tremendous hour demands of our country, liberators with humble hearts in which Christian love shines bright.” -Oscar Romero Source: The Scandal of Redemption “Humanity’s mystery, can be explained only in the mystery of the God who became human. If people want to look into their own mystery—the meaning of their pain, of their work, of their suffering, of their hope—let them put themselves next to Christ… If I find, on comparing myself with Christ, that my life is a contrast, the opposite of his, then my life is a disaster. I cannot explain that mystery except by returning to Christ, who gives authentic features to a person who wants to be genuinely human.” -Oscar Romero, The Violence of Love (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988), 112. “A preaching that awakens, a preaching that enlightens – as when a light turned on awakens and of course annoys a sleeper – that is the preaching of Christ, calling: Wake up! Be converted! That is the church’s authentic preaching. Naturally, such preaching must meet conflict, must spoil what is miscalled prestige, must disturb, must be persecuted. It cannot get along with the powers of darkness and sin.” -Oscar Romero Source: The Violence of Love “The church, with its message, and with its word, will meet a thousand obstacles, just as the river encounters boulders, rocks, and chasms. No matter; the river carries a promise: “I will be with you to the end of the ages” and “The gates of hell shall not prevail” against the will of the Lord” (Matt. 28:20, Matt. 16:18). -Oscar Romero Source: The Violence of Love “The guarantee of one’s prayer is not in saying a lot of words. The guarantee of one’s petition is very easy to know: how do I treat the poor? 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.” -Oscar Romero Source: ‘The Violence of Love’ “I am glad, brothers and sisters, that our church is persecuted precisely for its preferential option for the poor and for trying to become incarnate in the interest of the poor and for saying to all the people, to rulers, to the rich and powerful: unless you become poor, unless you have a concern for the poverty of our people as though they were your own family, you will not be able to save society.” -Oscar Romero Source: ’The Violence of Love’ “We all must decide in our own consciences what side we will take. God our Lord is offering us marvelous fruits if we let him sow in us that sprout which will produce prolific branches, the fruits of eternal life. This is God’s plan, and that’s why the church is the vineyard where God’s kingdom will always be in crisis. Blessed are those who feel the crisis deeply and resolve it by committing themselves to our Lord. I am very glad that precisely in this hour of crisis many who were asleep have woken up and are at least asking where the truth is to be found. Look for it! Saint Paul shows us the way: it is found with prayer, reflection, and esteem for what is good. These are wonderful criteria. Wherever there is something noble, something good, something just, there we find God.” -Oscar Romero Source: The Scandal of Redemption “He is Messiah and Lord, Kyrios, emperor and king, not with vain and grandiose triumphalism but with a divine royalty that makes him all-powerful, that makes him present in his church, that makes him the architect of history, that makes him the cornerstone of all human movements, and that makes him the compass that guides all of history toward its true destiny. He is the Lord of history, the Lord of ages, the Lord of eternity. He is the key which encompasses past, present, and future. “Christ forever,” says Saint Paul. Christ is the Lord. Christ lives. Christ has risen, and death no longer has dominion over him. But this Christ presents himself as the Good Shepherd. What a marvelous thing, to consider that this powerful king, this man who bears the marks of all his suffering now made into glorious stars, is now our great liberator and our great shepherd!” -Oscar Romero Source: The Scandal of Redemption “I ask all of you, dear brothers and sisters, to view these things that are happening in our historical moment with a spirit of hope, generosity, and sacrifice. And let us do what we can. We can all do something and be more understanding. If we illuminate with Christian hope our intense longings for justice and peace and all that is good, then we can be sure that no one dies forever. If we have imbued our work with a sense of great faith, love of God, and hope for humanity, then all our endeavors will lead to the splendid crown that is the sure reward for the work of sowing truth, justice, love, and goodness on earth. Our work does not remain here; it is gathered and purified by the Spirit of God and returned to us as a reward.” -Oscar Romero Source: The Scandal of Redemption “How easy we find it to condemn structural injustice, institutional violence, and social sin! All that is quite real, but where are the sources of that social sin? They are in the heart of every person. Modern-day society is an anonymous society in which nobody accepts blame but everybody is responsible. All of us are responsible for what happens, but the sin remains anonymous. We are all sinners, and we have all contributed our grain of sand to this mountain of crimes and violence in our country. That is why salvation begins with the human person, with human dignity, with freeing every individual from sin.” -Oscar Romero Source: The Scandal of Redemption “Yes, in Christ is revealed the mystery of love, how God has loved us, as the apostle writes: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16). What father hands over his son so that a prisoner or slave might be saved? That is what the eternal Father has done; he gave us his Son, his Word, his life, and in Christ we can recover God’s life. Sins are forgiven because Christ became the price for our debt, and now we can all die with the hope of heaven because Christ has offered to open for us the gates of heaven even though we are sinners. We need only repent and be converted and return to him who says, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). -Oscar Romero Source: The Scandal of Redemption Let us not forget: We are a pilgrim church, Subject to misunderstanding, To persecution, But a church that walks serene Because it bears the force of love. -Oscar Romero March 14, 1977 “Beautiful is the moment in which we understand that we are no more than an instrument of God; we live only as long as God wants us to live; we can only do as much as God makes us able to do; we are only as intelligent as God would have us be. ” -Oscar Romero “Let us not tire of preaching love; it is the force that will overcome the world. Let us not tire of preaching love. Though we see the waves of violence succeed in drowning the fire of Christian love; love must win out; it is the only thing which can.” -Oscar Romero “A church that does not provoke any crisis, preach a gospel that does not unsettle, proclaim a word of God that does not get under anyone's skin or a word of God that does not touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed: what kind of gospel is that?” -Oscar Romero Everyone who struggles for justice, everyone who makes just claims in unjust surroundings, is working for God’s reign, even if not a Christian. The church does not comprise all of God’s reign; that goes beyond the church’s boundaries. The church values everything that is in tune with its struggle to set up God’s reign. A church that tries to keep itself pure and uncontaminated would not be a church of God’s service to people. The authentic church is one that does not mind conversing with prostitutes and publicans and sinners, as Christ did – and with Marxists and those of various political movements – in order to bring them salvation’s true message. -Oscar Romero Source: The Violence of Love |
