Monsignor Silvio Báez, auxiliary bishop of Managua, exhorted in his homily this Sunday, September 11, from the Santa Agatha church in Miami, United States, to pray and forgive “people who have collaborated with the dominant unjust system”.
“Not only are we called to welcome God’s mercy, but we must learn from the Lord to be merciful. Sometimes we are very harsh with others. We cannot forgive those who have made a mistake, we like to blame others for their mistakes, “said the Catholic hierarch.
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He stressed that as Christians one should not be indifferent “to those who have drifted away, fallen into sin or been bogged down in wickedness. Let us pray for these people, let us look for them with interest, let us attract them with the tenderness and goodness of God and let us rejoice when they change».
In reference to those who have collaborated with the Ortega regime, Báez indicated that “also in society there may be people who have collaborated with the dominant unjust system, but who one day reconsider and decide to change».
“Let’s not dwell on the past mistakes of others, nor let’s keep pointing fingers at how bad they could have done. Let us be in tune with the heart of God and offer these people understanding, support and forgiveness », he exhorted.
Ask for the freedom of Monsignor Álvarez
On the other hand, Báez called on the Catholic people to pray for Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa, who has been arbitrarily arrested for 23 days. “May God make him strong at this time and may he hear the prayer of the entire Church.”
“He is a successor of the apostles, he is detained, deprived of his freedom and deprived of being with his people, illegally and unfairly in Nicaragua. I ask the Lord for the only fair thing to ask for, for Monsignor Álvarez, his release, that he may soon be at the service of his people in the Diocese of Matagalpa».
Since the kidnapping against Monsignor, on August 19, the Police have not given more information about his legal situation. The only thing that is known is that he is in “home shelter” in a house of his relatives “
“Let’s not get carried away by anxiety”
The prelate based his preaching on the story of the book of Exodus, where the Israelites, being in the desert, made a golden calf to replace God’s guidance, however, through the intercession of Moses. God did not destroy them, but spared them.
“This happens to us too. Sometimes we get tired of waiting, we want things to happen at our own pace and we stop trusting God. When that happens we get carried away by anxiety, we act recklessly, we put all the confidence in ourselves, we rely on wealth or power or blindly believe in misleading ideological proposals, “he said.
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He stressed that at times “when everything gets dark and we don’t know what to do, it’s easy to invent substitutes for God that give us security. There is a great temptation to turn our backs on the Lord, stop hoping in him and invent little gods that enslave us and make us lose our way».
Despite the sins that society commits, the bishop stressed that “God would never destroy his people, no matter how badly he does and no matter how many gods he builds turning his back on him.
“God does not exclude anyone, he does not give anyone up for lost, he loves us all as children. It was hard for Moses to understand this, as it is hard for us to understand it too. Let’s face it. It is not easy to understand the mercy of a God who loves without limits and always forgives », he emphasized.
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If you walk away, if you get lost, God worries, gets restless and looks for you, because he needs you (…) God’s joy is to forgive. It is the joy of a shepherd who finds his sheep again; the joy of a woman who finds his coin; it is the joy of a father who returns to welcome home the son who had been lost, who was as if dead and has come back to life, he has come home. This is the heart of the gospel”, concluded the religious.
Despite the siege and persecution that Nicaraguans and the Catholic Church are experiencing, Monsignor Báez has been one of the priests who have called for forgiveness and patience and faith in God that there will soon be freedom for the country.
