Today marks the 20th anniversary of the brutal assassinations of six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter at the University of Central America in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. They were shot down because the Jesuits had been a voice for the poor and the powerless and those in power felt threatened.
May perpetual light shine upon them and may they rest in peace. Amen.
Let us remember that every day people are being persecuted simply for standing up for their own human rights or for the rights of others. The struggle against oppression continues.
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Ron 11.16.09 at 5:33 am
I echo the prayer: “May perpetual light shine upon them and may they rest in peace. Amen.”
Ron
Eric 11.16.09 at 12:47 pm
It occurs to me that these martyrs will be remembered for centuries, and their deaths give something like eternal life to their message. Whatever their killers were trying to preserve will one day be gone. This is what Jesus, St. Paul, etc., told us about in the New Testament.
Regina 11.16.09 at 2:36 pm
Eric, your comment is so true, and so worth remembering. It reminds me of the passage from T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral.
“. . . wherever a martyr has given his blood for the blood of Christ,
There is holy ground, and the sanctity shall not depart from it,
Though armies trample over it, though sight-seers come with guide books looking over it.
. . . . From such ground springs that which forever renews the earth, though it is forever denied.”
Marco Ambrosio 11.16.09 at 3:10 pm
Today I celebrate the lives of the 6 Jesuit martyrs. Ellacuria, Moreno, Lopez, Lopez y Lopez, Martin-Baro, and Montes capture the essence of a lived faith. Like Jesus they stood in solidarity with the oppressed and the poor. Like prophets they spoke truth to power regardless of the consequences. Like everyday men and women they believed in the impact of their choices choices and maintained a vision for the greater good.
The struggle against oppression does indeed continue. I believe we honor these great men through our actions, words and thoughts. It was for these reasons they were deemed too dangerous to the military government.
Http://www.globalsocialjustice.net
Paul 11.18.09 at 8:54 am
Marco,
Great to hear from you. Thank you for your comment and your solidarity in the struggle for justice and human dignity.
Paul