Is Oscar Romero A Prophet?

Is Oscar Romero a prophet?

The main focus of this essay is Oscar Romero and how he is a prophet, like Isaiah, a messianic prophet. A prophet is someone who speaks for God or the Word of God. Oscar Romero was an archbishop who was changed after the death of his good friend. Oscar Romero spoke the Word of God to save his people, the people of El Salvador, and changed the world forever. Even though there was a war going on, he still gave hope to the people of El Salvador by preaching the Word of God like a prophet.

The definition of a prophet is someone who speaks for another. In the case of the Holy Prophets, they speak for God. They speak the truth, or the Word of God. The Word is like fire; it burns, yet it renews the intricate tree of the

mind. In general, prophets put other's lives in front of their own. This is definitely shown in the prophets sacrificing their lives for others in multiple examples, such as Oscar Romero, some of the Saints (there are over 10,000 named saints), and Jesus himself. They also show compassion, forgiveness, courage, kindness and patience. According to the Bible, the role of a prophet is to pray to God, preach to the people the truth in the name of God, especially those who sin, and do God's will.
A verse from the Book of Deuteronomy.
“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.”
(Deuteronomy 18:18)
This is saying that God helps people become prophets by putting the holy words into their minds.
An example of a biblical prophet is Isaiah. He was a messianic prophet, and he was the one who foretold the coming of the Messiah, the descendant of David, born from a virgin. This was completely fulfilled hundreds of years later. Isaiah foretold it here:
For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forever-more. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:6-7
He did this because it was what God wanted him to do.

He did not dare question Him, for he feared the consequences.

Oscar Romero is the topic of this essay. He was born on the 15th of August, 1917. He was ordained (made a priest) in Rome, on the 4th of April, 1942. He became an Archbishop on the 23rd of February, in 1977. A few months after, a friend of his (Rutilio Grande, a progressive Jesuit priest who was creating self-reliance groups among the poor, as well as being Romero's first priest) was assassinated. His death had a large impact on Romero, and Oscar later stated,
“When I looked at Rutilio lying there dead I thought, 'If they have killed him for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path'”
He asked the government to investigate the death of the Jesuit priest, but they said no. Also, not a word was heard from the press. After the death of Rutilio, Romero made it his mission to stop the violence.
He was killed with a shot to the heart on the 24th of March, 1980, at age 62. The day before he was killed, he did a speech for the army; one that invited mutiny. It went something along the lines of:
“Brothers, you are from the same people; you kill you fellow peasant. No soldier is obliged to obey an order that is contrary to the will of

God.”
Applause. Lots of it. Now more speech.
“In the name of God then, in the name of this suffering people I ask you, I beg you, I command you in the name of God, stop the repression.”
The following day, he was shot by an army sharpshooter. Through these speeches he was trying to give hope to the people of El Salvador. He was trying to use the Word of God to stop the army from harming others.

Oscar Romero was a great man. He gave a voice to the voiceless, soothed the nation with weekly homilies, and told everyone that the Church, and the human spirit, will survive.
A quote from Paul's letter to the Romans reads,
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:38-39)
This means that nothing can separate us from the love of God. This relates, as it is what Oscar Romero is trying to preach. Oscar Romero is trying to preach the Word of God, like a prophet.
He said a lot of things, like
“It is easier to preach lies, to conform to the situation so as not to lost your advantages, so that you always have friends that flatter you, so that you have power.”
and
“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains only a grain. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

In conclusion, Oscar Romero was a prophet because he spoke the Word of God to give hope and inspire. His fire didn't just burn down a couple mind-trees, he renewed an entire forest with the promise that the human spirit will survive through the war, and through the turmoil of the world.
Bibliography
Oscar Romero: Martyr, Friend to the Poor, Prophet of Justice | Creo en Dios!. 2015. Available at: https://susanjoan.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/oscar-romero-martyr-friend-to-the-poor-prophet-of-justice/. [Accessed 28 February 2015].

Oscar Romero: Bishop of the Poor | USCatholic.org. 2015. Available at: http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2009/02/oscar-romero-bishop-poor. [Accessed 28 February 2015].

Óscar Romero - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2015. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Óscar_Romero. [Accessed 28 February 2015].

Isaiah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2015. Available at: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaiah. [Accessed 04 March 2015].

What Is a False Prophet?. 2015. Available at: https://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/PW/k/1177/False-Prophet.htm. [Accessed 28 February 2015]. (find the subheading “Defining Prophet”)

Read and Study the Bible Online. 2015. Available at: http://www.biblestudytools.com/. [Accessed 28 February 2015]. (I got my quotes from here)

Warning, date accessed may not be accurate.