Vincentian in Spirit

As I rode the bus down to the Mission today, I saw a poster of Archbishop Oscar Romero that got me thinking.

Today marks the 31st anniversary of Romero's martyrdom - "The Bishop of the Poor". Like St. Vincent, Romero did not start out desiring to do great things or save a nation. He is even described as timid and ascetic in the years before he was ordained as a bishop. However, like Vincent, he had a conversion experience while being directly involved with the poor. After the brutal murder of one of his priests and two of the priest's parishioners, Romero saw the terror in the eyes of the poor and helpless flock. As with Vincent's conversion in hearing the confession of a dying poor man, Romero realized he was being called to help those no one else would help. He joined the poor in solidarity against the oppression of the government, and was persecuted and killed for doing so. The process for beatification and canonization is under way, and he was given the title Servant of God by Pope John Paul II.

What strikes me the most about these two men isn't their amazing successes, but their roots. We are all called to be saints - in our Christian baptism, we are called to be priest, prophet and king. How often do we really consider our role on the path to sainthood? Vincent became a priest to make money and help his family. He lived a very comfortable life as a family chaplain, until the day he encountered Jesus in a dying man. I wonder how many times I have encountered Jesus, without even taking the time to notice or care. I heard an amazing quote a while back that I would like to share with you:

"Our thoughts become our actions. Our actions become our habits. Our habits become who we are."

Today, on the anniversary of the death of Romero, Servant of God - I pray that all of us might be able to start the cycle with clear minds for God, so that our habits only stem from actions of love.