WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020
MEMORIAL OF ST. CHARLES LWANGA
2 Timothy 1:1-3,6-12, Mark
12:18-27
It is an obvious fact that out of
fear of death, many people prefer to keep quiet in the midst of evils. Many
people actually die in silence because they are afraid to die physically. This was
not the case of St. Charles Lwanga and about 21 others who were martyred by
king Mwanga of Uganda between 1885 and 1887. These people had converted to the
Christians faith, and were opposed to the evil way of life the king was living.
They were all tortured to death, some beheaded and some burnt alive. The
youngest of them was Kizito, a 13 year old boy. Nevertheless, their martyrdom
did not discourage others from becoming Christians, rather, the glory
encouraged many others who were converted to the faith. It is a national
holiday in Uganda today.
Learning from this therefore, we
should be encouraged to condemn whatever is wrong no matter who is involved.
The fear of death may keep us silent, but we will die slowly inside of us. We
should think more of the resurrection of our bodies rather than earthly
pleasures.
This was also the situation Jesus
found himself in the gospel reading of today. He met with the sadducees who do
not believe in the resurrection and therefore think more of what they will gain
here on earth. He therefore made them to understand that all the material
things we struggle to keep here on earth that makes us incapable of confronting
the truth, will not be needed after our lives here on earth. I'm very sure St
Charles Lwanga and his companions understood this very well. Let us always
remember the words of Jesus, that we should not fear those who can only kill
our bodies, we should rather fear God who can destroy both our bodies and souls
in hell. May we have the courage to stand for the truth and condemn evil when
the time comes. God help us. Amen
Fr Michael Osatofoh Eninlejie MSP
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