Canonisation of Blessed Oscar Romero
This Sunday, 14th October 2018, at a ceremony in Rome, Pope Francis will officially recognise the sainthood of Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador. It is a fitting tribute to an extraordinary man, whose life still influences the work of Trōcaire and similar organisations working for human rights around the world.
“It is not God’s will for some to have everything and others to have nothing”. Blessed Oscar Romero
Archbishop Romero was a great friend of Trōcaire. His leadership, conviction and compassion still guide Trōcaire’s values of solidarity, participation, perseverance and courage in our work today. In 1979, we began funding the El Salvador Human Rights Commission, which was set up by the Archbishop, in response to the unlawful killing of 8,000 people. Trōcaire received a letter from Monsignor Romero dated 1 March 1980 asking for funding to restore the broadcasting unit. He wrote “Not having the radio deprives us of a means so important here”. He also wrote in the same letter “I would like to thank your kindness and preoccupation for our country and our Church and the kindness of the Irish Bishop’s Conference and Trōcaire’s”. Two weeks after writing this letter, Archbishop Romero was brutally murdered.
Archbishop Romero’s death was not in vain. Today his legacy continues to be deeply embedded in the work of Trōcaire.
Here are some ways in which you can remember this extraordinary man in parish and community life over the coming weeks:
- Have the Prayer of Oscar Romero attached to be printed in your local Parish bulletin or to be placed on your parish noticeboard.
- Become closer to Archbishop Romero by reading the articles and blogs and watching videos about his life on trocaire.org/romero
- Show the Oscar Romero animation on the Trōcaire website at meeting for young people and encourage the young people to participate in the Romero Award Programme (www.trocaire.org/getinvolved/romeroaward)
Prayer of Oscar Romero
It helps now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom 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
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 programme accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that will one day 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 effects 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 God’s grace to enter and to 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 for a future not our own.
