Franz matters

To-day is 75 years after V-E Day, the German Nazis surrendered.  Before they were defeated, they had much power. Many people succumbed to their evil, some opposed it, and some who did not succumb were their victims.

Franz and Franziska Jägerstätter

I have been trying to see Oscar nominated films.  “A Hidden Life” did not win an Oscar, i don't think it was nominated for any Oscar.  It did win best cinematography from a number of other organisations. Of the recent nominees, i think “1917” was deserving. “Parasite” won for best film, and other things. No, it was not that good. “Parasite” raises questions about society, but “A Hidden Life” does so even more, and the story is real, and its questions are more incumbent.

Terrence Malick made a nearly three hour film on Blessed Franz Jägerstätter. The film is entitled, “A Hidden Life”. One might think it is an allusion to particularly religious writing, but it is the last sentence from George Eliot's novel “Middlemarch”. She wrote:  

“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”

Jägerstätter became a conscientious objector to the Hitlerian war machine. The government and the military could come to accept that, IF he made an oath of loyalty to Hitler. His village, and the Church would not defend him. He is repeatedly told to go along, your recalcitrance is of no value. The ostracism, and punishment do not relent.

The film is beautiful, and languidly slow while in the Austrian Alps. It is cruel, and almost a horror film in prison. The main characters speak in English, and others in German. The film is made for English speakers, so the German is just noise (as much speech is). It is a quiet film. Franz says little. His wife, and children love him.

The film is “subversive”, and i am not sure if reviewers catch it all. A church painter says that he paints Christ to His admirers, not to His followers. He makes a living doing this, he would like one day to be brave enough to paint a portrait of the real Christ.

“What we do, is just create... sympathy. We create-- We create admirers. We don't create followers. Christ's life is a demand. You don't want to be reminded of it. So we don't have to see what happens to the truth. A darker time is coming... when men will be more clever. They won't fight the truth, they'll just ignore it. I paint their comfortable Christ, with a halo over his head. How can I show what I haven't lived? Someday I might have the courage to venture, not yet. Someday I'll... I'll paint the true Christ.”

There are enthusiastic supporters of Hitler and the state he rules; we and you are not important, and there are those who just want to get along, and are willing to compromise with the will of evil.

Saint Thomas More

DON PEDRO
The sixth of July: Your loving friend, Benedick.

BENEDICK
Nay, mock not, mock not. The body of your
discourse is sometime guarded with fragments, and
the guards are but slightly basted on neither: ere
you flout old ends any further, examine your
conscience: and so I leave you.

— William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, I. i.
[click]

Saint John

January 1963

• Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli *25 November 1881, the fourth child of fourteen to sharecropper parents
• Apostolic Nuncio to France 1944-53, who negotiated the removal of bishops
• Pope John XXIII 28 October 1958 - 3 June 1963
• opened the Second Vatican Council on 11 October 1962

November 1958

 October 1962

  June 1963

blessing the animals

To-day, is the Feast of Saint Francis the Poor Man of Assisi.  Our dear little Francesco is celebrated and acknowledged for many things; of the pantheon of saints in heaven, he is very well loved on Earth. He is so well loved, because he so much loved. He loved all of creation, and all of the creatures of creation.

To-day is the traditional day for the blessing of animals, because of his lasting influence. One of the two parishes that had their proclaimed extinctions rescinded after an heavy and immediate campaign to implore Cleveland's Bishop Lennon was St. Ignatius of Antioch.  Many churches have animals blessed, but they move the date about. St. Ignatius has celebrated on the Fourth of October, the name day of St. Francis, last year at one in the afternoon, to-day at nine in the morning.

In the past, police had brought their horse. This year, they were absent. As all men are called to be Christians, it always appears that dogs have the tendency towards Catholic Christianity. There on the front steps of the church, on Lorain Avenue of Cleveland Ohio they met. A reading form Genesis was read, and then the stewards of the animals walked in a line of presentation. Each name was asked for, and pronounced, and the animal was blessed in the sign of the Trinity, and splashed with drops of holy water. An hymn was sung, and it was over. 

