Citing the “Our Father” prayer that Jesus Christ taught his disciples, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa, stressed that the biblical scripture reminds that “no society, no family, no marriage, no person can live without respect , without forgiveness and love».
In the homily this Sunday. On July 24, from the San Pedro Cathedral in Matagalpa, the hierarch pointed out the need for people to respect each other “in the midst of our differences. Remember that not even the fingers of the hands are the same.
Related news: Monsignor Álvarez urges to cling to faith: “Always after darkness comes dawn”
«Respect (…) marks the beginning to arrive at forgiveness, to later arrive at love; to be able to love each other, to be able to treat each other like brothers; to be able to recognize ourselves as children of the same Father », he expressed.
Evil is defeated with good
Alluding to Jesus Christ’s request to God: “Do not let us fall into temptation,” Álvarez called for asking God “that in the temptation of hatred, of revenge for death, of arrogance, of obfuscation, of fury internal, the Lord do not let us fall.
“May the Lord not let us fall into the temptation of thinking that evil can be overcome with evil, that is not true, that is not possible for Christians. We are convinced and we proclaim and preach that evil is always defeated by the force of good”, he added.
Given the adverse situations that Nicaragua is experiencing, the prelate called to always ask God “that our hearts be open to mercy, that our hearts always be open to having merciful entrails.”
“We are on the right side of history”
Referring to the constant attacks against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, the priest stated that “we have seen with our own eyes, we have discovered in our lives that effectively when we side with good, we are on the correct side of history and of course on the correct, exact side of the Church and as God requests it».
He stressed that “the temptation of hatred, of revenge, of contempt, of paying evil for evil, can and is surrounding us. We must resist (…) God is faithful and will not allow us to be tempted beyond our strength, on the contrary, with temptation He will give us sufficient strength to resist it».
Related news: Monsignor Álvarez reminds the Ortega regime that “the country belongs to everyone”
Taking up the words of Pope Francis, Monsignor Álvarez said that it is the responsibility of the Church to teach women and men “to see others with an understanding and tender gaze. Today we can find a way of living peacefully and attentively against the weakest; this attitude may perhaps be confused with weakness or omission, but it will be the meek, not the aggressive, who will inherit the earth».
Not to mention the priests Leonardo Urbina and Manuel Salvador Garcia, imprisoned by the Ortega regime and accused of common crimes, Álvarez concluded by calling Nicaraguans to pray and fast “for our Church, for our priests and for our beloved Nicaragua, because only prayer will save Nicaragua.”
