In case you hadn't heard, I will be going to El Salvador for "Santa Semana" (Holy Week) with my family and a friend of the family. The six of us will be pilgrims, strangers in a strange land- yet, a place that seems familiar. We will be going to honor the memory of Archbp. Oscar Romero, who was killed at the hands of U.S. government-funded terrorists 25 years ago on March 24, 1980. That was the year I was born. Shortly after this martyrdom, the tiny nation of El Salvador (it's smaller than Massachusetts) erupted into prolonged civil war.
Thus, for as long as I have lived, the people of El Salvador have been in pain. Their pain has been prolonged by the government to whom my taxes are paid (60% of which fund the DoD). In fact, their prolonged pain is directly the result of decisions made by members of an administration I voted into office.
What to do?
This year, the 25th anniversary of Romero's assassination coincides with Holy Thursday, fittingly. Romero did more to clarify the meaning of living the Eucharist than many other priests. Yet His Holiness John Paul II, a man entirely devoted to the Eucharist, who has helped my devotion to increase, denied Romero audience for his pleas.
What to think?
Reading about El Salvador is a jolting, jarring experience. It pulls you into the story of a people assaulted by ignorance. I have surfed far too many webpages to include them all here, but I encourage you to become informed about the role of the US, the decisions of Church leaders, and the questions Catholic citizens must ask themselves. I will include one link, though, merely because it helped me find my footing after swimming adrift in the myriad of questions brought on by even a casual survey of the facts. The link takes you to an article by the late Pedro Arrupe, former Superior General of the Society of Jesus. Fr. Arrupe asks key questions at the end of that article, which conveys his thoughts on education and the duty to teach social justice in the curriculum. As a Jesuit alumnus, I was touched. Here are his questions:
What is my response to the needs of people who suffer misery/oppression?
How do I transform the social reality of the world in which I live?
How do I come to understand my social obligation?
How do I take into account the Gospel's preferential option for the poor?
What have I done for Christ in this world?
What am I doing now?
What should I do?
I do not regret voting for Bush, because I still regard that vote as a statement against injustice towards the unborn victims of violence, a genocide whose horrors are not diminished in light of the atrocities committed against the people of El Salvador. To weigh injustice is to play a numbers game that trivializes the matter at hand: human dignity, rights, and responsibilities. The El Salvadorans are among the poorest of the poor- but what a badge to have earned! It's better to condemn injustice unequivocally, something our Holy Father and the consistent Magisterium of the Church have done repeatedly ad nauseum. I greatly admire the words of Paul VI on this account in particular. What is it that we as a People of God condemn?
Let me include here a quote from the aforementioned article, attributed to one Fr. Alfaro:
"Inclusion in or expulsion from the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus depends on a man (or woman)'s attitude towards the poor and oppressed; towards those who are identified in Isaiah 58, 1-2 as the victims of human injustice and in whose regard God wills to realize his justice. What is strikingly new here is that Jesus makes these despised and marginalized folk his brothers. He identifies himself with the poor and the powerless, with all who are hungry and miserable. Every man in this condition is Christ's brother; that is why what is done for them is done for Christ himself. Whoever comes effectively to the aid of these brothers of Jesus belongs to his Kingdom; whoever abandons them to their misery excludes himself from that Kingdom."
When I go to this little country and meet these people, who have endured pain the enormity of which defies comprehension, what will I do for them? I- surrounded by innumerable blessings- have nothing to offer the people whose family members "disappeared" or were savagely killed, who slave through weeks of excruciating labor to earn what I make in one hour doing far less, who do not enjoy a US citizen's life expectancy, health insurance, opportunity for work, national security, or financial assets. What I can share with them? If anything, I will be enjoying their hospitality, eating their food, and depending upon their provisions during this two-week journey. It hardly makes sense! And they will do and give and provide happily, gladly, with the easy generosity characteristic of people of this culture, a generosity unmatched by the culture into which I was born.
I will spend my currency in their markets on bottled water and souvenirs. Oh, how capitalistic! Yet, an economist would agree this is a very beneficial act. Beyond that, I will listen to their stories, view the killing fields of El Mezote, and see the bulletholes in the walls. In anticipation of the trip I have found myself vascillating between the sense of fear and the sense of adventure: fear, because there are venemous snakes in this equatorial country and people walking around with unconcealed weapons and appaling statistics on gang violence; adventure, because I have never been further south than Mexicali, Mexico, nor have I been to a Third World country, and I have held Romero in awe ever since I watched the movie as a child. So, this will be a learning experience par excellence, which is the first step towards solidarity: knowledge.
And that will be the whole mission in a nutshell. Solidarity. Being With. Emmanuel.
I am reminded of my experience as a Hospice volunteer my senior year of high school. Waiting at the bedside of a man who knew he was dying every Wednesday is an effective way to reflect upon mortality. But sharing that time, however meaningful a gesture, seems insignificant when you meet the nurses, aides, chaplains, bereavement counselors, and numerous individuals who provide for the patient's many needs. In contrast, I just sat there for one hour with him.
But that's precisely the role and purpose and gift of the Hospice volunteer. It meant so much to the caregiver to see a high school youth who cared. It was sufficient that I was simply there. That I shared those last months with my patient, held his hand, looked at pictures of his rose garden, listened to his stories, and talked about the afterlife. That was all.
