Each and every Sunday, the people would stop. In every village and barrio and cornfield around El Salvador, people gathered around their transistor radios, tuned into YSAX, and listened to the words of Archbishop Óscar Romero. Monseñor, as so many called him, would preach each weekend on the Archdiocesan radio station. He spoke about the country. He spoke about what was really taking place. And, of course, he spoke about Jesus.
It was a holy moment for the people, a holy moment for the nation, really. Holy because the Word of God was coming into their homes. Holy because their Shepherd was speaking to his flock. Holy because the truth was being heard. In all actuality, Romero became the most trusted source of news in the country, willing to speak up and speak out when few others would. But the Archbishop wasn’t merely a source of news. He also became a critical source of holiness in a time when many were oppressed. His radio homilies broadcast the hope that was needed for many to endure such struggle.
But of course, it was not only a radio signal that was broadcasting the hope and holiness of Archbishop Romero. It was his passion, his care for the people, the way that he lived his life. He was willing to put himself in great danger to speak out against the injustice that had permeated the country. He was willing to risk all kinds of harm to preach the gospel message. And all of that announced to the world the kind of man that he was. That he was there for the poor, that he wanted to do anything, to die even, to help those in need.
And die he did. One Monday in 1980, Archbishop Romero was shot, and killed. At the altar. As he celebrated Mass. It was tragic. And yet, the words, the message that he had broadcast each Sunday did not die. Instead of retreating in defeat, men and women continued to cry out against oppression and violence and fight for those in need.
Romero’s willingness to stand up and proclaim the truth in the face of danger had spoken to the nation. It was a truth of holiness, of real living faith. And as he’s canonized a saint on October 14th, I hope that we might all have the courage to be even a little bit like Óscar Romero. The courage to live and share our faith, to broadcast our truth to the world. Jesus told us to proclaim the gospel to every place, every nation, to the whole world. Óscar Romero took care of El Salvador, so that just leaves everywhere else for the rest of us.
A Reflection on Saint Óscar Romero – Canonized October 14, 2018 saints preseason | |
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