Be courageous
I greet you my friends here in Toronto Canada. I bring you greetings from Uganda Especially from the people where I serve as in charge of schools, youths, elderly, and people with disabilities in our Parish and that is Kiyinda Mityana Cathedral Parish. Allow me to thank you for inviting me to celebrate with you this special day when for us here have commemorated, remembered, and honored the heroic, the brave, the sufferer for a cause and those are the 24 Ugandan Martyrs, the people who died as witnesses to Christ.
Every year on June 3rd a large gathering of Ugandan Catholics travel for miles on foot to the city of Namugongo to celebrate the Festival of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions. They lovingly call this day “Martyrs Day”. It is estimated that today over 3 million Ugandans travel from all over the country to join in the festivities.
But who is this St. Charles Lwanga and his companions? And why does this feast day attract so many people?
The Church was received openly into the country of Uganda in the 1880s by King Mutesa I. When the Catholic missionaries came into the country, they were accepted openly by many people, especially the lower class of Uganda. They liked the message of the Church, but they felt as though Jesus Christ was very much so alive in their work and in their stories. It was said that thousands were baptized at this time.
But when you celebrate Martyrs, you know that somewhere the story goes south. King Mutesa eventually dies and his son succeeds him. King Mwanga tolerates, at least for a little while, the Catholic faith that was once accepted by his father. Once he sees the Catholic faith spreading, he begins to worry. Many of those in his court, especially the page boys were converting. King Mwanga favored these boys because of his pedophiliac tendencies. When the head page, a catholic, stood up to the king to protect the boys, King Mwanga had him beheaded.
This is where Charles Lwanga prominently comes into the story. Charles became the head page after the beheading of the previous page. Charles was just as courageous as his predecessor, Joseph Mukasa. He convinces the missionaries to expedite, hurry up, and rush the conversion process for about one hundred catechumens because they feared for their lives. The missionaries obliged and the catechumens were brought into the church. It wasn’t too long after that when King Mwanga has the boys in his court separated into two groups: Catholic and non-Catholics. He asks the Catholic boys about their faithfulness to their new faith. The boys yelled in their native tongue: “‘til death!”
It was shortly after that response that the death march began. It was a two day journey by foot to their eventual place of martyrdom. One of the eldest boys knew what was coming, but also wanted to help the younger boys to keep the faith. The boy, Matthias Kalemba, began to shout words of encouragement along the way. It was said that his final words to his executors were: ”God will rescue me. But you will not see how he does it, because he will take my soul and leave you only my body.” Angry and annoyed with him, the executors decided to do away with Matthias early. They cut him up and left him along the way to die on the road.
Eventually the group made it to their place of martyrdom, Namugongo. Charles was separated from the rest of the group. As the head page and somewhat of a leader for the other boys he was asked to recant. When he refused, the executioners lit a torch and began to burn his feet. They stopped once his feet had become absolutely charred, and well-cooked. They gave him one last chance to turn away from Jesus Christ, and when he refused, they lit the wood under his feet. The flames slowly engulfed the young man. Tradition holds that when the flames finally reached his heart, Charles exclaimed, “Katonda” (“My God”) before he breathed his last breath. The others would die in a similar way on that same day.
It was from the blood and courage of these martyrs that millions of Ugandans would become Catholic. We proudly tell this story every year. We know that St Charles Lwanga and the other martyrs are indeed not dead; rather, they continue to watch over their beloved people in Uganda, people in different countries who intercede for God’s mercy through them, from their place in the Communion of Saints.
“But, you will ask me, why should the Ugandan Martyrs be honoured?
And I answer you: It is because they have performed the most heroic, and therefore the greatest and most beautiful of all actions; they have, as I said, laid down their lives for their Faith, that is, for their religion and for the freedom of their conscience. Therefore they are our champions, our heroes, our teachers. They teach us how real Christians should be. Listen to me now: Should a Christian be a coward? Should he be afraid? Should he betray his own Faith? No! Of course not! Your Martyrs, our Martyrs teach us just how true Christians should be, especially young Christians, African Christians, Canadian Christians, European Christians and Christians of the whole world. For Christians must be courageous, they must be strong, they must, as Saint Peter wrote, “be firm in the faith” (1 Pet. 5, 9). Our Martyrs teach us how much the Faith is worth!”
