Monsignor Silvio Báez, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Managua, exhorted during his homily this Sunday, December 18, to dream of a society where there is justice, hope and living in freedom.
Based on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew 1:18, about the story of Joseph and Mary and the birth of Jesus Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit, the priest emphasized that Joseph’s experience “teaches us that we have to learn to deal with situations unexpected and painful experiences of life without getting caught up in disappointment, without falling into victimhood and without sinking into sadness».
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«You have to distance yourself from events, consider all aspects, not act hastily, know how to wait. We must reflect, listen and pray, knowing that the Lord is always by our side,” reflected the prelate from the Santa Agatha Church in Miami, United States.
Taking the experience of San José as an example, Báez said that on a social level —and in reference to the political crisis that Nicaragua is experiencing— that “in the face of unjust structures and situations, in front of which we feel impotent and indignant, we must not fall in despair, thinking that everything is useless and there is nothing to do».
In addition, he urged citizens not to be “dragged by haste and rage”, stating that “hasty decisions are almost always wrong.”
«Faced with the evil that is imposed on us and wants to subdue us, let us not allow negative feelings to prevail. Let us not get tired of believing in the power of truth and justice. We must be lucid and serene and always trust in God who never abandons us,” advised Monsignor Báez.
“God does not act only through luminous moments”
Referring to difficult times on a social level, the Bishop indicated that “God does not act only through the bright moments and pleasant experiences of life, but can also make himself present through our sufferings, our fears, our our sadness and our weaknesses.
“We must learn to discover the presence of God, there where it seems to be absent (…) In the midst of darkness, God always opens new horizons for us and invites us to walk on paths more beautiful than ours,” stressed the prelate, who From exile he has denounced the repression at the hands of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
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The priest invited to “accommodate God’s dreams.” “Let’s dream of being better people, let’s dream of the good we can do and also of the good that others have, let’s imagine ourselves serving and helping, living free, spreading joy and full of hope.”
The religious continued to urge to dream “of a society where the dignity and rights of all people are respected, where plurality is wealth and where dissent from power is not a crime.”
“Let us dream of a Church so merciful that it bows down to those who suffer and so prophetic that it is never afraid to proclaim God’s truth. Courage and great trust in the Lord are needed to believe in his dreams, accept them and fulfill them in life”, concluded Monsignor Báez with aplomb.
