Oscar Romero: The Bishop of the Poor

Today the Episcopal Church honors and remembers not someone from the Early Church, or an Anglican or an Episcopalian, but a Roman Catholic archbishop from El Salvador who lived during our time, Oscar Romero, who was born on 15 August 1917 and died on 24 March 1980. He is a modern day martyr who became known as the “bishop of the poor” for his work defending the Salvadoran people. After calling for international intervention to protect those being killed by government forces, Romero was assassinated on this day in 1980.

Oscar Romero was born in Ciudad Barrios, a small town in El Salvador . Longing to be a priest, he left home at 14 on his horse and rode to San Miguel, 7 hours away, where he could begin preparing himself for his vocation.

He was ordained in Rome in 1942. Romero remained in Italy to obtain a doctoral degree in theology, but before he could finish his degree, he was summoned back home in 1943 from Italy (which was under the Fascists) by the bishop at the age of 27. He traveled home with Fr. Valladares, who was also doing doctoral work in Rome. On the route home they made stops in Spain and Cuba, being detained by Cuban police for having come from Benito Mussolini's Italy and placed in an internment camp. After several months in prison, Fr. Valladares became sick and some priests of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer helped to have the two transferred to a hospital. From the hospital they were released from Cuban custody and allowed back home, where they sailed for Mexico and then back home to El Salvador.

In El Salvador, Romero worked as a parish priest promoting various groups, including starting an Alcoholics Anonymous group. He was later appointed Rector of the seminary in San Salvador. In 1966, he began his public life when chosen to be the Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference for El Salvador. He also became the director of the archdiocesan newspaper.

In 1970 he was appointed auxiliary bishop to San Salvador Archbishop Luis Chávez y González. He took up his appointment as Bishop of the Diocese of Santiago de María in December 1975.

He spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture. As a result, Romero began to be noticed internationally.

In 1979, the Revolutionary Government Junta came to power amidst a wave of human rights abuses by paramilitary right-wing groups and the government.

Romero was shot on 24 March 1980, while celebrating Mass at a small chapel located in a hospital called "La Divina Providencia", one day after a sermon where he had called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God's higher order and to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights.

Here is a little trivia: A statue of Oscar Romero sculpted by John Roberts fills a prominent niche on the western facade of Westminster Abbey in London. The statue was unveiled in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II in 1998. Barry Woods Johnston sculpted the statue of Oscar Romero displayed in the National Cathedral (the Episcopal Cathedral of Sts. Peter & Paul) in Washington, D.C.

Let us pray: Almighty God, you called your servant Oscar Romero to be a voice for the voiceless poor, and to give his life as a seed of freedom and a sign of hope: Grant that, inspired by his sacrifice and the example of the martyrs of El Salvador, we may without fear or favor witness to your Word who abides, your Word who is Life, even Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be praise and glory now and for ever. Amen.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR ALL OF THE WORK LAST NIGHT FOR OUR LENTEN SERIES! This was our first time to host the Lenten Series and to share our home with the people of Grace since 2008. Thank you to everyone, from those who cleaned before, to those who set up the altar, to those who prepared the food, and to everyone who helped clean up. I may be partial, but St. Aug’s does the best food (and I’m glad a few cupcakes and M&Ms found their way in too). THANKS AGAIN!

LENTEN PROJECT -- NETS FOR LIFE! NetsforLife® works to eliminate malaria in some of the most remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Churches are often the only functioning institutions in these communities located “at the end of the road.” Episcopal Relief & Development is a key part of this program. Their presence and power unite people to bring about lasting change for the whole community. By drawing on this trusted delivery system—churches and faith-based groups— vulnerable people are reached with life-saving nets and other services. NetsforLife® serves people in need regardless of faith affiliation.

We at St. Augustine’s can help. Each net only costs $12.50; it is a small price to pay to help save someone made in the image and likeness of God. Let’s work toward a goal of 50 nets during this Lenten season and help God in healing the world.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

The next program in the Lenten Series is at Grace, Wednesday, 30 March starting at 6:00 p.m. with Stations of the Cross, followed by the Eucharist. We will then have a light meal and begin the teaching by the Rev. Gena Davis. Please come!

