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1. Irene Baldwin 03/25/2012 - 7:10 am

   Thank you for posting this.

2. David Smith 03/25/2012 - 8:48 am  subscriber

   LA ÚLTIMA HOMILÍA DE MONSEÑOR ÓSCAR A. ROMERO

   Homilía del primer aniversario de la Sra. Sara de Pinto

   San Salvador, 24 de marzo de 1980, a las 17:00 horas en la Capilla del Hospital de La Divina Providencia. Texto completo.

   Por nuestras múltiples relaciones con la Editorial del periódico El Independiente, he pedido asomarme tanto a sus sentimientos filiales en el aniversario de la muerte de su mamá, como sobre todo, a ese espíritu noble que fue doña Sarita, que puso toda su formación cultural, su fineza, al servicio de una causa que ahora es tan necesaria: la verdadera liberación de nuestro pueblo.

   Yo creo que sus hermanos, esta tarde, deben no solamente orar por el eterno descanso por nuestra querida difunta, sino sobre todo, recoger este mensaje que hoy todo cristiano debía de vivir intensamente. Muchos nos sorprenden, piensan que el cristianismo no se debe de meter en estas cosas, cuando es todo lo contrario. Acaban de escuchar en el evangelio de Cristo que es necesario no amarse tanto a sí mismo, que se cuide uno para no meterse en los riesgos de la vida que la historia nos exige, y, que el que quiera apartar de sí el peligro, perderá su vida. En cambio, al que se entrega por amor a Cristo al servicio de los demás, éste vivirá como el granito de trigo que muere, pero aparentemente muere. Si no muriera se quedaría solo. Si la cosecha es, porque muere, se deja inmolar esa tierra, deshacerse y sólo deshaciéndose, produce la cosecha.

   Desde su eternidad, Doña Sarita fue confirmando maravillosamente en esa página que yo he escogido para ella, del Concilio Vaticano II. Dice:

   «Ignoramos el tiempo en que se hará la consumación de la tierra de la humanidad. Tampoco conocemos de qué manera se transformará el universo. La figura de este mundo, afeada por el pecado, pasa, pero Dios nos enseña que nos prepara una nueva morada y una nueva tierra donde habita la justicia, y cuya bienaventuranza es capaz de saciar y rebasar todos los anhelos de paz que surgen en el corazón humano. Entonces, vencida la muerte, los hijos de Dios resucitarán en Cristo, y lo que fue sembrado bajo el signo de la debilidad y de la corrupción, se revestirá de incorruptibilidad, y, permaneciendo la caridad de sus obras, se verán libres de la servidumbre de la vanidad todas las criaturas que Dios creó pensando en el hombre.

   Se nos advierte que de nada le sirve al hombre ganar todo el mundo si se pierde a sí mismo. No obstante, la espera de una tierra nueva no debe amortiguar, sino más bien avivar, la preocupación de perfeccionar esta tierra donde crece el cuerpo de la nueva familia humana, el cual puede de alguna manera anticipar un vislumbre del siglo nuevo. Pero ello, aunque hay que distinguir cuidadosamente progreso temporal y crecimiento del Reino de Cristo, sin embargo, el primero, en cuanto puede contribuir a ordenar mejor la sociedad humana, interesa en gran medida al Reino de Dios.

   Pues los bienes de la dignidad humana, la unión fraterna y la libertad, en una palabra, todos los frutos excelentes de la naturaleza y de nuestro esfuerzo, después de haberlos propagado por la tierra en el Espíritu del Señor y de acuerdo con su mandato, volveremos a encontrarlos limpios de toda mancha, iluminados y transfigurados, cuando Cristo entregue al Padre el reino eterno y universal: «reino de verdad y de vida; reino de santidad y gracia; reino de justicia, de amor y de paz». «El reino está ya misteriosamente presente en nuestra tierra; cuando venga el Señor, se consumará su perfección”.

   Esta es la esperanza que nos alienta a los cristianos. Sabemos que todo esfuerzo por mejorar una sociedad, sobre todo cuando está tan metida esa injusticia y el pecado, es un esfuerzo que Dios bendice, que Dios quiere, que Dios nos exige. Y cuando se encuentra uno, pues, gente generosa como doña Sarita, y su pensamiento encarnado en Jorgito y en todos aquellos que trabajan por estos ideales, hay que tratar de purificarlos en el cristianismo: eso sí, vestirlos de esta esperanza del más allá; porque se hacen más fuertes, porque tenemos la seguridad que todo esto que plantamos en la tierra, si lo alimentamos en una esperanza cristiana, nunca fracasaremos, lo encontraremos purificado en ese reino, donde precisamente, el mérito está en lo que hayamos trabajado en esta tierra.

