Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs
Lectionary: 298
Lectionary: 298
From Miletus Paul
had the presbyters
of the Church at Ephesus summoned.
When they came to him, he addressed them,
“You know how I lived among you
the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia.
I served the Lord with all humility
and with the tears and trials that came to me
because of the plots of the Jews,
and I did not at all shrink from telling you
what was for your benefit,
or from teaching you in public or in your homes.
I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks
to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.
But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.
What will happen to me there I do not know,
except that in one city after another
the Holy Spirit has been warning me
that imprisonment and hardships await me.
Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace.
“But now I know that none of you
to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels
will ever see my face again.
And so I solemnly declare to you this day
that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,
for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God.”
of the Church at Ephesus summoned.
When they came to him, he addressed them,
“You know how I lived among you
the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia.
I served the Lord with all humility
and with the tears and trials that came to me
because of the plots of the Jews,
and I did not at all shrink from telling you
what was for your benefit,
or from teaching you in public or in your homes.
I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks
to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.
But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.
What will happen to me there I do not know,
except that in one city after another
the Holy Spirit has been warning me
that imprisonment and hardships await me.
Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace.
“But now I know that none of you
to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels
will ever see my face again.
And so I solemnly declare to you this day
that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,
for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God.”
Responsorial Psalm PS 68:10-11, 20-21
R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel JN 17:1-11A
Jesus raised his
eyes to heaven and said,
“Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.
“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”
“Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.
“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”
Meditation: "This is eternal life, that they know the Father the
only true God"
In his Last Supper discourse Jesus speaks of his
glory and the glory of his Father. What is this glory? It is the cross which
Jesus speaks of here. How does the cross reveal his glory? In the cross God
reveals the breadth of his great love for sinners and the power of redemption
which cancels the debt of sin and reverses the curse of our condemnation. Jesus
gave his Father the supreme honor and glory through his obedience and
willingness to go to the cross. In times of defense the greatest honor belongs
not to those who fought and survived but to those who gave the supreme
sacrifice of their own lives for their fellow citizens.
Jesus speaks of the Father bringing glory to the
Son through the great mystery of the Incarnation and Cross of Christ. God the
Father gave us his only begotten Son for our redemption and deliverance from
slavery to sin and death. There is no greater proof of God's love for each and
every person on the face of the earth than the Cross of Jesus Christ. In the
cross we see a new way of love – a love that is unconditional, sacrificial and
generous beyond comprehension.
Jesus also speaks of eternal life. What is
eternal life? It is more than simply endless time. Science and medicine today
looks for ways to extend the duration of life; but that doesn't necessarily
make life better for us here. Eternal life is qualitative more than
quantitative. To have eternal life is to have the life of God within us. When
we possess eternal life we experience here and now something of God's majesty,
his peace, joy and love and the holiness which characterizes the life of God.
Jesus also speaks of the knowledge of God. Jesus tells his disciples that they
can know the only true God. Knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing
something about God, but we can know God personally. The essence of
Christianity, and what makes it distinct from Judaism and other religions, is
the knowledge of God as our Father. Jesus makes it possible for each of us to
personally know God as our Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In
Jesus we see the perfect love of God – a God who cares intensely and who yearns
over men and women, loving them to the point of laying down his life for them
upon the Cross. Jesus is the revelation of God – a God who loves us completely,
unconditionally and perfectly. Do you seek unity of heart, mind and will
with God and unity of love and peace with your neighbor?
"If only I possessed the grace, good Jesus,
to be utterly at one with you! Amidst all the variety of worldly things around
me, Lord, the only thing I crave is unity with you. You are all my soul
needs. Unite, dear friend of my heart, this unique little soul of mine to
your perfect goodness. You are all mine; when shall I be yours? Lord
Jesus, my beloved, be the magnet of my heart; clasp, press, unite me for ever
to your sacred heart. You have made me for yourself; make me one with
you. Absorb this tiny drop of life into the ocean of goodness whence it
came." (Prayer
of Francis de Sales, 1567-1622)
 The Priestly Prayer of Jesus: Love to the Extreme |
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John 17:1-11a
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
"Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may
glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may
give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they
should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before
the world began. I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the
world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your
word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the
words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly
understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I
pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given
me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of
yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I will no longer be
in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you and all that
you have revealed for our salvation. I hope in you because of your
overflowing mercy. Every single act of yours on this earth demonstrated your
love for us. Your ascent into heaven before the eyes of the Apostles inspires
my hope of one day joining you there. I love you and wish you to be the
center of my life.
