AFRICA/UGANDA - Following the example of the Ugandan Martyrs, let us renew our promise of putting faith in action

Kampala (Agenzia Fides) - In the late morning of Saturday, 28 October, Cardinal Fernando Filoni chaired the dedication Mass of the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine, Munyonyo (see Fides 26/10/2017). "Today we too are gathered in this place where the first missionaries proclaimed the Word of God and founded the first Christian community. Like the ancient People of God, here we listen attentively to the Word of God, which the Ugandan holy Martyrs obeyed heroically to the point of death", said the Cardinal in the homily, pointing out that these "from the very beginning they understood the importance of the instruction in the Word of God they were receiving" and perhaps the most striking proof of the Martyrs’ attachment to the Word of God was the way in which they reacted to the departure of the Missionaries, these laymen assumed the leadership of their Christian communities and went on instructing them in the faith so that, "when the Missionaries returned, they found a marvelous increase in the number of catechumens and a remarkable degree of fidelity to the Word of God".
"A renewed impulse in evangelization, which is one of my wishes for you in this Golden Jubilee of your Archdiocese - he continued, "is inconceivable without a renewed attachment to the word of God, especially in the families. Catholic families need a more direct contact with the Bible; otherwise, the sects will continue taking advantage of that weak point and thus continue leading astray many of our Catholic faithful, as it is now happening", he said, urging to promote study and meditation of the Scriptures.
Commenting on the readings of the Mass, Cardinal Filoni pointed out that "every Christian, in the state of grace, is a dwelling-place of God; his temple and habitation", therefore "We should therefore often bring to mind that the most Holy Trinity inhabits our souls when we are in state of grace. This great truth enforces the necessity of the holiness of Christian life".
With the consecration of this building in honor of the Ugandan Martyrs, "the Lord offers us a grace-filled opportunity to renew our promise of putting faith in action, emulating the Holy Martyrs", the Prefect pointed out that "effort should touch all the areas of our day-to-day life, which the Lord calls on us to evangelize". He then mentioned the family, parish, workplace, hospitals, public life, education ...
"There is no area of our lives that should not be transformed by the Gospel of Jesus - concluded Cardinal Filoni. That is what the Martyrs teach us to do. The Uganda Martyrs lived lives of deep Christian commitment. May each of us be renewed in same Holy Spirit, who gave them courage, every time we come to this beautiful Shrine, where the Lord and his Martyrs meet us and strengthen us".
On the afternoon of Saturday, October 28, Cardinal Filoni visited a home for the elderly run by the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP), a congregation founded by Fr. Ambrose Kulandairaj and Fr. Murray Goodman in 1999, in Nalukolongo, and a children's home in Busega. (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 30/10/2017)

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