Our relationship with our Muslim friends from the Zubaida Foundation continues to grow as we share with one another various aspects of our faith traditions. In June we met at Our Lady of Angels Convent. Because of the upcoming canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero, our presentation addressed the topic of sainthood in general and focused more specifically on the life of Archbishop Romero.
Sr. Anne Amati opened the program with a presentation on “The Universal Call to Holiness: The Ordinary and the Extraordinary.” She stressed the fact that as Catholics, we believe that everyone who gets to heaven is a saint. She went on to distinguish the difference between “ordinarily holy people” and “extraordinarily holy people.” Anne focused on the impact of Vatican II which, she said, “turned the Catholic Church upside down” and reminded us that “all are called to holiness.”
| Sr. Anne Amati Explained the varied steps that lead to canonization in the Catholic Church and the requirements for each steps. |
Following her introductory emphasis on our universal call to holiness, Anne focused on those individuals who have achieved an extraordinary level of holiness—those who have been officially recognized and canonized as saints by the Catholic Church. She referred briefly to the practice in the early Church to canonize by acclamation but explained that over the centuries, the process became more complicated. Anne concluded her presentation by outlining the series of steps leading to official canonization, the final two requiring verified miracles.
As an introduction to Archbishop Oscar Romero who will become the Catholic Church’s newest saint in October, Sr. Marie Lucey addressed the historical background against which his life—and most certainly his death—played out. In El Salvador coffee was the main crop but only the wealthy profited from the income, causing a great divide financially. The peasants rebelled, a civil war ensued, and many thousands were killed. The U.S. contributed by providing aid to the military groups. Many of the officers were trained at the School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia. Among the thousands killed were the four American Church women, 4,000-8,000 at the Scorched Earth Offensive, the six Jesuit priests and their housekeeper, and Archbishop Romero.
Sr. Maria Orlandini shared the story of Archbishop Romero—relating his personal history and his slowly evolving participation in seeking justice for his people. I have always been particularly impressed with his own somewhat reluctant “conversion” from a seemingly shy man who, as Maria explained, was reluctant to “make waves” to a leader who answered the call to act and to speak out. Maria used film clips from the film, Romero, in which we saw—in detail—“how conversion happens.”
| Sr. Maria Orlandini used the film Romero to illustrate the story of Archbishop Romero efforts to obtain justice and his subsequent assassination. |
Following Maria’s presentation, Sr. Kate O’Donnell asked our Muslim guests if they had anything similar to our “saints” in their religion. They cited their prophets—which included Jesus and Mohammed—but explained that these are “finished.” They expressed some concern that the saints might tend to replace God or to cause a person to worship the saint more than God. They also explained that they pray directly to God—not to the saints. Several of our presenters explained that our saints do not “replace” God in any way and that we pray to ask the saints to intercede for us with God.
| Members of the audience listened intently to explanations of what led to Archbishop Romero’s involvement in helping his people find justice. |
Following the program we shared dinner in the main dining room. I had the privilege of eating with a young mother and her two daughters—one in middle school who is homeschooled and the oldest who is going into her senior year of high school. I was very impressed by them in many ways—their self-assurance, politeness, warmth, and openness. And as always, I look forward to another visit.!
