By Aloysius Kayiwa-Kampala
Pope Francis led the Holy Mass in for the Jubilee of the Canonization of the Uganda Martyrs at Uganda Martyrs Basilica on Saturday 28th 2015, where thousands and thousands of Ugandans attended. Before the Holy Mass, the Holy Father first visited the Anglican Shrine close by where he witnessed the torture point of a group of Christians that were martyred for their faith.
Pope Francis arriving for the Holy Mass at Uganda Martyrs Basilica, Namugongo
By the time he arrived at the Catholic Shrine, huge crowds were waiting for him to lead the mass. In his surmon, the Pope emphasized that worldly pleasures do not bring peace and encouraged the faithful to emulate the Holy Uganda Martyrs.
“Today, we recall with gratitude the sacrifice of the Uganda martyrs, whose witness of love for Christ and his Church has truly gone “to the end of the earth”.
“We too have received the gift of the Spirit, to make us sons and daughters of God, but also so that we may bear witness to Jesus and make him everywhere known and loved. We received the Spirit when we were reborn in Baptism, and we were strengthened by his gifts at our Confirmation. Every day we are called to deepen the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life, to “fan into flame” the gift of his divine love so that we may be a source of wisdom and strength to others.”
“If, like the martyrs, we daily fan into flame the gift of the Spirit who dwells in our hearts, then we will surely become the missionary disciples which Christ calls us to be.”
“Like the Apostles and the Uganda martyrs before us, we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit to become missionary disciples called to go forth and bring the Gospel to all. At times this may take us to the end of the earth, as missionaries to faraway lands. This is essential to the spread of God’s Kingdom, and I ask always for your generous response to this need. But we do not need to travel to be missionary disciples. In fact, we need only to open our eyes and see the needs in our homes and our local communities to realize how many opportunities await us.”
“Dear brothers and sisters, this is the legacy which you have received from the Uganda martyrs – lives marked by the power of the Holy Spirit, lives which witness even now to the transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This legacy is not served by an occasional remembrance, or by being enshrined in a museum as a precious jewel. Rather, we honour them, and all the saints, when we carry on their witness to Christ, in our homes and neighbourhoods, in our workplaces and civil society, whether we never leave our homes or we go to the farthest corner of the world.”