Every one was in Christian harmony. One Chihuahua was held, and was shivering, and was comforted. Only one dog was a bit barky, and that in a yelpy nervous way when some one approached. The participants enjoyed the little service. Why this is not more common of a group activity?, is of a small query of mine.

The little Lions of St. Ignatius come from the school.

 The Blessing Queue

The earliest attendees were Nancy, and her service dog, Victor. They know the parish well, every Sunday they make the 9 a.m. Liturgy.

 "Have we met before?"

 This lady is carrying her little Mandy, who will be sweet sixteen to-morrow.

Only one birdie, a blue parakeet in a blue cage, was brought in. Her man is holding 'Lola'. Lola is looking into a mirror.

Now, it is true, that, there is a solid and distinct bias and preference this voice has for hounds, and the overwhelming majority of folks presenting their home mascots, presented hounds (this is not 'show' usage, but ancient usage); but a couple of felines were there.  One was named, 'Oddball', and this young, happy woman had a cat called 'Fat'.
____________________________
postscriptum 12 October 2013: As pleasant as this event was, who there could have known that the priest officiating would be arrested for criminal perversion a week later?  He was a priest specifically told by Richard Lennon to stay home, for he regularly absented himself in the night.

Cyril and Methodius

Vatican City issued these three stamps on 22 November 1963 to commemorate the eleven hundred years since Cyril (Constantine the Theologian) and his brother Methodius' arrival to Greater Moravia, and the beginning of the translation of the Holy Scriptures into (what is now called) Old Slavonic, and the creation of the Glagolithic precursor to the Cyrillic alphabet.

As i have mentioned before [click, here too ] these peripatetic brothers were apostles to many lands, and as they wandered to many lands, their feast day has wandered about calendars. Different nations have celebrated, and do still on different days. From 1887 to 1969 on the general Roman calendar their feast day was on the 7th of July. For the Czechs and Slovaks it is still a national holiday on the 5th of July.

In Russia, the feast day is 24 May. For that day, this year, Russia released this souvenir issue for the 1150th anniversary of the Slavonic evangelisation. Another stamp was issued the same day from Belarus.

A joint issue from Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Vatican City. 

This is the Slovak one from June 12th 2013.

Good Pope John

Tornando a casa, troverete i bambini. Date una carezza ai vostri bambini e dite: Questa è la carezza del Papa

3 September 2000 Popes Pius IX, and John XXIII were beatified. Two days before, the Vatican issued this stamp. The English translation of John's handwriting is "When you get home, you will find the children, give them a hug and tell them: this is a hug from the Pope." This is from his "Speech to the Moon", Discorso alla Luna [click, or here] delivered on 11 October 1962. Earlier, that day he opened the Second Vatican Council. He spoke this to the people in St. Peter's Square and the world from his apartment extemporaneously, after they had a torchlight procession.



“Dear sons and daughters,

I feel your voices! Mine is just one lone voice, but it sums up the voice of the whole world.

And here, in fact, all the world is represented here tonight. It could even be said that even the moon hastens close tonight, that from above, it might watch this spectacle that not even St Peter's Basilica, over its four centuries of history, has ever been able to witness.

We ask for a great day of peace. Yes, of peace! 'Glory to God, and peace to men of goodwill.'' If I asked you, if I could ask of each one of you: where are you from? The children of Rome, especially represented here, would respond: ah, we are the closest of children, and you're our bishop. Well, then, sons and daughters of Rome, always remember that you represent 'Roma, caput mundi' ['Rome, the capital of the world'] which through the design of Providence it has been called to be across the centuries.

My own person counts for nothing -- it's a brother who speaks to you, become a father by the will of our Lord, but all together, fatherhood and brotherhood and God's grace, give honor to the impressions of this night, which are always our feelings, which now we express before heaven and earth: faith, hope, love, love of God, love of brother, all aided along the way in the Lord's holy peace for the work of the good. And so, let us continue to love each other, to look out for each other along the way: to welcome whoever comes close to us, and set aside whatever difficulty it might bring.

