BELIZE
Bishop Lawrence Nicasio has called on Belize faithful to enter the season of Lent with a serious commitment to persevere in doing what is good and making God proud of them. He warned if they chose to continue to live a life outside of God, then don’t expect things to be better for the country.
“For things to be better for us, we must do the work to change ways, attitudes that are not of God. We must stop ‘lamp’, living that same old way of life you call life year in and year out,” the bishop of Belize City and Belmopan said in his 2018 Lenten message to the diocese.
The full text was published in the February issue of The Christian Herald.
In it, the bishop maintained that to return to God with the same old attitude, same heart full of malice, hatred and selfishness is an insult to God who has shown them the right way to live but “we choose otherwise”.
He referenced the song ‘Hosea: Come Back to Me’ which he said speaks so eloquently about the human relationship with God, a God he described as omniscient, who sees where they are, as well as the road they have travelled at this point.
“He sees how we have opened our spiritual door to whatever and to whomever wants to enter. He sees us travelling on that road most travelled, that road to condemnation, the road where we are carefree and are accountable to no-one.”
Similarly, Bishop Nicasio noted how easily “one takes the other person’s life with no kind of remorse; how easily a young mother rips up the gift of a baby apart in her womb; how easily one gets impatient with each other and seeks revenge”.
He continued, “This is new age, says one, where infidelity, adultery and fornication are the ‘in thing;’ where daily Mass is a thing of the past. ‘What peace?’ says one to the other! We fight each other at home and wherever. With ease we insult, abuse and disrespect each other. Yet, we still say that we love each other.”
The bishop remained hopeful that the diocese would approach Lent with all opportunities to respond to the call of Hosea and return to God who is the way, the truth, and the life.
“Lent is a journey of repeated response and motion/action. The moment we stop moving is the moment we die. To return to God requires sacrifice; it requires an effort on our part for God’s greater honour and glory,” he said.