   Yo creo que será aspirar en balde, a horas de esperanza y de lucha en este aniversario. Recordamos pues, con agradecimiento, a esta mujer generosa que supo comprender las inquietudes y esfuerzos de su hijo y de todos aquellos que trabajan por un mundo mejor, y supo también poner su parte de granito de trigo en el sufrimiento. Y no hay duda, que esta es la garantía de que su cielo tiene que ser también a la medida de este sacrificio y de esa comprensión que falta a muchos en este comento, en El Salvador.

   Yo les suplico a todos, queridos hermanos, que miremos estas cosas desde el momento histórico, con esta esperanza, con este espíritu de entrega, de sacrificio, y hagamos lo que podamos. Todos podemos hacer algo: desde luego un sentimiento de comprensión. Esta santa mujer que estamos recordando hoy, pues, no pudo hacer cosas tal vez directamente, pero animando a aquellos que pueden trabajar, comprendiendo su lucha, y sobre todo, orando y aun después de su muerte diciendo con su mensaje de eternidad que vale la pena trabajar porque todos esos anhelos de justicia, de paz y de bien que tenemos ya en esta tierra, los tenemos formados si los iluminamos de una esperanza cristiana; porque sabemos que nadie puede para siempre y que aquellos que han puesto en su trabajo un sentimiento de fe muy grande, de amor a Dios, de esperanza entre los hombres, pues todo esto está redundando ahora, en esplendores de una corona que ha de ser la recompensa de todos los que trabajan así, regando verdades, justicia, amor, bondades en la tierra y no se queda aquí, sino que purificado por el espíritu de Dios, se nos recoge y se nos da en recompensa.

   De esta Santa Misa, pues, esta Eucaristía, es precisamente un acto de fe: Con fe cristiana parece que en este momento la voz de diatriba se convierte en el cuerpo del Señor que se ofreció por la redención del mundo, y que en ese cáliz el vino se transforma en la sangre que fue precio de la salvación. Que este cuerpo inmolado y esta Sangre Sacrificada por los hombres nos alimente también para dar nuestro cuerpo y nuestra sangre al sufrimiento y al dolor, como Cristo, no para sí, sino para dar conceptos de justicia y de paz a nuestro pueblo. Unámonos pues, íntimamente en fe y esperanza a este momento de oración por Doña Sarita y por nosotros.

   En este momento sonó el disparo….

   http://www.comitesromero.org/vigo/RichardLaFuerzaEspiritual.htm

   http://www.aporrea.org/actualidad/n57883.html

   http://servicioskoinonia.org/romero/homilias/C/800324.htm

3. Mark Proska 03/25/2012 - 9:13 am  subscriber

   Martyred while saying Mass, talk about Vaya Con Dios. Doesn’t that open a door to beatification?

4. Robert Imbelli 03/25/2012 - 10:39 am  subscriber

   Many thanks, David

5. Ann Olivier 03/25/2012 - 12:52 pm  subscriber

   Archbishop Romero should be made patron saint of bishops.

6. Little Bear 03/25/2012 - 3:03 pm

   Archbishop Romero changed from being a timid, and bookish man into a man who was a true shepherd and a true leader. I believe that a major conversion for him occured when he had to preside at the funerals of two of his priests who were gunned down defending the rights of the poor.

   By struggling with his own former perceptions of what an arch/bishop ought to be vs. what experience was indicating to him that an archbishop SHOULD be—he truly became that ‘grain of wheat that died…’. And this occured well before he was shot down at the altar.

   Yes, Ann, I agree with you—Archbishop Romero should be declared the patron of bishops.
   And the reading of his life story should be a mandated book that bishops read and discuss with each other—-even on-line.

7. Claire 03/25/2012 - 3:28 pm

   It’s hard to imagine a better death. Saint Romero, pray for us!

8. Jimmy Mac 03/25/2012 - 3:31 pm  subscriber

   A periodic poster here, Gene Palumbo, has done extensive work on Romero and, in fact, lives in San Salvador with his wife, Guadalupe. Maybe if he is lurking here he can give us some interesting information that may not be known to the rest of us about Oscar The Great.

9. Irene Baldwin 03/25/2012 - 3:33 pm

   What I admire most about Archbishop Romero is that he wasn’t born to be hero. A lot of us are go along/get along Christians; who knows what we will do when put to the test? Archbishop Romero was tested and he passed the test.