When you head home, find your children. Hug and kiss your children and tell them: 'This is the hug and kiss of the Pope.' And when you find them with tears to dry, give them a good word. Give anyone who suffers a word of comfort. Tell them 'The Pope is with us especially in our times of sadness and bitterness.' And then, all together, may we always come alive -- whether to sing, to breathe, or to cry, but always full of trust in Christ, who helps us and hears us, let us continue along our path.”

 stamp issue of 12 June 2013, on  a mini-sheet of nine with text from Discorso alla Luna

Ecce magi ab oriente

 ( G + M + B ~ Gašper + Miha + Boltežar)

Glejte, glejte, kaj je tam,
trije kralji grejo k nam,
na kamelah jezdijo,
od zlata se svetijo.

Look, look what is there,
Three Kings go towards us,
on camels they ride,
of gold do shine. — Slovene folk lyric


 Inundátio camelórum opériet te,
 dromedárii Mádian et Epha;
 omnes de Saba vénient,
 aurum et thus deferéntes,
 et laudem Dómino annuntiántes. — Isaias lx. 6.

The multitude of camels shall cover thee, 
the dromedaries of Madian and Epha: 
all they from Saba shall come, 
bringing gold and frankincense: 
and shewing forth praise to the Lord. — DRC

Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD. — NAB

_______________________________________________
And on this day some would chalk their house entrance, 20+G+M+B+13, say some prayers , and walk about the house with burning incense. Some cultures to-day is the day of gift giving, for some it was St. Nicholas (a month before exact). On both days a dress up play are enacted, some in halls, churches, and schools, a little extra celebrating the season.

Slovenija is a mountainous country, it is where the Balkans and the Alps meet. Early January these mountains, and their valleys are often snow covered. The thought of three men travelling on camels is quaint. Well a camel would make a footprint in white snow as easily as in yellow sand.The picture above has a palm, and not a spruce.

St. Nicholas

6 December is St. Nicholas's Day. The night before gifts come to children in eastern, and central Europe. In this stamp Nicholas is dressed as an Orthodox, or Byzantine, bishop. He is the special saint for children.

The communists in Slavonic lands tried to replace him with Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost), and his other ethnic cousins, such as Dedek Mraz, on New Year's Eve. In capitalist America he was similarly replaced with a Christmas season Coca Cola guy.

Mother Teresa

 Mother Teresa

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu

 1910-1997

Yesterday in the rain, the new President of Albania, other dignitaries, and St. E Premte Albanian Orthodox Church led the ceremony dedicating the Albanian cultural garden, and a bronze statue of Mother Teresa. The statue is on Cleveland's Martin Luther King Blvd, formerly Liberty. It is before the city's greenhouse, and is the first garden nearest the lake and the freeway.

The large statue is the work of Kreshnik Xhiku. Xhiku has previously created an equestrian statue of Skanderbeg [previously the most famous Albanian], in Skopje Macedonia, and Rochester Hills Michigan.
 
Cleveland Albanians are not many, and are not of the same composition as those in the old country. Christianity is a minority religion amongst the Albanians in Europe. Many Albanians live outside the borders of  the Albanian state. They are a majority in Kosovo, and the minority in Macedonia.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta was born in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, in the last years of the Ottoman Turkish sultanate.The name 'Gonxha' means rosebud/little flower. In the picture flowers, mostly roses, are visible. They were placed there during the ceremony.

