Words of Life: The Preaching of Saint Oscar Romero

“The martyrdom of Saint Óscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador, was a powerful witness and an inspiration for the Church. He had made his own the plight of the vast majority of his flock and made them the center of his pastoral vision.”—Pope Leo, Dilexi Te, 89

St. Óscar Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador, who was slain at the altar while saying Mass in 1980, is undoubtedly one of the towering figures of the modern church. More than four decades later, his words and witness are a source of challenge and inspiration.

It is arguably Romero’s homilies that provide the best and most intimate portrait of his testimony. Yet that message, in six volumes totaling more than 2,500 pages, has been hard to access. In Words of Life: The Preaching of St. Óscar Romero, Todd Walatka has selected a dozen of his most iconic sermons, beginning with his homily following the assassination of his friend, Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande, in 1977, and concluding with his final homily on the day of his assassination three years later.

Broadcast live on the radio from his cathedral in San Salvador, Romero’s Sunday homilies were a national and ecclesial event. While reflecting aloud on the Word of God, he related the gospel to the daily events in El Salvador. Addressing the hopes, joys, and anguish of his suffering people, he was also careful to document the accelerating incidence of human rights violations.

But if Romero’s preaching had political implications, these sermons show how deeply his response to the world was rooted in his deep incarnational faith. Following the path of the Son of God who took on our flesh, Romero urged his flock to incarnate the gospel message in their own lives in their commitment both to charity and to justice.

All the while, he knew the risks he was taking. Yet he persisted to the end. As he said in his final sermon, “Those who seek to shun danger will lose their lives, whereas those who, for love of Christ, dedicate themselves to the service of others will live. . . . They are like that grain of wheat that dies, at least in appearance. If the grain does not die, it remains alone. If it yields a crop, it is because it dies, allowing itself to be immolated in the earth.”

Todd Walatka is a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame who has taught and researched on Óscar Romero for a number of years. He is the editor of Óscar Romero and Catholic Social Teaching and author of Von Balthasar and the Option for the Poor.

Cover design: Diane Mastrogiulio

Cover photo by Octavio Duran. Used with permission.