The gift of self is never to be underestimated, for it is ipso facto the gift of Christ. Christ who came for us, to cling to us, to never let us go. Christ who pursues us, who challenges us, who demands justice, who models love. It is through Christ and with Christ and in Christ that I will go. I will meet Christ in the people of El Salvador. I will meet Christ Crucified in their tears, Christ Resurrected in their triumphs, and the Body of Christ, the Iglesia di Cristo in their hope, a hope witnessed in the words and life of Romero. I will meet Christ in mi familia, mi madre, padre y hermanes y amiga. I will meet Christ in myself and welcome Him.
When my fears, my worries, my typical trip-related anxieties start to get the better of me, I will go to Christ. When I act like a Yanqui tourist, I will seek Christ. When I stumble through the Spanish language, I will meet Christ. When I arrive at the airport and see the US military base or stroll the markets and see machetes or (saints preserve us) meet a snake, I will fly to Christ and try to see with His eyes. Eyes of a Just Lord, a Humble Servant, a Sacrificial Victim.
Even before I arrive at the airport, even before I get on the plane, I will go to Christ in prayer, and that's what I ask from all of you who read this. Pray for me to the Lord our God. Pray for this pilgrimage, my family, and the many travelers who fly down there with us. Ask the intercession of Archbp. Romero, the four churchwomen, the Jesuit priests and their companions, and the countless souls whose fate is known to God alone.
May your Easter experience, your Passion journey, your sharing in Eucharist be as colorful, meaningful, and new as I pray for mine to be. May it bring us ever closer to Christ, more deeply in love with His Church, and more focused in our Christian mission. Pace~
3/15/2005
Preflections
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3 comments:
A recent article from Zenit:
Archbishop Romero Commemorated in Rome;
Mass Recalls 1980 Assassination in El Salvador
ROME, MARCH 18, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Pax Christi International marked the 25th anniversary of the death of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador.
Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem presided at a Mass on Thursday that commemorated the archbishop's assassination. The 62-year-old prelate was killed in a hospital chapel while he was celebrating Mass on March 24, 1980.
"Archbishop Romero had the courage to speak strong words, and was accused of playing politics, but he preached the Gospel," the patriarch said in his homily.
The Salvadoran prelate's process of beatification, which has concluded its diocesan phase and has been in Rome since 1997, will be reopened within the next few days, revealed the postulator, Bishop Vincenzo Paglia of Terni-Narni-Amelia.
"The delicate nature of this cause has called for particular attention," the postulator told the press. "We must not forget that it is a process on martyrdom and not on virtues.
"Therefore, it is essential to demonstrate that Romero was killed out of hatred for the faith and not for political reasons. The postulation has carried out specific investigations on this point. Obviously, it cannot be said that political motivations were totally absent in the one who shot him. But from the point of view of Romero, it is already clear that his commitment was exclusively ecclesial."
Patriarch Sabbah, who is president of Pax Christi International, repeated Archbishop Romero's words: "The death of a martyr is a resurrection. He, in the face of so many accusations, said: 'If they kill me, I will resurrect in the Salvadoran people."
"And this was verified," said the patriarch.
The concelebrated Mass, in which 50 priests participated, was held in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles. Others deemed to have died at the service of the Gospel were also remembered.
assaulted by ignorance? wow. Better yet; assaulted by foreign ignorants who think they know everything. It is true that they as a people have suffered a lot and that they are also very poor compared to what you know and concider as "WEALTH" but they are not poor in spirit, nor in wisdom, neither are they an ignorant people as you imply.As for Mr. Romero, his life was taken, together with the lives of more than 100,000 Salvadorans in a dirty war in which both sides are guilty and responsible for the same crimes, each one of those lives was equally valuable to GOD. GOD is no respecter of man. Before HIM all mankind is the same. Why dont we start telling the truth about this tragedy?, THE TRUTH IS: BOTH SIDES MURDERED, BOTH SIDES RAPED, BOTH SIDES ROBBED, BOTH SIDES PROWLED AROUND AS VENEMOUS SNAKES DESTROYING A PEOPLE. I know, I lived through that war.
P.A. Lopez left the above comment on Dec. 2, 2006 and I am only just now on Dec. 17, 2006 moderating my comments and discovering it.
To my chagrin, P.A. Lopez did not leave an email address to which i could send the following clarification. So posting it here will have to suffice.
Those who have been assaulted by ignorance are the Salvadoran people-- assaulted by the ignorance of the US citizenry and the world at large.
It is ignorance of what effect our foreign policy has had on the people of El Salvador that keeps them subjugated to the many other types of assault we have inflicted through our foreign policy in your country.
I consider our own ignorance of your plight to be the worst form of violence we have committed because it allows worser forms of violence to continue indefinitely.
The "ignorance" in question was not in any way referring to El Salvadorans themselves. Rather it refers to the ignorance of the US Citizen, a point you readily take up.
If you had continued reading the rest of my posts, I made a pilgrimage to El Salvador with my family in the sincere attempt to educate ourselves and eradicate our own personal ignorance of the plight of your country by seeing it firsthand.
If you do ever visit my blog again (unlikely as you've taken such offense) I would appreciate hearing your reaction to the rest of my posts about visiting your country.
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