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. — Mother Teresa
By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus. — Mother Teresa

Saint Nicholas of Myra

on Mount Mela, Altindere (Torrent of Gold) Valley, is the Holy Monastery of Panagia Soumela

In what was the province of Pontus, and later Trebizond, and now Trabzon, on the south shore of the Black Sea in eastern Anatolia, there is a monastery founded in 386 on a stony mountain. The people there were Pontic Greeks, until the Turks deported the population in 1923. In the 14th century many frescoes were painted on the stone walls of church and chapel. One is of the Council of Nicaea (325). The Turks have, in the last few years, had it as a tourist site. On Dormition (Aug. 15, 2010) the Turks allowed the celebration of the Divine Liturgy for the first time since expulsion. In the lower left of the Nicene fresco is the episode of St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra striking the heretic prelate of Alexandria, Arius. Arius was presenting his case, and Nicholas could not stand to hear any more. Nicholas struck/slapped/punched/hit Arius upon the face. Nicholas breached episcopal etiquette by this. He was removed from council and jailed. This is where the miraculous takes a turn. A vision of Mary appeared to several bishops and defended Nicholas. Nicholas was restored to office.

Arius believed that "there was [a time] when he (the Son) was not." When the council began 22 bishops were supportive of Arianism. The council created the first uniform creed of the church, which stated the Son was consubstantial with the Father. This did not end Arianism. Emperor Constantine called the council for clarity. Constantine was baptised on his deathbed (337) by an Arian bishop. His son Constantius II created and appointed a great many Arian bishops. Emperors and kings, and their bishops promoted Arianism for several centuries. Not until c. 800 was the heresy put away, well until late in the second generation of Protestantism.

One of the greatly beloved saints of the Universal Church did not permit his fellow bishops and prelates to advance false theology; and they wanted to punish him severely, but Heaven held for him and not for them. This moment of righteous anger is not what most remember of Good Saint Nick. He is primarily remembered for his charity, and defense of the poor, and wrongly accused.

Serbian fresco of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

Four Martyrs of December 2nd

I placed this photoscan here several months before in anticipation of an essay. I respect the martyrs, they gave everything. Those who martyred them, not just the catspaws, take everything. For those of us that love justice, we live in continual sadness. In everything, it seems the worst triumph in work, business, government, church, and in life. I can not surrender, i may leave the field, but never surrender. Resistance is our right and duty. Some may petition God. God does what He wants to do.

top left: Cleveland Lay Mission Team Member Jean Donovan
top right: Maryknoll Sister Ita Ford
lower left: Maryknoll Sister Maura Clarke
lower right: Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel

Our Friend Francis

Fritz Eichenberg. St. Francis, Sermon to the Birds. 1952.

As we have seen christianity is not of all one sort. After Mary [she suffers abuse by some] of all the saints, the most popular christian figure, may very well be, Saint Francis of Assisi. There is no shortage of anglican, or even unitarian churches blessing animals on this day, or on the Sunday nearest the feast day of the 4th of October. Only 'evangelicals' [of a certain sort] show antipathy, or peculiar understanding of our, good Saint Francis.

Many enjoy the almost contemporary Cimabue, and Giotto paintings. Others may prefer the baroque italians — Caravaggio, Gentileschi, and Reni, or the spaniards — Murillo, El Greco [yes, i realise], Ribera, and especially, Zurbaran. The baroque Francis is without the animals, and in deep prayer.

Two 20th century artists, who worked in wood blocks, who were converts to christianity in protestant forms, did several St. Francises. Fritz Eichenberg did three for the WPA, on Roosevelt's dime. One each with the creatures of the land, air, and sea. He is in a hot air balloon, and he is in a diving suit and helmet. If one did not know, that it was a series of three, and only saw Francis with the Bible speaking to the fishes, one could surmise that the then jewish artist, mistook Francis for Anthony of Padua. In 1952 a sermon to the birds, and another with animals and a child, the sermon again in '54, in 1973 the Stigmata, and the St. Francis Prayer (1979).

Sadao Watanabe also revisited the subject of Francis and the birds several times. The gentleness, the voluntary poverty, being in communion with all nature appeals beyond certain confessional lines.

Sadao Watanabe. St. Francis Preaches to the Birds. 1994.

An earlier woodblock, was done by the catholic, Maurits Cornelis Escher in 1922. He is primarily remembered for paradoxical, and mathematical inspired drawings. In 1922 he travelled to Italy, and Spain, and turned twenty-four. As an old man, Escher had a full head of hair, his Francis looked like the aged Escher, otherwise.

