The Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes reiterated the message of fraternity that the member bishops of the Episcopal Council of Nicaragua (CEN) expressed to Monsignor Rolando Alvarez, bishop of the diocese of Matagalpa persecuted by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo; and he called on the Nicaraguan people not to fear, to have faith, hope and be prepared.
During mass this Sunday, August 7, Cardinal Brenes read the CEN statement broadcast hours before and explained that since August 4, the day the regime imposed a police siege on Monsignor Álvarez, the bishops have been “very close” to the religious leader of Matagalpa “via the phone, WhatsApp, praying for him and expressing their closeness and affection, but as CEN they have also wanted to express all their feelings through this statement.
On the occasion of the Marian week that begins today, the also archbishop of the Archdiocese of Managua, stated that “Mary is the woman of faith and Jesus invites us to have faith.” “If they had faith, even if it was just like a mustard seed, they would be able to change everything,” he said.
“What is the faith? If not, that trust and that security of what has been promised will be fulfilled. God delays, but he does not forget. We ask for many things, but what does the Lord ask of us? Faith,” Brenes said.
The prelate went on to say that, “in the face of special situations that we may be experiencing as a family, on a personal level, at the level of our parish communities, at the level of the homeland, at the level of the world, what does the Pope (Francis) tell us this Sunday? ? The Pope says: “Jesus speaks to us disciples to reassure us of all fear and invite us to be alert”.
«(He tells us) do not be afraid, you, the Church in Nicaragua, do not be afraid of the Nicaraguan families, do not be afraid of this situation that you may be experiencing. Fear not and be prepared.”
«These are two key words to defeat the fears that sometimes paralyze us and to overcome the situation of a passive, numb life. Fear not and be prepared,” the archbishop reaffirmed.
Related news: Monsignor Álvarez is “kidnapped”. Police usurps functions of judges to fulfill whims of locking him up
His Holiness tells us, Brenes repeated, that “we must not worry or be agitated. Our history is firmly in the hands of God. Sometimes we feel prisoners of a feeling of mistrust and anguish: It is the fear of not achieving it, of not being recognized and loved, the fear of not carrying out our projects or of never being happy, so we strive, we look for some space in the to emerge to accumulate goods and wealth, and how do we end up? We end up living in anxiety and constant worry.”
The archbishop asked “to be awake so that we do not fall asleep, while the Lord passes by.”
The mass ended by inviting believers to pray the Holy Rosary before an altar at home in honor of the Virgin of Fatima, whose pilgrim image bids farewell to the country this week.