The late Bishop of Masaka Diocese, Rt. Rev. Adrian Ddungu, in the special prayer for sending off the missionaries originating from his diocese, always exhorted them to “be courageous as our ancestors the Uganda Martyrs.”
Where did these Martyrs get the “courage” to peacefully and joyfully accept all the sufferings they had to go through up to giving up their lives for the sake of their “religion and freedom of their conscience”? Reading through their story I find the following as being the source of their courage:
1. Strong Faith in God & New Religion
- “Child-like-faith” but not “childish-faith”. A faith which would transport mountains, a faith which transformed them into adults to follow the freedom of their conscience whatever the cost!
- The new religion had “empowered” them and “transformed” them from ‘yes-yes-men’ to “men whose yes was yes and whose no was no” (Mt. 5:37), men who could follow their “conscience”.
- The new religion had strengthened in them the ‘traditional Ganda virtue of respect for leaders, and especially the King’; they were among the king’s most faithful and hard working servants. But, at the same time, this religion had driven out of them the fear to ‘challenge their leaders’, the king included, when they judged that their actions were in contradiction to the ‘gospel values’ and the teachings of their religion. Balikuddembe challenged Mwanga on killing Bp. Hannington and this led to his death.
2. Gift from the Holy Spirit
3. Sacraments and prayer
4. Solidarity from fellow martyrs
5. Spiritual fathers, Mapeera and his confreres
6. Hope in “a life better” (heaven)
- Should a Christian be a coward? The answer is a big No. “Cowards live longer but they miss fun”, so goes a popular saying! What type of “fun” am I missing by accepting to be a coward christian? Fun to be tear-gassed? ... to be thrown on police trucks like a sack of potatoes?... to be beaten like an animal? .... fun to be killed?
Which concrete situations are challenging us to witness to this “christian courage”?
Which structures and teachings in the church, Society are making us ‘cowards’?
How does our cowardice reveals itself: appeal to prudence, silence in face of policies and actions contradicting the gospel values?
So dear friends let us emulate the Ugandan Martyrs by being courageous in each and everything we do, let us ask the Lord to enlighten us by sending us His spirit to inspire us to remain faithful to the Gospel all the time. Aspire to inspire before you expire. The Lord be with you.
Matthias Lugendo
Every year on June 3rd a large gathering of Ugandan Catholics travel for miles on foot to the city of Namugongo to celebrate the Festival of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions. They lovingly call this day “Martyrs Day”. It is estimated that today over 3 million Ugandans travel from all over the country to join in the festivities.
But who is this St. Charles Lwanga and his companions? And why does this feast day attract so many people?
The Church was received openly into the country of Uganda in the 1880s by King Mutesa I. When the Catholic missionaries came into the country, they were accepted openly by many people, especially the lower class of Uganda. They liked the message of the Church, but they felt as though Jesus Christ was very much so alive in their work and in their stories. It was said that thousands were baptized at this time.
But when you celebrate Martyrs, you know that somewhere the story goes south. King Mutesa eventually dies and his son succeeds him. King Mwanga tolerates, at least for a little while, the Catholic faith that was once accepted by his father. Once he sees the Catholic faith spreading, he begins to worry. Many of those in his court, especially the page boys were converting. King Mwanga favored these boys because of his pedophiliac tendencies. When the head page, a catholic, stood up to the king to protect the boys, King Mwanga had him beheaded.
This is where Charles Lwanga prominently comes into the story. Charles became the head page after the beheading of the previous page. Charles was just as courageous as his predecessor, Joseph Mukasa. He convinces the missionaries to expedite, hurry up, and rush the conversion process for about one hundred catechumens because they feared for their lives. The missionaries obliged and the catechumens were brought into the church. It wasn’t too long after that when King Mwanga has the boys in his court separated into two groups: Catholic and non-Catholics. He asks the Catholic boys about their faithfulness to their new faith. The boys yelled in their native tongue: “‘til death!”
