Those of us who believe in the resurrection of the Crucified Lord know on whose side God stands: on the side of those who suffer, the poor, the excluded, and the victims.
God isn’t on the side of criminal and unjust political systems, nor of the powerful who oppress their people. God doesn’t side with judges who condemn the innocent; neither does he side with false witnesses. God isn’t on the side of corrupt officials, the police who repress, or the torturers who humiliate people and make them suffer.
God sides with victims, in whom the pain of Calvary’s Crucified Lord is prolonged.
The risen Lord is present wherever we defend human dignity and commit ourselves to building just and fraternal relationships.
Jesus rises wherever we are suffering because of our commitment to preventing the suffering of others, or whenever we struggle and even die to prevent the deaths of other persons. Jesus rises when we listen to the victims’ cries and are in solidarity with their demands for justice.
The Lord’s resurrection assures us that despite fears, failures, and threats, no effort we make to defend life, human dignity, and freedom ever will be lost.
Faith in the Risen Jesus forces us to ask ourselves: are we on the side of those who crucify or of those who are crucified, are we on the side of those who kill life and destroy the human being, or, rather, are we among those who fight to defend the crucified and serve life?
The best expression of faith in the Risen Lord is not to forget the victims and to place ourselves at the service of the crucified.
Believing in the resurrection of the Lord means believing in the definitive triumph of love, joy, and life over evil, suffering, and death.
Silvio José Báez, O.C.D.
Auxiliary Bishop of Managua
Homily, Third Sunday of Easter (excerpts)
18 April 2021
We wish to offer our sincere greetings and fervent prayers to Silvio José Báez, O.C.D., Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Managua, Nicaragua on the 38th anniversary of his priestly ordination, 15 January 1985. When St. Teresa wrote that it is possible “to find both learning and goodness in some persons” (Way of Perfection, 5:2), little did she know that one of her spiritual children would fulfill both qualities and become a bishop. We offer our brother and her loving son, Bishop Báez, as a prime example. Ad multos annos!
Translation from the Spanish text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Featured image: Bishop Báez answers the question, “why is this night different from all other nights?” at the 2019 Easter Vigil in Nicaragua. Image credit: @sj.baez / Facebook
Carmelite Quotes 
Ad multos annos! Feliz cumpleaños!!! God must have been very good to me, because the whole of my life has been spent among those rejected by polite society, redeeming their own lives under God. And I concur totally with our good Bishop that there one finds Jesus near at hand. I heard a Catholic priest quoting a visiting Protestant Minister on an Ecumenical event, who had said, “If you want to find Jesus, go where the pain is – He’s up to His neck in it!!”…