Maurits Cornelis Escher. St. Francis Preaches to the Birds. 1922.

________________________________
earlier essays: 2007 , 2008

Taxiarch Michael

Michael the Archangel. Monastery of St. Catherine, Mt. Sinai, Egypt. 1200s

click:
http://catholicdemocratfromohio.blogspot.com/2008/09/michael-and-angelic-host.html

In the west we refer to the Michael and Gabriel as archangels. These two, amongst the Greeks are called 'ταξίαρχος (taxiarchos)', brigadiers, for they are leaders of the heavenly host.

Sáncte Míchael Archángele,
defénde nos in proélio,
cóntra nequítiam et insídias diáboli ésto præsídium.
Ímperet ílli Déus, súpplices deprecámur:
tuque, prínceps milítiæ cæléstis,
Sátanam aliósque spíritus malígnos,
qui ad perditiónem animárum pervagántur in múndo,
divína virtúte, in inférnum detrúde.
Ámen

Prayer to St. Michael
Saint Michael the Archangel,
Defend us in battle;
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
And do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
By the power of God, thrust into hell
Satan and all evil spirits
Who wander through the world
For the ruin of souls.
Amen.

nota bene: there is more than one english translation using equivalent word substitutes, e.g. ruin = perdition

Blessing of the chariots

July 20 is St. Elias (Elijah) Day. Elias was the Old Testament prophet that lived in the time of Achab and Jezabel. The eastern churches celebrate the day more often than the western. Here in, Brooklyn, Ohio there is a Melkite parish of St. Elias.

outdoor mosaic Elias fed by a raven. St. Elias. Brooklyn, Ohio.

There are a number of episodes with Elias. Perhaps, the chariot story is the favorite. One prise winning film was entitled, "Chariots of Fire", it was not about Elias, but he was the inspiration. The closed appealing church of St. James, Lakewood has a fine painted mural of Elias in his chariot.

And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven. — IV Kings ii. 11.
 
The eastern churches would have you know that St. Elias the Prophet was the Second Forerunner of Christ. Many times, the eastern title is lengthier, more poetic, more mystical.

Some parishes bless modern day chariots (automobiles) on St. Elias, or the vigil, or for Sunday. The blessing will allude to the Scriptural quotation above, and sometimes the ethiopian eunuch who was reading in a chariot and met Philip the Apostle. A very tangential thing is to-day is the anniversary of the first moon landing. Here at St. John the Baptist, Byzantine Cathedral, Parma one drives up for the blessing prayer, smoke and a sprinkle. Windows are to be open. Ancient chariots were open topped. It is a quick drive through. Of course, the engine does not have to be running, and a procession could move from one car to another. This is a sacramental without a set form. Still it is a good thing, it is an organic growth in ministering to the community.

St. Methodius

Saint Methodius preaching the Gospel, detail. Our Lady of Lourdes (Bohemian-Czech). Cleveland, O.

The brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal to the Apostles, the Apostles to the Slavs, i have mentioned before (a, b, c, d picture only, e). In the latin calendar of the saints from 1887-1969, this was their day. Depending on the calendar, and the nation, and the rite, and whether descent is from Rome or Constantinople, the brothers are celebrated on 14 February, 9 March, 11 May (Julian), 24 May, 5 July, 7 July or since they are who they are, any date is fine.

They were both born in Thessalonica to a senatorial family. The father was geek, and their mother slavonic, probably. Cyril, formerly Constantine the Theologian, became a monk and died in Rome. Methodius was eventually an archbishop, and died in Nitra (Slovakia) on 6 April 885.

They went to a dozen nations, sent by the greek Patriarch, and endorsed by the roman Pope. They were successful everywhere. They suffered from german envy, and hegemony by the german political, and clerical rulers.

They made the slavs literate, and christian. They adapted the greek alphabet for slavonic speakers. The earliest scripts were glagolithic, and now cyrillic. They translated the Gospels, and the Mass into the old slavonic, which is called church slavonic.

