National Romero Service: Inspiration and Hope in Hard Times

St Oscar Romero, wiki image 1978

The Archbishop Romero Trust held its annual ecumenical service in St Martin in the Fields church in London on Saturday 14 March. The theme was Inspiration and Hope in Hard Times, and the speaker Professor Todd Walatka, Assistant Chair for Graduate Studies at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA.

A small choir began the service with a beautiful Cameroonian chant, 'Stand Firm' and led the congregation in singing hymns by Marty Haugen, Bernadette Farrell and CJ Olding.

The first reading was from a homily preached by St Oscar Romero on 6 August 1977, calling for "the shaping of a humanity in which all come to experience themselves as brothers and sisters, and God as the Father of every person. And in our effort to know that true God, we come to recognize that every human brother or sister truly is the image of God. And in the effort to love one another - and not be divided into social classes, hatreds and vengeance - we also draw near to God."

The practicalities of Christian love were detailed in the second reading, from St Paul's Letter to the Romans (12: 1-2, 9-21) on which Professor Walatka spoke. He noted that Paul had provided a list of 'dos and don'ts' which is rather intimidating in length. But the clear message is that, in challenging injustice, we need to avoid falling into the trap of hatred and vengefulness. We must overcome evil with good. And in taking inspiration from Romero, we must avoid simply admiring him from afar, and actually follow his example.

Prayers were offered for all those suffering from the explosion of violence in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan and elsewhere, for the world's leaders to hear and respond to the cry of the poor, and for people of faith, that we may respond to injustice by offering solidarity with the oppressed.

The event was the culmination of a speaker tour by Professor Walatka, during which he has spoken to a gathering of preachers at St George's Cathedral, Southwark, addressed public meetings in Canterbury and Leeds and provided a lecture at a theological conference at the Centre for Catholic Studies in Durham. Co-chair of the Romero Trust Julian Filochowski said that the tour had been a great celebration of the Archbishop as we approach the 46th anniversary of his martyrdom on 24 March. All around the world, people are studying St Oscar Romero. People are doing doctorates on his homilies. Pope Leo honours him and refers to him. The memory of the saint is not dying, but growing. He is a saint for our times and, as the world seems to be dissolving into war, we need him more than ever.

The final event in the 46th anniversary series, is the Oscar Romero Award Mass at St George's Cathedral, Southwark, at 12.30pm on Thursday 26 March. Archbishop John Wilson will preside.

For more information see: www.romerotrust.org.uk/

Watch a video of this service on Martin in the Fields Facebook page: www.facebook.com/stmartininthefields/videos/1604026374168336/

Read Professor Walatka's reflection: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/54569