Petition: Lord, help me to grow in my love for the Father and for
souls.
1. A Prayer for the Ages: The supreme hour of Jesus has come. As he
anticipates his agony of self-giving love to the extreme, Christ has no
thought for himself. His heart turns to its one and only love, the one for
whose glory he has carried out every act of his earthly existence: his
Father. But at the same time, that invincible love for his Father embraces
all those whom the Father has entrusted to him. Christ leaves his followers a
legacy that will remain their greatest source of confidence throughout the
ages: his priestly prayer. In this, Christ teaches us how to pray. Christ
prays first that his Father may be glorified by glorifying the Son. What is
the supreme glory with which the life of the only Son of God will culminate?
The answer is in his bloody immolation upon the cross.
2. The Glory of the Cross: “The word ‘glory’ refers to the splendor,
honor and power which belong to God” (The Navarre Bible: St. John, pg.
202). How can Christ’s humiliating death on the cross and his abandonment by
his closest followers give honor to God and reveal his splendor and power?
How can the cross be Christ’s supreme glory? First, it reveals a love without
limits, a love that does not say, “I will go this far and no farther.”
Christ’s words, “Father, forgive them,” bear witness to a love that is strong
style="color: #990000"er than sin. The Resurrection, which follows
the cross, testifies to a love that is strong style="color: #990000"er
than death itself. Second, the cross is the fulfillment of Christ’s mission.
His obedience to the Father, even to death, redeems all of mankind. Have I
embraced the cross in my own life as the one way to follow Christ? Embracing
the cross is the only sure path to love Christ and glorify the Father.
3. Unshakeable Trust in the
Mission: Throughout this
Gospel passage, Christ’s words ring with an unshakeable confidence. Even
though he will die, abandoned by his disciples, in agony and humiliating
failure, Christ continues to trust. He trusts both in his Father and in those
very disciples who will soon desert him. Our Lord’s trust in us as his
followers must inspire within us a similar unwavering confidence in our
mission to save souls, to bring others to Christ, and to transform society
itself. By ourselves we can achieve nothing. But we have the assurance of
Christ’s own prayers and the promise of his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will
speak in the hearts of all those who Christ calls to bring closer to him. Let
us pray often to our great advocate: “Holy Spirit, inspire in me what I
should think, what I should say, and what I should leave unsaid, so that I
may achieve the good of all my brothers and sisters, fulfill my mission, and
make Christ’s kingdom triumph.”
Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for loving me to the
extreme of dying in unspeakable agony upon the cross. Thank you for your gift
of the Holy Spirit so that I can follow your path of self-giving love.
Resolution: I will speak with the Holy Spirit throughout
the day and offer to the Father and for souls each concrete cross Christ
sends me.
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TUESDAY, JUNE 3, JOHN
17:1-11a
(Acts 20:17-27; Psalm 68)
(Acts 20:17-27; Psalm 68)
KEY VERSE: "I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do" (v 4).
READING: Jesus was about to complete the work his Father had given him. His "hour" had come, the moment for him to fulfill his mission on earth through his passion, death and resurrection. Jesus is the high priest who offered himself as a victim for the salvation of the world. He would bring glory to God through his saving death, and God would in turn glorify him. Jesus had come into the world to reveal the true nature and character of God. He prayed that those who believed that he was the one sent by his Father would share eternal life with him. Jesus asked the Father to protect his followers from all evil. He prayed that the Church would be united in love and demonstrate the oneness that he has with the Father.
REFLECTING: Is there someone who needs my prayers for protection from evil?