When slavs migrated from the old continents, to the new continents, they often named their churches and parishes after the brothers. Here in the Cleveland diocese, there were three such parishes. Two have been suppressed (Barberton Slovak, Lorain Slovene), one has been renamed (Lakewood Slovak) by Lennon the Destroyer of Parishes.

Last sermon of San Óscar Romero de las Americas

“...Brothers, you came from our own people. You are killing your own brothers. Any human order to kill must be subordinate to the law of God, which says, ‘Thou shalt not kill’. No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God. No one has to obey an immoral law. It is high time you obeyed your consciences rather than sinful orders. The church cannot remain silent before such an abomination. We want the government to face the fact that reforms are valueless if they are to be carried out at the cost of so much blood. In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression.
The church preaches your liberation just as we have studied it in the holy Bible today. It is a liberation that has, above all else, respect for the dignity of the person, hope for humanity’s common good, and the transcendence that looks before all to God and only from God derives its hope and its strength. In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cry rises to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you: stop the repression.” — Óscar Arnulfo Romero Y Galdámez. 23 March 1980.

The next day, in a hospital chapel, "La Divina Providencia" in San Salvador, Archbishop Romero elevated the Eucharistic Chalice and was shot in the heart by an assassin [trained by the US military] following the orders of a graduate of the School of the Americas, Roberto D'Aubuisson. The blood on the altar was Jesus' and Óscar's. During his funeral Mass 'death squads' fired into the crowd killing some dozens of people.

To-morrow, the President of the United States, Barack Obama will go to the tomb of Romero in the cathedral. It will make for an handsome photographic shoot. Has the US of A done much to stop such political repression and assassinations in the Western Hemishere? The School of the Americas still functions at Fort Benning, Georgia under the name of Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. D'Aubuisson's political party, the Nationalist Republican Alliance (Alianza Republicana Nacionalista, ARENA) is not pleased with Obama's visit.

Romero is recognised as a saint by the Anglican Church. Rome has delayed itself in the official announcement. In 1997 he was declared a Servant of God. Jerzy Popiełuszko was martyred four and an half years later, and is recognised as Blessed. Popiełuszko was to Poland, what Romero was to El Salvador; although the political oppressor of the church and people, in the two lands, was different. Canonisation is politics too.

St. Charles Borromeo

Inside of the rose window of St. Charles Borromeo, Parma, O. there is Charles writing. His correspondence was extensive. He wrote continuously at the Council of Trent. He also was in communication with several kings and popes. His opinion was sought. About the central window there are portrayed the Seven Works of Corporal Mercy (Feed the hungry, Give drink to the thirsty, Welcome the stranger, Clothe the naked, Visit the sick, Visit the prisoner, Bury the dead), and his emblem, from his family shield, 'Humilitas'. St. Charles, Parma is the sort of parish Bp. Lennon likes, its weekly collection is sometimes $25,000+. He has four resident priests there. It was in no danger of reconfiguration.

Yesterday, I was having supper conversation with some Catholic friends. They were talking about the crowdedness of the calendar to schedule an event. My comment was, "We're Catholic everyday is an event: yesterday, was All Souls, to-day is St. Martin Porres, to-morrow is St. Charles Borromeo".

To-day is St. Charlie. Four hundred yeas ago he was canonised. Milan, where he was archbishop, must be having some sort of commemoration this year. To-day, Pope Benedict had released a message to the press, part of it says, "He knew that a serious and credible reform had to begin with the pastors". Charles was one of the major figures of the Catholic Reformation. He was one of the four saints mentioned in the current Catechism as being an author of Trent's catechism. He also began the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (catechism classes for children, the protestant version of this became 'Sunday schools').

Charles had denounced his confessor and other priests for unnatural acts. He was active in cleaning the Church in Milan from corruption, and was a model to others. This and other activities caused him to have enemies. He survived assassination when shot at close range the ball hit his skin, but did not penetrate.