10. Ann Olivier 03/25/2012 - 3:35 pm  subscriber

    Little Bear –

    I particularly admire Bishop Romero because he started out with the conventional world=view of the South American conservatives (not just the bishops), but had the humility and courage and love to break out of his tribal confines. Some of his other sermons have been translated into English. What a beautiful, beautiul man.
    (
    (If only the American bishops realized how much the laity *wants* to respect them!)

11. william collier 03/25/2012 - 3:41 pm  subscriber

    “We know that no one can go on forever, but those who have put into their work a sense of very great faith, of love of God, of hope among human beings, find it all results in the splendors of a crown that is the sure reward of those who labor thus, cultivating truth, justice, love, and goodness on earth.”

    Both eerie and magnificent.

12. Robert Imbelli 03/25/2012 - 4:15 pm  subscriber

    There is a prayer attributed to Archbishop Romero that some may know. I gather it may not be his own, but it seems to me to embody something of his spirit:

    “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.”

13. Bill Mazzella 03/25/2012 - 5:03 pm  subscriber

    The person who should have been “santo subito.” Romero is an indictment on Rome and on John Paul II who may have canonized more people than anyone.

14. John Page 03/25/2012 - 10:57 pm  subscriber

    I have read recently that the cause of Archbishop Romero has been effectively sidetracked in Rome. For some reason there is a timidity abroad with respect to the Romero beatification process in the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and, it would seem, elsewhere in the Curia. Perhaps someone can provide clearer information.

    A powerful Gospel today. “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”

15. Carolyn Disco 03/26/2012 - 12:55 am  subscriber

    Yes, Gene Palumbo would be a very well-informed source.

    I heard mumblings somewhere that Romero’s cause was stalled for political reasons, but can’t remember the source. I was surprised to meet Salvadorans some years back who said Romero was far more popular abroad than in-country.

    After JPII publicly scolded a Nicaraguan priest who was part of the Sandinista government, as I remember, Ernesto Cardenal(?), I had the impression JPII was not particularly kind or responsive to Romero.

    JPII was reported to be very upset by Romero’s death, perhaps related to his poor treatment of the bishop, whom he may have suspected of liberation theology overtones.

16. gene palumbo 03/26/2012 - 1:04 am  subscriber

    Robert Imbelli wrote, “There is a prayer attributed to Archbishop Romero that some may know. I gather it may not be his own. . .”

    The prayer was written by Bishop Kenneth Untener, of Saginaw, Michigan. This next is from a homily given by Bishop Thomas Gumbleton on March 28, 2004, the day after Untener’s death:

    We all have [Untener's] little black book of reflections, and on Wednesday he had a text he wanted us to reflect on during Lent. For me, it shows how much he was aware that God is always doing something new in us, so we should never be discouraged or give up. We should never feel overwhelmed by whatever has happened to us personally or overwhelmed by the problems in the world. God is at work in the world, always doing something new.

    Wednesday was the anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. For the reflection that day, Bishop Untener included a passage titled “The mystery of the Romero Prayer.” The mystery is that the words of the prayer are attributed to Oscar Romero, but they were never spoken by him. They were, in fact, spoken by John Cardinal Dearden in November of 1979. They come from a homily he gave at a Mass for deceased priests. But what is even more important to know is that they were words drafted for Cardinal Dearden by Ken Untener. They are really his words, and they show us an insight that I think is very important. . . .

    Ken had a very deep awareness that God is at work within the lives of each one of us. Within our world, the reign of God is happening, and it will happen in its fullness. We are invited to keep on doing something to help make that happen. We can’t do it all, but we can do something. The reign of God is breaking forth. God is always doing something new.

    http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/peace/pfg032804.htm

    I’ll include Untener’s prayer — as included in Gumbleton’s homily — because it’s different from — mainly, shorter than — the version Fr. Imbelli posted. As for the extra material in that version, I don’t know who added it, or when, or why. Here it is:

    It helps now and then to step back and take the long view.
    The reign of God is not only beyond our efforts.
    It is 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 another way of saying the reign of God 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.
    We cannot do everything but there is a sense of liberation in realizing that because this enables us to do something and to do it well.
    It may be incomplete but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest.

17. gene palumbo 03/26/2012 - 2:54 am  subscriber

    Here’s a story that will give you an idea of the kind of person Mons. Romero was. At the meeting of the Latin American bishops in Puebla, Mexico, in January-February 1979, a few of us (journalists) were talking with him one afternoon. He was already receiving death threats, and it was obvious that they were serious. There was good reason to think that, if he went back to El Salvador, sooner or later he would be killed. With that in mind – but without actually saying it to Mons. Romero — one of us asked him, “Are you really going to return to San Salvador after this meeting?” He replied, “I know what you’re getting at. But they say I’m the pastor, right? And the pastor’s role is to be there for his flock, right? But my flock is in San Salvador. So yes, I’m going to return.”

