Catholicism, holiness and spirituality

Mixed Messages

On the one hand....

Archbishop Romero's sainthood cause has been under study at the Vatican for several years. Sources have said the Vatican is satisfied that the archbishop's writings, homilies and speeches were free of doctrinal error, but a remaining question is whether it was the archbishop's faith or his politics that led to his assassination.

And on the other...

When the pope, cardinals or bishops publicly comment on issues being debated by legislators they are not interfering in politics, but exercising their obligation as pastors and their rights as citizens... "That which the secularists call interference the church calls 'the right to speak about the moral problems that today trouble the consciences of all human beings, particularly legislators and jurists,'" the editorial said, quoting Pope Benedict XVI.

Romero spoke out about injustice, and that inevitably led him into politics. When leaders speak out in public, they become part of the political debate. And that's a good thing - they have a right and a duty to do so. It doesn't seem right, though, to encourage our bishops to speak out and as a result become part of the public political debate, only to hold it against them when they are gone. I wonder if that sort of mixed message is what keeps some bishops rather silent, when they are called to be prophetic?

Loving

Love God with all your being, and love your neighbor as yourself – Jesus

May it please the Beloved that we never fail to love each other, because if we do we are lost – St Teresa of Avila

Love shows itself better through deeds than by words – St Ignatius of Loyola

Love one another, or you perish – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ

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

Love decides everything – Pedro Arrupe, SJ

So much is written about love… probably because it is so much easier to write about it than to actually do it. I’m not discounting the words that are written about love; but it’s a bit disheartening to see how prevalent the lack of love is in so many places these days.

Let’s build a wall to keep them out of our yard, our subdivision, our seaside resort, our country so that we don’t have to deal with their needs. Let’s spend billions on war while the most vulnerable in our neighborhood, our cities and in our rural areas go without basic healthcare because it’s too expensive for them to pay for it. Let’s divide the world into them and us so we don’t have to deal with them. Let’s ignore how much we contribute to polluting the world so that we can keep the cost of consumer goods low. Let’s spend billions on researching and producing vanity drugs instead of finding cures for simple ailments that affect millions of people each year, people who can’t afford to pay for their cure. Let’s get caught up in our work and entertainment so that we don’t have time to be good parents, devoted spouses, and compassionate friends.

Let’s get caught up in satisfying ourselves instead of loving God and loving those around us. It’s so much easier, and it feels good… for a while, anyway.

Seeking the child Jesus

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

OK, so here's one more Romero quote.

The last Romero quote

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 a hospital Mass shortly before an assassin entered via a back door and shot him.

It took me a long time to get through this book - I took my time, reading a few quotes every few days. This bishop was truly a shepherd of God's people, a great man.

The most sublime homily ever given

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

Shining faces & brave hearts

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

It is worthwhile to be a Christian

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

Sometimes I wonder if churches make Christianity too complicated. And often-times I’m convinced we make Catholicism too complicated. I wonder what Jesus would say about how we developed his teachings into our voluminous works of theology, the catechism, canon law, encyclicals, professions of faith, creeds, and so on. Do we really need any more than the two great commandments and the beatitudes?

Maybe it’s our human nature that demands such amplification and clarification. But regardless of how people have complicated it, it is worthwhile to be a Christian.

A person's measure

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.

Archibishop Oscar Romero, March 4 1979

A church estranged from humanity

Christ became a man of his people and his time:
   He lived as a Jew,
   he worked as a laborer of Nazareth,
   and since then he continues to become incarnate
      in everyone.
If many have distanced themselves from the church,
   it is precisely because the church has somewhat
      estranged itself from humanity.
But a church that can feel as its own all that is human,
   and wants to incarnate the pain,
   the hope,
   the affliction of all who suffer and feel joy,
such a church will be Christ loved and awaited,
   Christ present.
And that depends on us.

Archbishop Oscar Romero, December 3, 1978

Preaching by our own lives

A Christian community is evangelized
   in order to evangelize.
A light is lit
   in order to give light.
A candle is not lit to be put under a bushel,
   said Christ.
It is lit and put up high
in order to give light. That is what a true community is like.
A community is a group of men and women
   who have found the truth in Christ and in his gospel,
   and who follow the truth
   and join together to follow it more strongly.
It is not just an individual conversion,
but a community conversion.
It is a family that believes,
a group that accepts God.
In the group, each one finds that the brother or sister
   is a source of strength
and that in moments of weakness they help one another
and, by loving one another and believing,
   they give light and example.
The preacher no longer needs to preach,
for there are Christians who preach by their own lives.
I said once and I repeat today
that if, unhappily, some day they silence our radio
and don't let us write our newspaper,
each of you who believe
   must become a microphone,
   a radio station,
   a loudspeaker,
not to talk, but to call for faith.
I am not afraid that our faith may depend
   only on the archbishop's preaching;
I don't think I'm that important.
I believe that this message,
   which is only a humble echo of God's word,
enters your hearts,
   not because it is mine,
   but because it comes from God.

Archbishop Oscar Romero, October 29, 1978

This quote sort of ties in with Nancy’s posts regarding the various natures of church. But I think it also goes a bit beyond that, in calling me to preach by how I live my life. What a great idea it is – not new, but expressed very nicely here by Romero – that I show the world how good God is by being God’s echo, microphone, radio station or loudspeaker.

And I had never really thought about the conversion of a community, in addition to individual conversion. But it does make sense - the comunity affects the individual and the individual affects the community.

And once again I am impressed by Romero’s humility. It can be so easy to get caught up in vanity these days; none of us are immune to it.