We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.
Oscar RomeroRead
A church that doesn't provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn't unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed — what gospel is that?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques a complacent faith that fails to challenge societal issues and personal sins.
Oscar Romero's quote emphasizes the role of the church and the gospel in addressing real-world sins and crises. He argues that if faith does not provoke thought, discomfort, or a challenge to societal norms, it is ineffective and lacks authenticity, encouraging a reflection on the true purpose of religious teachings in confronting moral and social injustices.
Themes
FaithSocietyGospelCrisisSin
In practice
Example use cases
During a sermon about social justice, one might reference this quote to highlight the call for churches to engage with community issues.
More from Oscar Romero
All quotes →Beautiful is the moment in which we understand that we are no more than an instrument of God; we live only as long as God wants us to live; we can only do as much as God makes us able to do; we are only as intelligent as God would have us be.
Oscar RomeroRead
When the church hears the cry of the oppressed it cannot but denounce the social structures that give rise to and perpetuate the misery from which the cry arises.
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Aspire not to have more, but to be more.
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A Christian's authenticity is show in difficult hours it is in difficult hours that the church grows in authenticity. Blest be God for this difficult hour in our archdiocese. Let us be worthy of it.
Oscar RomeroRead
The church would betray its own love for God and its fidelity to the gospel if it stopped being . . . a defender of the rights of the poor . . . a humanizer of every legitimate struggle to achieve a more just society . . . that prepares the way for the true reign of God in history.
Oscar RomeroRead
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