Oscar Romero on Advent

An Advent reflection from Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Advent should admonish us to discover
in each brother or sister that we greet,
in each friend whose hand we shake,
in each beggar who asks for bread,
in each worker who wants to use the right to join a union,
in each peasant who looks for work in the coffee groves,
the face of Christ.

Then it would not be possible
to rob them,
to cheat them,
to deny them their rights.

They are Christ, and whatever is done to them
Christ will take as done to him.

This is what Advent is: Christ living among us.

Who was Oscar Romero?
Archbishop Oscar Romero was murdered on March 24th 1980 as he was saying mass in his home town in El Salvador.
El Salvador had been ruled by a succession of corrupt and violent governments and the military organised 'death squads' to murder and terrorise people that worked for justice. When a Jesuit priest was murdered because of his work for social justice, Romero was deeply affected. He underwent a personal transformation and became a champion for justice and human rights.
In spite of constant threats from other bishops and Government he continued to protest and spoke about the need for the Church and Government in El Salvador to bring the gospel values to life.
Romero appealed to the military in the following speech: "The peasants you kill are your own brothers and sisters. When you hear the voice of the man commanding you to kill, remember instead the voice of God. Thou Shalt Not Kill …. In the name of God, in the name of our tormented people whose cries rise up to heaven, I beseech you, I beg you, I command you, stop the repression".
But they did not listen and the next day Romero was shot dead as he was saying Mass.

The links below provide more detail about the life and times of Oscar Romero.

http://www.catholicaustralia.com.au/page.php?pg=mission-aid1
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/file_on_4/4376733.stm
http://salt.claretianpubs.org/romero/romero.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93scar_Romero