We will have a pot luck lunch for Easter so begin thinking about what to bring.

PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially the men and women of our Armed Forces serving at home and abroad, the people of Japan and Libya.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

St. Gregory & Armenia

Today the Church honors and remembers the life of St. Gregory the Illuminator who died in 332 and was instrumental in converting Armenia to Christianity which was the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion.

James Kiefer writes:

Armenia was a buffer state between the powerful empires of Rome and Parthia (Persia), and both of them sought to control it. Gregory was born about 257. When he was still an infant, his father assassinated the King of Parthia, and friends of the family carried Gregory away for protection to Caesarea in Cappadocia, where he was reared as a Christian. About 280 he returned to Armenia, where he was at first treated severely, but eventually by his preaching and example brought both King Tiridates and a majority of his people to the Christian faith. About 300, Gregory was consecrated the first bishop of Armenia. He died about 332. Armenian Christians to this day remember him with honor and gratitude.

Let us pray: Almighty God, whose will it is to be glorified in your saints, and who raised up your servant Gregory the Illuminator to be a light in the world, and to preach the Gospel to the people of Armenia: Shine, we pray, in our hearts, that we also in our generation may show forth your praise, who called us out of darkness into your marvelous light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

LENTEN PROJECT

NETS FOR LIFE! NetsforLife® works to eliminate malaria in some of the most remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Churches are often the only functioning institutions in these communities located “at the end of the road.” Episcopal Relief & Development is a key part of this program. Their presence and power unite people to bring about lasting change for the whole community. By drawing on this trusted delivery system—churches and faith-based groups— vulnerable people are reached with life-saving nets and other services. NetsforLife® serves people in need regardless of faith affiliation.

We at St. Augustine’s can help. Each net only costs $12.50; it is a small price to pay to help save someone made in the image and likeness of God. Let’s work toward a goal of 50 nets during this Lenten season and help God in healing the world.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

The next program in the Lenten Series is at St. Augustine’s tonight, Wednesday, 23 March starting at 6:00 p.m. with Stations of the Cross, followed by the Eucharist. We will then have a light meal and begin the teaching. We will have a sign-up sheet on Sunday for the meal. Please come!

We will have a pot luck lunch for Easter so begin thinking about what to bring.

PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially the men and women of our Armed Forces serving at home and abroad, the people of Japan and Libya.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

“For God alone my soul waits in silence.”

We hear from the 63rd Psalm this Tuesday in the second week of Lent:

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
How long will you assail a person,
will you batter your victim, all of you,
as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse.
For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
Those of low estate are but a breath,
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
Put no confidence in extortion,
and set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,
and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
according to their work.

“For God alone my soul waits in silence.” Don’t you feel like that sometime, as if your soul is waiting is God? We wait for God. Some wait for God to answer their prayers. Others wait for God to hear a word of forgiveness. Some wait for God's healing in body, mind and spirit. Some may wait for God to give them hope. Some wait for God just so that they can spend a little time with God. Each of us at some point in our lives wait for God. As you and I wait for God, rest assured that God is your fortress and your rock. Wait in the knowledge that you will not be shaken because you are God’s own. God keeps His promises—God will come. Just wait—wait in silence.

LENTEN PROJECT

NETS FOR LIFE! NetsforLife® works to eliminate malaria in some of the most remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Churches are often the only functioning institutions in these communities located “at the end of the road.” Episcopal Relief & Development is a key part of this program. Their presence and power unite people to bring about lasting change for the whole community. By drawing on this trusted delivery system—churches and faith-based groups— vulnerable people are reached with life-saving nets and other services. NetsforLife® serves people in need regardless of faith affiliation.