It was shortly after that response that the death march began. It was a two day journey by foot to their eventual place of martyrdom. One of the eldest boys knew what was coming, but also wanted to help the younger boys to keep the faith. The boy, Matthias Kalemba, began to shout words of encouragement along the way. It was said that his final words to his executors were: ”God will rescue me. But you will not see how he does it, because he will take my soul and leave you only my body.” Angry and annoyed with him, the executors decided to do away with Matthias early. They cut him up and left him along the way to die on the road.
Eventually the group made it to their place of martyrdom, Namugongo. Charles was separated from the rest of the group. As the head page and somewhat of a leader for the other boys he was asked to recant. When he refused, the executioners lit a torch and began to burn his feet. They stopped once his feet had become absolutely charred, and well-cooked. They gave him one last chance to turn away from Jesus Christ, and when he refused, they lit the wood under his feet. The flames slowly engulfed the young man. Tradition holds that when the flames finally reached his heart, Charles exclaimed, “Katonda” (“My God”) before he breathed his last breath. The others would die in a similar way on that same day.
It was from the blood and courage of these martyrs that millions of Ugandans would become Catholic. We proudly tell this story every year. We know that St Charles Lwanga and the other martyrs are indeed not dead; rather, they continue to watch over their beloved people in Uganda, people in different countries who intercede for God’s mercy through them, from their place in the Communion of Saints.
“But, you will ask me, why should the Ugandan Martyrs be honoured?
And I answer you: It is because they have performed the most heroic, and therefore the greatest and most beautiful of all actions; they have, as I said, laid down their lives for their Faith, that is, for their religion and for the freedom of their conscience. Therefore they are our champions, our heroes, our teachers. They teach us how real Christians should be. Listen to me now: Should a Christian be a coward? Should he be afraid? Should he betray his own Faith? No! Of course not! Your Martyrs, our Martyrs teach us just how true Christians should be, especially young Christians, African Christians, Canadian Christians, European Christians and Christians of the whole world. For Christians must be courageous, they must be strong, they must, as Saint Peter wrote, “be firm in the faith” (1 Pet. 5, 9). Our Martyrs teach us how much the Faith is worth!”
The late Bishop of Masaka Diocese, Rt. Rev. Adrian Ddungu, in the special prayer for sending off the missionaries originating from his diocese, always exhorted them to “be courageous as our ancestors the Uganda Martyrs.”
Where did these Martyrs get the “courage” to peacefully and joyfully accept all the sufferings they had to go through up to giving up their lives for the sake of their “religion and freedom of their conscience”? Reading through their story I find the following as being the source of their courage:
1. Strong Faith in God & New Religion
- “Child-like-faith” but not “childish-faith”. A faith which would transport mountains, a faith which transformed them into adults to follow the freedom of their conscience whatever the cost!
- The new religion had “empowered” them and “transformed” them from ‘yes-yes-men’ to “men whose yes was yes and whose no was no” (Mt. 5:37), men who could follow their “conscience”.
- The new religion had strengthened in them the ‘traditional Ganda virtue of respect for leaders, and especially the King’; they were among the king’s most faithful and hard working servants. But, at the same time, this religion had driven out of them the fear to ‘challenge their leaders’, the king included, when they judged that their actions were in contradiction to the ‘gospel values’ and the teachings of their religion. Balikuddembe challenged Mwanga on killing Bp. Hannington and this led to his death.
2. Gift from the Holy Spirit
3. Sacraments and prayer
4. Solidarity from fellow martyrs
5. Spiritual fathers, Mapeera and his confreres
6. Hope in “a life better” (heaven)
- Should a Christian be a coward? The answer is a big No. “Cowards live longer but they miss fun”, so goes a popular saying! What type of “fun” am I missing by accepting to be a coward christian? Fun to be tear-gassed? ... to be thrown on police trucks like a sack of potatoes?... to be beaten like an animal? .... fun to be killed?
Which concrete situations are challenging us to witness to this “christian courage”?
Which structures and teachings in the church, Society are making us ‘cowards’?
How does our cowardice reveals itself: appeal to prudence, silence in face of policies and actions contradicting the gospel values?
So dear friends let us emulate the Ugandan Martyrs by being courageous in each and everything we do, let us ask the Lord to enlighten us by sending us His spirit to inspire us to remain faithful to the Gospel all the time. Aspire to inspire before you expire. The Lord be with you.
Matthias Lugendo
