Grace Cathedral

Dear Friends,

This past Monday marked the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero. The conservative Jesuit turned “voice of the voiceless” became an outspoken critic of the injustices perpetrated against the people of El Salvador, and against the abuses of the US-sponsored authoritarian regime. His final sermon, preached on Laetare Sunday, Lent IV Year C 1980, with the Parable of the Prodigal Son as we hear this week, underscored God’s justice and love.

“Let us not forget,” Archbishop Romero wrote earlier, “we are a pilgrim church, subject to misunderstanding, to persecution, but a church that walks serene because it bears the force of love.” That pilgrimage bearing the force of love guides us through the Lenten journey, out of the lands to which we have wandered, back toward the arms, heart, and family of God. Any faithful pilgrimage includes a trial or two, and an invitation to open our hearts and arms in welcome as God has done for us.

God loves everyone with exception. This Sunday evening, we celebrate that love with particular boldness. On Trans Day of Visibility, we recognize that visibility too often results in violence and indignity, while we are called as the Body of Christ to see our siblings with the eyes of love.Come, and bring someone along. Show them what church can be and do.

In the Spirit of Christ, and Archbishop Romero, and countless other witnesses: love is not love until it gives itself away. In our daily lives, in our workplaces, civic engagements, arts organizations, and sports leagues, let us be fearless in manifesting that love, especially to those who are being abused. Let us do this not simply in the privacy of our own hearts and homes, but in public, by surrendering our own power and possessions, standing with those who are imperiled, and speaking out for the love and truth that will endure.

Love,

Anna