Based on the Gospel according to Saint John where the resurrection of Jesus Christ is narrated, Monsignor Silvio Báez exhorted in his homily from the Santa Agatha Church in Miami, United States, not to lose hope and trust that “no night is forever”.
“On Easter we celebrate that, in the heart of our nights, God makes life arise, makes light shine and communicates an unexpected strength to us,” said the auxiliary bishop of Managua.
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He emphasized that «the risen Christ comes to us in the nights of life; with him no night is forever.
In relation to the social crisis that Nicaragua is experiencing at the hands of Daniel Ortega’s regime, Báez stressed that “not the night of sin, failure and fear; nor the night of disappointment and weariness. The nights of the towns are not forever either.
Neither the night of war, nor the night of the oppressive powers, nor the night of the pain of the victims, nor the night of fatigue in the fight. No night is forever,” he said.
“Let us not be paralyzed by the darkness”
The religious encouraged Nicaraguans to trust in Jesus Christ who “shines in the dark.” “Today the light of love and life shines at night,” he encouraged.
“Christ is risen and wants to light up our nights, which are sometimes long and painful. Let’s not let ourselves be paralyzed by darkness, let’s not stop searching and waiting. The risen Lord is on our side, assuring us that his victory over evil, sin and death is also our victory, “the prelate encouraged.
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Making an analogy of the stone of the sepulcher that was removed, Monsignor Silvio Báez affirmed that today “even the heaviest stones can be removed.”
«A lesson that we must not forget. With the strength of the risen Lord, even the obstacles that seem most insurmountable fade and disappear. When we open our lives to the risen Christ and allow ourselves to be invaded by his love, the great stones that bury hope and suffocate love are removed to make room for the new and surprising things that God wants to accomplish,” he added.
He also emphasized that one must resign “thinking that things cannot change. Resurrecting Jesus, God does not want there to be anything that prevents us from dreaming big or paralyzes us with fear, nothing that makes us pessimistic, buries our hope and prevents us from collaborating with him to make a more humane, peaceful and fraternal world.
Call for unity “for the common good”
In relation to the unity of the Nicaraguan people in search of justice, Báez emphasized that “in life each one unfolds their own potentialities, some in one way, others in another, some first and others later, but this diversity should not give rise to to envy and conflict.
“Even in society, there is a diversity of visions and strategies between people and groups, -and it is good that it is so-, but everyone must make an effort to seek the common good”.
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«We have already suffered a lot because of sterile selfishness and useless confrontations that have made social coexistence a grotesque competition. We need individuals and groups to run without tripping or disqualifying each other. There is no need to run to arrive first and monopolize applause and privileges, but to build among all a new coexistence based on brotherhood, peace and justice »he exhorted.
The bishop concluded his homily stating that “Christ is risen! There are reasons to believe and to run, to cry with hope and to search the night without getting discouraged (…) Let us not fear the great stones that close the road and prevent us from going forward. He will make it possible for us to move them. He has conquered life, he has conquered love! Christ was resurected! He Truly he has risen! Hallelujah”.
Báez’s preaching comes on the occasion of Holy Week and on the eve of the commemoration of the four years of civic rebellion against the Ortega regime that persists in its siege and persecution against the Nicaraguan people.
