Just a month before his death, Miller had written in another letter: "I am personally weary of violence, but I continue to feel a strong commitment to the suffering poor of Central America… the Church is being persecuted because of its option for the poor. Aware of numerous dangers and difficulties, we continue working with faith and hope and trusting in God's Providence."
"I have been a Brother of the Christian Schools for nearly 20 years now, and commitment to my vocation grows steadily stronger in my work in Central America. I pray to God for the grace and strength to serve Him faithfully among the poor and oppressed in Guatemala. I place my life in His Providence. I place my trust in Him," he added.
Those who knew Brother Miller remember him for his kindness, his generosity and his jovial spirit.
Brother Francis Carr, who roomed with Miller while they attended St. Mary's University, told Winona Daily News that he remembers him as "a common, good guy."
One of his former professors remembered Miller as "attractive with an open and sociable personality, likeable, completely genuine; people were captivated by his simplicity: he was very intelligent and also very simple."
Another fellow brother recalled Miller as "an intelligent person, although not an intellectual, jovial, easy to relate with, preferring physical work to sports, with a deep faith and love for his religious vocation, but with a certain tendency to come late to class and community prayers."
Conway remembered his fellow brother as "big and boisterous" and "very human."
"What's cool about him being beatified is that he was human," Conway told the Post Bulletin. "The fact that someone so human would farm with these kids and taught them the skills to break the cycle of poverty. It speaks volumes about him."
After his death, Miller's body was sent back to the United States for burial in Wisconsin. Miller arrived in a dirty white robe, Conway told the Post Bulletin, because of all of the farmers who attended his funeral in Guatemala and wanted to touch his robes as they paid their respects.
Relics gathered during the exhumation of Miller's body will be at the beatification in Guatemala, which will be celebrated on Saturday, December 7 in Huehuetenango.
Miller's cause for canonization opened in 2009. Because Miller was officially declared a martyr by the Church, the typical requirement for proof of a miracle through his intercession in order to proceed with his beatification is waived. A miracle through his intercession will be needed before he can be canonized.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Representatives from St. Mary's University will be present at the beatification in Guatemala, and a special concurrent commemoration ceremony will be taking place on campus.
"I think, particularly in the Catholic Church, in our faith, we highlight those who give their lives for the sake of the kingdom, the gospel, but also, in this case, as the gospel says, no one has greater love than to lay down his life for his friend," SMU president Father James Burns told Winona Daily News.
"And so in following the example of Christ, this is what Brother James Miller did, laying down his life," Burns added. "It's a great honor for us to have someone for our local community being raised to this honor by the church."
"I think people are instinctively drawn to goodness, that kind of goodness, even when it causes great sacrifice and we have to suffer. People are inspired by that."