 From The Pastor's Desk
Dear Sisters and Brother in Christ,
As I thought about the story of the great Easter event, I realized that there were so many characters; all of whom could teach us a lesson, and challenge our faith commitment.
One such person is the Pharisee Nicodemus of the Jewish Sanhedrin.
Paulist Father Ellwood Keiser described Archbishop Oscar Romero in these words; “he is and mouse of a man who became a tiger struggling for justice and defending the rights of his people.” Father Keiser produced the movie ROMERO as a tribute to the Archbishop of San Salvador who was martyred in 1980. Romero was an acknowledged intellectual, and had many friends in high places. Then one of his priests who were a defender of the poor was murdered by ruthless murderers of San Salvador. Oscar Romero aligned himself with the peasants who were persecuted; he himself became a subject of persecution. He was converted from a “mouse” to a bold proclaimer of God’s word. He confronted the powerful and, as a result was shot dead as he was celebrating Holy Mass.
Nicodemus, the Pharisee would certainly be among Oscar Romero’s admirers. Nicodemus, the very conscientious teacher of Israel, came to see Jesus by night because he feared the reprisals from the religious leaders. He just could not grasp Jesus’ message of being born again of water and the Spirit. He was cauatious about embracing the Gospel of Jesus knowing that it would endanger his privileged lifestyle, but he later reappeared to honor Jesus by participating in his burial. Until the Holy Spirit stiffened their backbones, the apostles were reluctant to preach Jesus to those who had crucified him.
But once they had been converted from doubt and fear they were willing to face persecution and even death for Jesus sake.
Wherever we are on our faith journey, we too, need to pray for the courage to life our faith out loud. That may even mean speaking out on unpopular causes, becoming an advocate for victims of prejudice, befriending the poor and those rejected by society.
God bless,
Father Villanova
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