We at St. Augustine’s can help. Each net only costs $12.50; it is a small price to pay to help save someone made in the image and likeness of God. Let’s work toward a goal of 50 nets during this Lenten season and help God in healing the world.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

The next program in the Lenten Series is at St. Augustine’s on Wednesday, 23 March starting at 6:00 p.m. with Stations of the Cross, followed by the Eucharist. We will then have a light meal and begin the teaching. We will have a sign-up sheet on Sunday for the meal. Please come!

We will have a pot luck lunch for Easter so begin thinking about what to bring.

PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially the men and women of our Armed Forces serving at home and abroad, the people of Japan and Libya.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury: Navigating Trecherous Times

Today the Church remembers Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, from 1533 to 1553, years that were very difficult indeed and a time when many people found it difficult to keep their heads attached to their bodies. He was a leader of the Reformation in England and is most known for the Book of Common Prayer.

He was born in 1489 in Aslockton in Nottinghamshire, England. His parents, Thomas and Agnes Cranmer, were of modest wealth and were not members of the aristocracy. Their oldest son, John, inherited the family estate, and Thomas and his younger brother, Edmund, were placed on the path to a clerical career. At the age of fourteen, two years after the death of his father, he was sent to the newly created Jesus College, Cambridge, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree following a curriculum of logic, classical literature, and philosophy. During this time he began to collect medieval scholastic books, which he preserved faithfully throughout his life. For his Master’s degree, he took a different course of study, concentrating on the humanists, Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples and Erasmus. Shortly after receiving his Master of Arts degree in 1515, he was elected to a Fellowship of Jesus College.

Sometime after Cranmer took his MA, he married a woman named Joan. He was forced to forfeit his fellowship, resulting in the loss of his residence at Jesus College. In order to support himself and his wife, he took a job as a reader at another college. When Joan died during her first childbirth, Jesus College showed its regard for Cranmer by reinstating his fellowship. He began studying theology and by 1520 he was ordained a priest. He received his doctorate of divinity in 1526.

Cranmer was made Archbishop of Canterbury by King Henry VIII, and he defended the position that Henry's marriage to Katharine of Aragon (Spain) was null and void. During a time when many literally "lost their heads", he kept his in more ways than one. A staunch advocate that the Church needed reformation, he had to navigate the whims of Henry VIII whom, in conscience, Cranmer felt duty bound to obey because Henry was king.

Cranmer took Edward under his wing and protected him. Now Cranmer felt that he was unfettered and when Edward came to the throne, Cranmer moved to bring the Reformation in deeper ways to England, especially in the area of worship by his work on the Book of Common Prayer. His success, however, was as short lived as Edward's reign as king.

When Mary came to the throne and became queen of England, Cranmer was in a real pickle. He had believed, with a fervor that many people today will find hard to understand, that it is the duty of every Christian to obey the monarch, and that “the powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom. 13). As long as the monarch was ordering things that Cranmer thought good, it was easy for Cranmer to believe that the king was sent by God's providence to guide the people in the path of true religion, and that disobedience to the king was disobedience to God. Now that Mary was Queen of England, she commanded him to return to the Roman Catholic Church. Cranmer wrote a letter of submission to the Pope and to Roman Catholic doctrines. However, Queen Mary was unwilling to believe that the submission was sincere, and he was ordered to be burned at Oxford on this day, 21 March in 1556. Cranmer repudiated his final letter of submission, and announced that he died a Protestant. He said, "I have sinned, in that I signed with my hand what I did not believe with my heart. When the flames are lit, this hand shall be the first to burn." And when the fire was lit around his feet, he leaned forward and held his right hand in the fire until it was charred to a stump.

Let us pray: Merciful God, through the work of Thomas Cranmer you renewed the worship of your Church by restoring the language of the people, and through his death you revealed your power in human weakness: Grant that by your grace we may always worship you in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

LENTEN PROJECT

NETS FOR LIFE! NetsforLife® works to eliminate malaria in some of the most remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Churches are often the only functioning institutions in these communities located “at the end of the road.” Episcopal Relief & Development is a key part of this program. Their presence and power unite people to bring about lasting change for the whole community. By drawing on this trusted delivery system—churches and faith-based groups— vulnerable people are reached with life-saving nets and other services. NetsforLife® serves people in need regardless of faith affiliation.

