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The Shepherd Cannot Run
This booklet contains the letters written in the last year of his life by Father Stanley Rother. He was an American missionary to Guatemala who was murdered at his post in Santiago Atitlan in 1981.
The letters reveal not only the thoughts and feelings of a courageous man facing constant danger but also present enlightening background material to the drama of the larger struggle evolving in Central America during these 1980s. Stanley Rother stands as an unimpeachable witness to the events of his time and place in Central America.
David Monahan, Editor Oklahoma City July 1984
The letters reveal not only the thoughts and feelings of a courageous man facing constant danger but also present enlightening background material to the drama of the larger struggle evolving in Central America during these 1980s. Stanley Rother stands as an unimpeachable witness to the events of his time and place in Central America.
David Monahan, Editor Oklahoma City July 1984
107 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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July 29, 2015
Our own Father Stanley Rother has received the official designation from the Vatican ‘martyr’ making him the first American* to be so honored. Of course, here in Oklahoma, this proclamation is just a belated recognition of what we’ve known for years.
It was 34 years ago today when 46 year old missionary Fr. Rother was brutally struck down in his rectory in Guatemala. This book is a recounting of that event through the letters written by Father Stan to family and friends in the last year of his life (July 1980-July 1981) as well as a brief synopsis of his life and important sermons delivered about him after his martyrdom. It is a sobering, yet inspiring read, sometimes so poignantly ordinary and other times so pertinent to our own times of Christian persecution.
Father Stan was a quiet simple man. He came from a small farming town. His people were farmers and he was a farmer at heart himself which actually made him well-suited to helping the mountain villagers of his parish. It’s not unkind to say he was not overly intelligent; he almost didn't make it through seminary and required tutoring. And yet it's his very ordinariness, which contributed to his humility and made it so easy for all to relate to him. His quiet absorption of the Gospel and the way he reflected it unconsciously back in his everyday life shows how deeply it had permeated him. He struggled with Latin and yet he readily—even easily—learned the more difficult native language and completed a New Testament in the Tzutuhil language.
Since 2009, I have made an annual pilgrimage to Okarche, OK, Father Stanley’s hometown on July 28th, the anniversary of his death, only missing once because we were gone on vacation. It’s something I very much look forward to. I’ve read this book and others, and followed the slow but steady progress of his ‘cause’ (as it’s called) for canonization like some people keep up with the lives of royalty and film stars. I’ve met his surviving brother and only sister and I hope I live to see the day when I can actually hear others call him Saint Stanley Rother.
This is a good first book, but we need better ones.
*I was surprised by this considering all the priests (Sts. Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brébeuf and others) martyred by the Iroquois, but then I suspect they aren’t considered ‘American’ saints, being born elsewhere.
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On page 68. Reading these slowly and yes, painfully. Just one a day or so. It is good that we do not know our own future.
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Yesterday July 28, 2012 was the 31st anniversary of the assassination of Father Stanley Rother, native Oklahoman, missionary to Guatemala who is the author and subject of this book, a collection of his letters and sermons as well as a brief biography.
For several years now I’ve made this pilgrimage to Fr. Rother’s hometown of Okarche, OK on July 28th to join with his town, our archdiocese and Catholics from across the state that come to honor the memory of his dedication to the belief, “The Shepherd Cannot Run”. His sacrifice speaks to me—coward that I am—and all the many times I know I have wanted to quit and yet somehow through God’s Grace and the inspiration of others like him I still manage to hang in there.
Last night in addition to a beautiful Mass concelebrated by our current Archbishop Paul Coakley and our past Archbishop Emeritus Eusebius Beltran, we also saw the blessing of a new picture of Fr. Rother, heard an amazing song by Jamie Biller of the same name, The Shepherd Cannot Run and learned of the new Guild in support of Fr. Rother's cause for canonization which was just sent to Rome last November.
I thought this book was listed on goodreads and was very surprised to discover it had never even been added! It’s been a few years since I read it. Time for a reread!
Another excellent book about Fr. Rother which I have read and reviewed is Love in a Fearful Land: A Guatemalan Story by Henri Nouwen.
It was 34 years ago today when 46 year old missionary Fr. Rother was brutally struck down in his rectory in Guatemala. This book is a recounting of that event through the letters written by Father Stan to family and friends in the last year of his life (July 1980-July 1981) as well as a brief synopsis of his life and important sermons delivered about him after his martyrdom. It is a sobering, yet inspiring read, sometimes so poignantly ordinary and other times so pertinent to our own times of Christian persecution.
Father Stan was a quiet simple man. He came from a small farming town. His people were farmers and he was a farmer at heart himself which actually made him well-suited to helping the mountain villagers of his parish. It’s not unkind to say he was not overly intelligent; he almost didn't make it through seminary and required tutoring. And yet it's his very ordinariness, which contributed to his humility and made it so easy for all to relate to him. His quiet absorption of the Gospel and the way he reflected it unconsciously back in his everyday life shows how deeply it had permeated him. He struggled with Latin and yet he readily—even easily—learned the more difficult native language and completed a New Testament in the Tzutuhil language.
Since 2009, I have made an annual pilgrimage to Okarche, OK, Father Stanley’s hometown on July 28th, the anniversary of his death, only missing once because we were gone on vacation. It’s something I very much look forward to. I’ve read this book and others, and followed the slow but steady progress of his ‘cause’ (as it’s called) for canonization like some people keep up with the lives of royalty and film stars. I’ve met his surviving brother and only sister and I hope I live to see the day when I can actually hear others call him Saint Stanley Rother.
This is a good first book, but we need better ones.
*I was surprised by this considering all the priests (Sts. Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brébeuf and others) martyred by the Iroquois, but then I suspect they aren’t considered ‘American’ saints, being born elsewhere.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
On page 68. Reading these slowly and yes, painfully. Just one a day or so. It is good that we do not know our own future.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Yesterday July 28, 2012 was the 31st anniversary of the assassination of Father Stanley Rother, native Oklahoman, missionary to Guatemala who is the author and subject of this book, a collection of his letters and sermons as well as a brief biography.
For several years now I’ve made this pilgrimage to Fr. Rother’s hometown of Okarche, OK on July 28th to join with his town, our archdiocese and Catholics from across the state that come to honor the memory of his dedication to the belief, “The Shepherd Cannot Run”. His sacrifice speaks to me—coward that I am—and all the many times I know I have wanted to quit and yet somehow through God’s Grace and the inspiration of others like him I still manage to hang in there.
Last night in addition to a beautiful Mass concelebrated by our current Archbishop Paul Coakley and our past Archbishop Emeritus Eusebius Beltran, we also saw the blessing of a new picture of Fr. Rother, heard an amazing song by Jamie Biller of the same name, The Shepherd Cannot Run and learned of the new Guild in support of Fr. Rother's cause for canonization which was just sent to Rome last November.
I thought this book was listed on goodreads and was very surprised to discover it had never even been added! It’s been a few years since I read it. Time for a reread!
Another excellent book about Fr. Rother which I have read and reviewed is Love in a Fearful Land: A Guatemalan Story by Henri Nouwen.
July 31, 2013
A collection of letters by Fr. Stanley Rother, a priest of Oklahoma City who spent 13 years working in rural Guatemala with the Tzutuhil people and was assassinated there by pro-army forces in 1981. The letters highlight Rother's faithful and steadfast care for his people even in the face of intimidation and outright danger. Having visited Santiago Atitlan, I can say definitively that the martyrdom of this shepherd has borne much fruit for the flock he loved and that his legacy lives on in a vibrant way even to this day. His cause for canonization has been opened and is being reviewed by the Catholic Church.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews