Cardinal Vincent Nichols called for the cries of the poor in every part of the world to be central to our prayer in a homily delivered today at an ecumenical service for Archbishop Oscar Romero at St Martin in the Fields in London.
Oscar Romero is to be beatified on 23 May in El Salvador, the country where he was assassinated in 1980.
Archbishop Romero will be declared ‘Blessed’, a martyr for the faith of the Church, faith in Jesus Christ. He died, the Church proclaims, in holiness of life and for one reason: hatred of the faith, hatred of Jesus, hatred of the unfailing love of God, shown in Jesus, which has such a special, preferential place for the poor.
“This love, in which we place our trusting faith, is the source of the true dignity of every human being, from the first moment of their conception to their natural death. Without recognition of this truth, human dignity has no firm roots. Those who wish to deny that dignity, in their unjust and cruel treatment of others will, sooner or later, detest the faith and love that so uphold that dignity,” said the Cardinal.
“If we truly want to imitate Oscar Romero and truly follow his example, then we too, every day, must make the cries of the poor in every part of the world central to our prayer. This is the most radical action we can take, the most profound response we can make to poverty in our midst. This call to prayer is the first call of our baptism, a true fulfilling of our vocation to be a holy people, a nation of priests. We are to offer to God, entrust to God, all that he has given to us, most especially the poor and the weak, those who are dearest to him. Without this prayer all else that we do will be flat, one-dimensional, without its true roots in love and in faith.”
You can read/download the full text of the Cardinal’s homily using the link below or to the right of this article.