We at St. Augustine’s can help. Each net only costs $12.50; it is a small price to pay to help save someone made in the image and likeness of God. Let’s work toward a goal of 50 nets during this Lenten season and help God in healing the world.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

The next program in the Lenten Series is at St. Augustine’s on Wednesday, 23 March starting at 6:00 p.m. with Stations of the Cross, followed by the Eucharist. We will then have a light meal and begin the teaching. We will have a sign-up sheet on Sunday for the meal. Please come!

We will have a pot luck lunch for Easter so begin thinking about what to bring.

PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially the men and women of our Armed Forces serving at home and abroad, the people of Japan and Libya.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

St. Cyril of Jerusalem: A Life of Troubles

Today the Church honors and remembers St. Cyril of Jerusalem who died in 386.

Cyril’s life began a few years before Arianism became the hot topic in the Church. Arianism is the heresy (incorrect teaching) that Jesus was not divine or one in being with the Father. Cyril lived to see its suppression and condemnation at the end of his life in the Councils of Nicea in 325 and Constantinople in 381. In between he was the victim of many of the power struggles that took place.

After being ordained a deacon and then a priest, his bishop, St. Maximus, respected Cyril enough to put him in charge of the instruction of catechumens, those who were preparing to be baptized.

When Maximus died, Cyril was consecrated as bishop of Jerusalem. Because he was supported by the Arian bishop of Caesarea, Acacius, the orthodox criticized the appointment and the Arians thought they had a friend. Both factions were wrong, but Cyril wound up in the middle.

When a famine hit Jerusalem, the poor turned to Cyril for help. Cyril, seeing the poor starving to death and having no money, sold some of the goods of the churches. This was something that other saints, including Ambrose and our own Augustine, had done.

The initial cause of the falling out between Acacius and Cyril was their territory as bishops. As bishop of Caesarea, Acacius had authority over all the bishops of Palestine. Cyril argued that Acacius' authority did not include Jerusalem because Jerusalem was an "Apostolic See" -- one of the original sees or dioceses set up by the Apostles. When Cyril did not appear at councils (a meeting of all of the bishops) that Acacius called, Acacius accused Cyril of selling church goods to raise money and had him banished. (Nothing like a little bad rumor to get things going!)

Cyril stayed in Tarsus (you may recall that St. Paul was from that city) while waiting for an appeal on his banishment.

Meanwhile, Constantius called a council where the appeal was supposed to take place. The council consisted of orthodox believers, Arians, and semi-Arian bishops. When Acacius and his faction saw that Cyril and other exiled orthodox bishops were going to show up for the meeting, they demanded that the persecuted bishops leave. Acacius walked out when the demand was not met. The other bishops prevailed on Cyril and the others to give in to this point because they did not want Acacius to have reason to complain later that the council was not valid. Acacius came back, but then left again for good when his creed (statement of beliefs) was rejected -- and refused to come back even to give testimony against his enemy Cyril. The result of the council was the Acacius and the other Arian bishops were condemned, and not Cyril and his group. With no one to testify against Cyril, the case was thrown out. So Cyril went back hoem to Jerusalem.

This was not the end of Cyril's troubles, however, because Acacius carried his story to the emperor -- embellishing it with details that it was a gift of the emperor's that was sold to a dancer who died wearing the robe. This brought about a new meeting of bishops run by Acacius who now had Cyril banished again.

This exile lasted until Julian became emperor and recalled all exiled bishops. So Cyril returned to Jerusalem. When Acacius died, each faction nominated their own replacement for Caesarea. Cyril appointed his nephew Gelasius -- which may seem like nepotism (it was), except that everyone thought Gelasius was a holy man. A year later both Cyril and Gelasius were driven out of Palestine again as the new emperor's consul reversed Julian's ruling.

Eleven years later, Cyril was allowed to go back to find a Jerusalem destroyed by heresy and strife. He was never able to put things completely right. He did attend the Council at Constantinople in 381 where the Nicene Creed and orthodoxy triumphed and Arianism was finally condemned. Cyril received justice at the same Council who cleared him of all previous rumors and commended him for fighting "a good fight in various places against the Arians."

