Eucharist and the courage to speak the truth

In October 1984 Father (now Blessed) Jerzy Popiełuszko was murdered by State agents of the communist regime in Poland some time between his abduction on 19 October and the discovery of his body on 30 October. His only 'crime' was to preach the Gospel, defend human dignity and speak out against the injustices of the communist regime.  His celebration of Mass in Warsaw drew thousands of people seeking strength and solace in the dark years of oppression.  He constantly preached that Christians must ‘overcome evil with good’ (Romans 12:21) - a phrase that became the motto of his ministry. Fr Jerzy imitated the sacrificial love of Christ in his own life. His readiness to suffer harassment, threats and ultimately death rather than abandon the truth reflects a deep love for Jesus Christ summed up in the celebration of the Eucharist.

The grain of wheat: the martyrdom of St Oscar Romero

About Romero –
The Archbishop Romero Trust

Central America has been a particularly troubled part of the globe over the decades; it has been the crossroads of competing political ideologies and economic interests. The Roman Catholic Church continues to play an important role, there as well as elsewhere, in speaking out for the poor and the  marginalised.  On 24 March,1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot dead while celebrating Mass in the chapel of Divine Providence Hospital in El Salvador.

He died at the altar while offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, uniting his life to the sacrifice of Christ.  His crime was that he had spoken out courageously and continually against injustice and State terror. He had called on members of the security forces not to obey immoral orders to kill. 

A holy priest who had earned a reputation as a somewhat quiet and conservative man dedicated to piety moved into a troubled place when he had been appointed archbishop of El Salvador in 1977. As the Vaticannews site says:

The forgotten sacrament

 [This is the Memorial of St Oscar Romero is today. See The grain of wheat: the martyrdom of St Oscar Romero]

How our parish churches might look like in 2050 #7

A casual look at an old missal from my home parish in Dublin got me thinking.  It dates from the early 1980s and was published in the 1970s.  In the parish schedule printed inside the cover, it gives Mass and confession times.  In addition to confessions during masses on Saturday morning as well as on the evenings of the first Friday, a total of 3 hours put aside for the hearing of private confessions in that parish each and every Saturday - an hour and a half in the morning and an hour and a half in the evening.  At that time, three priests served a parish of very roughly 5,000 Roman Catholics.  Today, one priest serves a bigger population.