Carmelite wisdom to encourage & inspire
We join the faithful in celebrating the 38th anniversary of Bishop Silvio José Báez’s priestly ordination. This excerpt from one of his homilies talks about placing ourselves at the service of the crucified. Ad multos annos, Bishop!
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Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. reminds us that Our Lady’s love for her Son extends to us all: “she is a tender mother also to us, her son's disciples.” We share an excerpt from the Bishop’s message to all Nicaraguans for the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
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On the vigil of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. guides our meditation on the beauty of the Blessed Virgin’s life: she was the transparency of God.
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In this Advent season, Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. urges us to adopt the prophetic rebelliousness of St. John the Baptist so that we don’t resign ourselves to interior mediocrity or injustice in the world around us.
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Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. quotes both St. Thérèse and St. John of the Cross as he explains how God humbles himself to “look up” and seek us first like Jesus seeking Zacchaeus, thereby showing God's greatness through his merciful love.
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Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. offers this comment that applies to our Sunday Gospel: “Jesus proposes that we should cultivate these three life-giving verbs: give, descend, and serve.”
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"We cannot see God, but we can listen to Jesus who has revealed God to us with an existence full of goodness and forgiveness," writes Bishop Silvio José Báez. "The only way to see God is to listen to Jesus, follow him, and live in communion with him."
Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. reflects on the Jesus' admonition that we must carry our own cross and follow him to be his disciple. The bishop says that "when Jesus speaks of the cross, he isn't simply talking about suffering. The cross is synonymous with extreme love, like that of Jesus."
Our Discalced Carmelite bishop from Nicaragua, Bishop Silvio José Báez, continues to employ every means possible to advocate for freedom and justice for those who suffer in his country, even from his exile in the United States. Recently, he shared a video excerpt from his remarks in March 2019 at a press availability concerning political prisoners: they "are not a bargaining chip."
Bishop Silvio José Báez, who is himself a Discalced Carmelite, describes the essential aspects of St. Teresa's encounter with the angel and his fiery dart: "God introduced her to the New Covenant."
Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. reflects on Jesus's teaching about entering through the "narrow door". The Bishop reminds us that "it's necessary to make a daily effort to go through "the narrow door", which is nothing other than to shape our lives and orient our hearts to love with a love like that of the Father in Heaven."
¡Cuanta necesidad tenemos de subir al monte en nuestra sociedad, para tener una mirada más amplia sobre la historia, para liberarnos del miedo, para superar la irracionalidad y la ideologización!
We have the right to dream of a Nicaragua without rulers who oppress the people, where the dignity and rights of every person are respected...
Drawing a life lesson from the parable of the Good Samaritan, Bishop Silvio José Báez says that "it doesn't take much" to identify with others and to become personally engaged. Remember, "The Good Samaritan had only a little wine and olive oil."
"Do whatever he tells you" (Jn 2:5), were the instructions from the Mother of the Lord to the servants at the wedding banquet. Bishop Silvio José Báez reminds us that if we put his gospel into practice, our lives will be transformed in unexpected ways...
Having just celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d. helps us go forth in mission. "In the Eucharist God became bread and he enters my heart, making me live with greater clarity and dignity so that I ask myself, 'what I am doing for my brothers and sisters'?"
Bishop Silvio José Báez mentions one of the greatest temptations of the Church: "to forget about the Holy Spirit, not to listen to the Spirit, and not to let ourselves be guided and strengthened by the Spirit."
Bishop Silvio José Báez says that in our lives, "everything can begin anew with renewed strength and new dreams" when "love is what drives us from within." Even St. Teresa of Avila agrees: "love alone is what gives value to all things."
On the evening of that unforgettable "first day of the week," the day of the Lord's resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples, full of mercy. He didn't reproach them; he didn't accuse or reject them. Instead, he offered them his peace.
Bishop Báez, preaching on the encounter of the Risen Christ with his disciples offers a timely commentary: "The Risen Christ always frees us and opens up horizons of mercy. Whoever believes in him and welcomes him always receives forgiveness as a gift..."
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