Let us pray: Strengthen, O Lord, the bishops of your Church in their special calling to be teachers and ministers of the Sacraments, so that they, like your servant Cyril of Jerusalem, may effectively instruct your people in Christian faith and practice; and that we, taught by them, may enter more fully into celebration of the Paschal mystery; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

LENTEN PROJECT: NETS FOR LIFE! NetsforLife® works to eliminate malaria in some of the most remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Churches are often the only functioning institutions in these communities located “at the end of the road.” Episcopal Relief & Development is a key part of this program. Their presence and power unite people to bring about lasting change for the whole community. By drawing on this trusted delivery system—churches and faith-based groups— vulnerable people are reached with life-saving nets and other services. NetsforLife® serves people in need regardless of faith affiliation.

We at St. Augustine’s can help. Each net only costs $12.50; it is a small price to pay to help save someone made in the image and likeness of God. Let’s work toward a goal of 50 nets during this Lenten season and help God in healing the world.

The next program in the Lenten Series is at St. Augustine’s on Wednesday, 23 March starting at 6:00 p.m. with Stations of the Cross, followed by the Eucharist. We will then have a light meal and begin the teaching. We will have a sign-up sheet on Sunday for the meal. Please come!

We will have a pot luck lunch for Easter so begin thinking about what to bring.

PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially the people of Japan.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

Exhort One Another Every Day

Today’s Epistle is from the Letter to the Hebrews and it picks up where we left off yesterday:

Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today”, so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end. As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

Now who were they who heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses? But with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. (Heb. 3: 12-19).

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews understood the power of lifting one another up, and so he calls us to exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today”, in others words—always. Sin hardens; it isolates us because sin is based in selfishness. If others lift us up daily, and we do the same, we live in a community of faith where it is harder for sin to take hold especially if each one of us is looking out for the good of the other.

Let us pray: O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

LENTEN PROJECT: NETS FOR LIFE! NetsforLife® works to eliminate malaria in some of the most remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Churches are often the only functioning institutions in these communities located “at the end of the road.” Episcopal Relief & Development is a key part of this program. Their presence and power unite people to bring about lasting change for the whole community. By drawing on this trusted delivery system—churches and faith-based groups— vulnerable people are reached with life-saving nets and other services. NetsforLife® serves people in need regardless of faith affiliation.

We at St. Augustine’s can help. Each net only costs $12.50; it is a small price to pay to help save someone made in the image and likeness of God. Let’s work toward a goal of 500 nets during this Lenten season and help God in healing the world.

Tonight is the first session of our Lenten Program and it begins at 6:00 p.m. with Stations of the Cross, followed by the Eucharist. We will then have a light meal and begin the teaching. Please come!

We will have a pot luck lunch for Easter so begin thinking about what to bring.

PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially the people of Japan.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

If Today You Hear His Voice, Harden Not Your Hearts

Today we hear from the Epistles to the Hebrews:

Therefore, brothers and sisters, holy partners in a heavenly calling, consider that Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also “was faithful in all God’s house.” Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken later. Christ, however, was faithful over God’s house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope.

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test, though they had seen my works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.’ As in my anger I swore, ‘They will not enter my rest.’” (Heb. 3:1-11).

God is faithful to His people, and that faithfulness is made manifest in Jesus Christ. Jesus followed the will of His Father in all things. Jesus’ heart was always open to God the Father. During this Lenten season, we are asked to pay particular attention to what God is calling us to do. So, if you hear His voice today, do not harden your heart.

Let us pray: O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what You would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in thy light we may see light, and in Your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

Lenten Program starts this Wednesday, 16 March at 6:00 p.m. We will have a combined Lenten program with Grace Episcopal on Wednesday evenings. It will begin with the Stations of the Cross, Eucharist, a light meal and then a teaching.

We will have a pot luck lunch for Easter.

PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially the people of Japan.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550