"Despiértanos Señor para que todos podamos sanar heridas y reconstruirnos como nación": Hna. Vuelo en V. (Foto: Vuelo en V)
by Flying in V Formation
Sometimes, when in our homes — surrounded by the warmth of family — we retire to rest, hoping for a good night's sleep that restores our strength, energy and vitality. Above all, we wish to wake up alive.
This wish is simple and profound in Nicaraguan families. However, for a long time now, they have been sleeping with infinite worries and, especially, with the hope for a solution to this prolonged nightmare we are living. In various ways, we all identify with the following prayers.
Awaken us, Lord, from this prolonged nightmare in which this nefarious dictatorship, disguised with fallacies, fueled by injustices, and sick with power, has engulfed us.
Awaken us to witness the light of a new dawn, where we can breathe the air of freedom and democracy, both kidnapped and tortured for so many years.
Awaken us, for we are suffocated by our Nicaraguan children and youth's access to quality education, due to the closures and confiscations of the educational centers that provided them these options.
Awaken us, Lord, from this long nightmare in which this nefarious dictatorship has us submerged, disguised in fallacies, fed by injustices and sick with power.
Awaken us, for they are being robbed of their dreams and their right to choose, to decide, to nurture their thoughts and to have a critical vision of reality. Instead, they are fed slogans, catchphrases and unfounded beliefs.
Awaken us from this nightmarish reality that is increasingly tearing us apart as a society, as a family. Awaken us from this harsh reality that violates and isolates us, placing us in a state of slow decline and reviving old ghosts of further division.
Awaken us, for we do not want more war than the one we have lived through. We yearn to gather again in our parishes with confidence, free from the fear of pondering who might be providing information that could lead to our brothers and sisters being taken prisoner for expressing their thoughts.
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Awaken us, Lord, for we desire to go to our jobs and serve without being manipulated or compelled to comply with unhinged and macabre orders. We yearn to speak up and speak out again when we sense that something is not right or does not seem right to us.
Awaken us, for we want to live with dignity and profess our faith without fear of reprisals or death, as it is unjust to pass on more pain to future generations.
Awaken us so that, together, we can keep dreaming of the Nicaragua we long for, where every exile can return to their land, political prisoners can return to their families, and we can all heal wounds and rebuild as a nation.
Awaken us to persist in crying out for justice and so that crimes against humanity do not go unpunished. We yearn to live in true peace, the fruit of justice, truth and respect for life.
Awaken us to celebrate Easter as a church, rejoicing that this exile, persecution and imprisonment have come to an end.
Awaken us, Lord, to witness your presence and continue our pilgrimage as a people, proclaiming your truth in freedom.
Awaken us, Lord, and save us!
This column was originally published in Spanish on Nov. 7, 2023.