Charles believed much bad activity was caused by ignorance. He encouraged education. One of two seminaries in Cleveland (in this case, the suburb of Wickliffe)(there is one in Philadelphia too) is named after him. It is unfortunate that his ideals did not take stronger footing here.

Charles was well respected for his charity, humility, austerity and asceticism. In 1576-7 the bubonic plague hit. He was not afraid to minister to the sick. He went about barefoot, and with a rope about his neck in public penance. He died in 1584 and the Milanese kept his anniversary as a saint day. His formal canonisation was 1 November 1610, and he was placed on the calendar for the 4th.

San Óscar Romero de América

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was martyred thirty years ago by ‘conservative’ interests. He was a bishop, who was a good and caring shepherd to his people. Romero was not a lord acting as a prince, nor was he a bureaucrat acting for establishment concerns.

A brasilian reporter asked the archbishop if he feared for his life, because he spoke for his assassinated clergy and the oppressed poor. Romero answered, “¡Justice cannot be killed!”. This year, 24 March falls mid-week, many Masses would be without homilies and sermons. Sunday, outside of Catholic congregations of hispanics, I wonder whether there would be a higher frequency of congregations of catholic or 'liberal' protestants that will hear of Romero. At my last parish, I remember two individuals whom discounted the propriety of Romero. Oscar is not canonised, yet, and though there are churches named after similar saints (Thomas of Canterbury, Stanislaus of Krakow) whom were bishops of justice, it may be more probable for those churches to be closed, than to speak of Oscar. Co-incidently, the Tejas State Board of Education [sic] voted to exclude the mention of Romero from the history programme, they also excluded Jefferson.

If Romero kept silent, he would have lived. The words that infuriated the powerful and their armed security forces were such as:

• to the president of the US, Jimmy Carter: “You say that you are Christian. If you are really Christian, please stop sending military aid to the military here, because they use it only to kill my people.”
• “I am bound, as a pastor, by divine command to give my life for those whom I love, and that is all Salvadorans, even those who are going to kill me.”
• “We suffer with those who have disappeared, those who have had to flee their homes, and those who have been tortured.”
• “When the church hears the cry of the oppressed it cannot but denounce the social structures that give rise to and perpetuate the misery from which the cry arises.”
• “In concrete terms capitalism is in fact what is most unjust and unchristian about our own society.”
• “Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and communists and all the epithets they put on us, we know we only preach the subversive witness of the Beatitudes, which have turned everything upside down.”
• “This is why the church has great conflicts: It denounces sin.
  It says to the rich: Do not sin by misusing your money.
  It says to the powerful: Do not misuse your political influence.
  Do not misuse your weaponry. Do not misuse your power.
  It says to torturers: Do not torture. You are sinning.
  You are doing wrong. You are establishing the reign of hell on earth.”
• “This is the commitment of being a Christian: to follow Christ in his Incarnation. And if Christ is a majestic God who becomes a humble man and lives with the poor until the death of slaves on a cross, our Christian faith should be lived in the same fashion. This Christian who doesn’t want to live with this commitment of solidarity with the poor doesn’t deserve to call himself a Christian. Christ invites us not to fear persecution because, believe it brothers, the one who binds himself with the poor has to go through the same destiny as the poor: to be disappeared, to be tortured, to be captured to appear as dead.”
• end of his last sermon: “Brothers, you came from our own people. You are killing your own brothers. Any human order to kill must be subordinate to the law of God, which says, ‘Thou shalt not kill’. No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God. No one has to obey an immoral law. It is high time you obeyed your consciences rather than sinful orders. The church cannot remain silent before such an abomination. We want the government to face the fact that reforms are valueless if they are to be carried out at the cost of so much blood. In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression.
  The church preaches your liberation just as we have studied it in the holy Bible today. It is a liberation that has, above all else, respect for the dignity of the person, hope for humanity’s common good, and the transcendence that looks before all to God and only from God derives its hope and its strength. In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cry rises to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you: stop the repression.”