If I were to express in a single sentence who it is that I was created to be, I would say that by God's grace and in His strength, I am a woman of integrity who tenaciously shepherds people to live life and love others fully.
I occasionally find stories of those whose lives reflect my passion and am inspired to model my life after theirs. If, then, I seek to shepherd, let it be with a tenacity of this sort; may I find my worth where he found his... read on.
Archbishop Osar Romero was assassinated while conducting mass on March 24, 1980 for his bold defence of the rights of the poor during a bloody conflict in El Salvador that the UN Truth Commission called genocidal. Reacting to the archbishop's stubborn advocacy for repressed El Salvadorans, right-wing groups were leafleting the nation, "Be a patriot, kill a priest."
Moments before a sharpshooter felled him, reflecting on scripture, he said, "One must not love oneself so much, as to avoid getting involved in the risks of life that history demands of us, and those that fend off danger will lose their lives." --Archibishop Oscar Romero, March 24 1980
We have never preached violence, except the violence of love, which left Christ nailed to a cross, the violence that we must each do to ourselves, to overcome our selfishness and such cruel inequalities among us. The violence we preach is not the violence of the sword, the violence of hatred. It is the violence of love, of brotherhood, the violence that wills to beat weapons into sickles for work. --Archibishop Oscar Romero, November 27, 1977
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
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2 comments:
wow, is all i can say that last 4 lines..its a good thing to think about. I wish that more people were able to take a step back and realize this. it becomes a daly thought for each person, i word it as "stop and look around", perhaps that is a good way to go about taking recognition that we are "grafted on Christ's life"
rd
it is simultaneously a humbling and dignifying statement, perhaps the most important truth i have ever learned (although i continue to learn it daily). maybe one of these days i'll really get it...
thanks for reading!
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