On the day of “Good Shepherd Sunday”, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa, spoke of the qualities of priestly work despite the obstacles that are experienced daily.
In the homily from the San Pedro de Matagalpa Cathedral, the prelate stressed that a priest must be at the service of the community, because that is his mission.
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The first aptitude, which according to Álvarez must have a “good shepherd” is that of “pastor of the third millennium», in which the priest must build communion «with the people of God, being called to gratefully welcome and lead towards communion the various charisms present in his parish, which are gifts of the Holy Spirit for the Church».
Another characteristic that the priest mentioned was that of a “synodal process.” “We know that today’s world urgently needs fraternity. Without realizing it, he longs to meet Jesus, but it takes listening to the —Holy— Spirit to renew our faith and find new ways and languages to share the gospel with our brothers and sisters,” he said.
He also emphasized the missionary aptitude noting that the priest “in today’s world” is the missionary and in him “the ardor and enthusiasm for evangelizing are stronger than his limitations and fears.”
Referring to the crisis that society is experiencing, and especially Nicaragua, he assured that the good shepherd as a missionary is “driven by the Holy Spirit and addresses the distant, those on the periphery, the exiles, refugees, incarcerated, sick, those who have not heard the proclamation of the Gospel».
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«He proclaims the message in its entirety and his listeners perceive the newness of the gospel of which he is a witness. He freely gives what he has freely received, because he has experience of the loving gratuitousness of the Father. He gives his whole life for the gospel and experiences that proclaiming the kingdom of God matters more to him than his own life”, he added.
On the other hand, he stressed that one of the main skills of a “good shepherd” is to be promoter of a culture of peace. «In the preaching and in the life of Christ the attention that he paid to the poorest was evident. The shepherd of this millennium is there, where there is more need for consolation, where the most defenseless are».
He argued that “the priest is the one who brings hope with words and actions so that situations of misery are alleviated through the preaching of evangelical values and the formation of consciences; the priest cooperates in the promotion of a society in accordance with the will of God, he points out unjust situations but his love for his brothers requires him to go further, more to the root».
“Reaching the heart of those who can improve unjust situations, only in this way can a culture of peace be built, since without changing hearts and without repaying offenses it is not possible to build a new society,” he stressed.
Ask to pray for all the priests
Finally, Rolando Álvarez asked the Catholic people of Nicaragua to pray for all priests. “On this Sunday, in a special way we pray for our priests. We mainly remember the elderly and sick priests; May the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of the Good Shepherd, teach us to be the shepherds the Church needs in this third millennium».
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“And you dearest brothers, pray for us so that we may be shepherds according to the heart of Christ and according to your needs. We will pray for you so that each one in his vocation and mission to which he has been called, and in the place where he is, may also be good shepherds in the style of Christ, the supreme eternal Good Shepherd”, he concluded.
The bishop’s preaching comes days after the dictatorship proposed imprisoning priests, who according to the sandinista deputies have contributed or contributed to “betraying the homeland.”