    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

    As I read over those words, I was reminded of others, in a fine article about Mons. Romero by Tom Quigley, who for decades was an advisor on Latin America to the USCCB. Here he’s speaking of his first meeting with Mons. Romero, in 1977:

    Everybody spoke at the meeting; people had reports, analyses, conclusions. Jorge and I had our pieces to say. But the little man, indistinguishable from the rest except for his cassock and simple pectoral cross, listened, smiled gently, and only at the end said a few words. Mostly words of gratitude for our coming, of hope we would have a fruitful visit and, finally, of regret that he could not then — though he would like eventually to do so — accept our invitation to visit the United States. He said he had to stay with his people.

    Two years later he did accept and plans were set for him to address the Governing Board of the NCC and meet with U.S. Catholic bishops; but the October coup intervened and he had to cancel. He never left El Salvador. He is still with his people.

    Quigley was part of an ecumenical delegation which journeyed to El Salvador in March, 1980, to show support for Mons. Romero. He was killed while the group was there. Here’s part of what Quigley wrote about that visit:

    Everybody called him “Monseñor.” Not a title really, more an affectionate, deeply loving nickname. Dad. Poppa. Monseñor. Even though every bishop in Spanish America is called that, in El Salvador when they say “Monseñor always did this” and “Monseñor said that,” now even after his death, they mean only Oscar Romero.…

    Five of us from the U.S. churches had gone on a hastily formed ecumenical visit to El Salvador, seeking to express the solidarity of the U.S. religious community with him and the people of his country and to learn what we could of the current, rapidly changing situation. [On the morning of March 23, 1980], we were seated, Quaker, Episcopalian, Methodist and Catholic, in the sanctuary of the old ramshackle, tin-roofed wooden Basilica of the Sacred Heart. The huge, cavernous poured-concrete cathedral 10 blocks down the street, left unfinished by the previous archbishop who said “we must stop building cathedrals and start building the Church,” was unavailable; one of the popular movements had taken it over some weeks before. The basilica was packed, mostly with simple working people, families, kids on their fathers’ shoulders. The entrance hymn began and with it, applause starting at the rear and undulating up to the front as the archbishop and the priests and seminarians, vested in brilliantly colored stoles over their albs, moved joyfully up the aisle.

    How describe a triumphal procession when there wasn’t a trace of triumphalism anywhere? The applause was thunderous, shaking the corrugated roof, teasing tears out of the most non-liturgical of our company; it was simply a pastor receiving the loving embrace of a people who saw themselves, their suffering and their hopes, embodied in this humble figure. It didn’t occur to me then but it has often since, that that day, the eve of his martyrdom, was as vivid a re-creation as I could imagine of the palm-strewn path into Jerusalem.

    These excerpts are from Quigley’s article, “Remembering a Bishop,” published in the September, 1980 issue of The Witness magazine. Sadly, the article is not, as far as I know, available online.

    The Violence of Love (James Brockman, ed.) is a very good collection of excerpts from Mons. Romero’s homilies and writings.

    Memories in Mosaic, by Maria Lopez Vigil, is a fine biography of him. Orbis will re-issue it next year.

    Roberto Morozzo della Rocca’s biography is now available in Italian and Spanish, but not in English. It was after reading this biography that Pope Benedict remarked, “That Romero as a person merits beatification, I have no doubt.”

    Two recent documentaries:

    “Monsenor: The Last Journey of Oscar Romero,” http://firstrunfeatures.com/shopsite_sc/shopping_cart

    and

    /productsearch.cgi?storeid=*100b93576b06b5905e02 and El Cielo Abierto: http://www.cinemaopen.com/v1/

18. Ann Olivier 03/26/2012 - 3:54 am  subscriber

    Gene ==

    Thank you for the first-hand accounts. How would you describe things in El Salvador now?

19. David Smith 03/26/2012 - 2:53 pm  subscriber

    Carolyn Disco 03/26/2012 – 12:55 am

    Yes, Gene Palumbo would be a very well-informed source.

    I heard mumblings somewhere that Romero’s cause was stalled for political reasons, but can’t remember the source. I was surprised to meet Salvadorans some years back who said Romero was far more popular abroad than in-country.

    Gene, would you say that’s true?

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