PRAYING: Risen Lord, help me to participate in your work on earth.
Memorial of Charles
Lwanga and his companions, martyrs
There were perhaps 400 court pages in King Kabaka Mwanga's palace in Uganda, Africa. Charles Lwanga was the chief of the pages. He trained the others to be exemplary servants of the king but later pointed them towards Jesus Christ as their savior. As strong followers of God they prayed constantly even under death threats. Charles Lwanga was among those who became the famous martyrs of Uganda, burnt at Namugongo on June 3, 1886. Charles Lwanga's death was a slow one. He was tied on a low stake where he was burnt. He never feared the fire but remembered that there was fire for the executioners which would last forever. The rest of the pages were tied in bundles of threes and thrown into fire, where they kept singing and praising God until they perished. To honor these modern saints, Paul VI became the first reigning pope to visit sub-Sahara Africa n July 1969, a visit which included a pilgrimage to the site of the martyrs. He also dedicated a site for the building of a shrine church in honor of the martyrs, at the spot where Charles Lwanga was killed in Namugongo.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Man of Action
Though I should speak with the tongue of men and of angels, and
have not charity, nor show to my neighbor an example of virtue, I should be of
little service to him, and none to myself. –St. Francis of Assisi
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth
‘I pray for these you have given me.’Today the church remembers the Ugandan catechist and martyr St Charles Lwanga and his companions. Brutally murdered for refusing to give up the faith, they were observed singing hymns joyfully as they went to their deaths. Fittingly, today’s readings speak of fidelity to mission. St Paul, in the face of constant persecution and trials, continued to run the race in bearing witness to the Good News. In the gospel, Jesus speaks of completing the work the Father had given him through his death on the cross. Such fidelity in the face of suffering and death is only possible if we realise that all we have, especially life itself, is a gift from a God who desires that we have the fullness of life in union with him.
June
3
Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions
(d. 1886)
Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions
(d. 1886)
One of 22 Ugandan martyrs, Charles Lwanga is the patron of youth
and Catholic action in most of tropical Africa. He protected his fellow pages
(aged 13 to 30) from the homosexual demands of the Bagandan ruler, Mwanga, and
encouraged and instructed them in the Catholic faith during their imprisonment
for refusing the ruler’s demands.
For his
own unwillingness to submit to the immoral acts and his efforts to safeguard
the faith of his friends, Charles was burned to death at Namugongo on June 3,
1886, by Mwanga’s order.
Charles
first learned of Christ’s teachings from two retainers in the court of Chief
Mawulugungu. While a catechumen, he entered the royal household as assistant to
Joseph Mukaso, head of the court pages.
On the
night of Mukaso’s martyrdom for encouraging the African youths to resist
Mwanga, Charles requested and received Baptism. Imprisoned with his friends,
Charles’s courage and belief in God inspired them to remain chaste and
faithful.
When Pope
Paul VI canonized these 22 martyrs on October 18, 1964, he referred to the
Anglican pages martyred for the same reason.
Comment:
Like Charles Lwanga, we are all teachers and witnesses to Christian living by the examples of our own lives. We are all called upon to spread the word of God, whether by word or deed. By remaining courageous and unshakable in our faith during times of great moral and physical temptation, we live as Christ lived.
Like Charles Lwanga, we are all teachers and witnesses to Christian living by the examples of our own lives. We are all called upon to spread the word of God, whether by word or deed. By remaining courageous and unshakable in our faith during times of great moral and physical temptation, we live as Christ lived.
Quote:
On his African tour in 1969, Pope Paul VI told 22 young Ugandan converts that "being a Christian is a fine thing but not always an easy one."
On his African tour in 1969, Pope Paul VI told 22 young Ugandan converts that "being a Christian is a fine thing but not always an easy one."
LECTIO DIVINA:
JOHN 17,1-11A
Lectio:
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
1)
OPENING PRAYER
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus Christ
carried out the mission you had given him,
without fear and in all faithfulness to you.
God, give us a bit
of his sense of mission.
Give us the strength of the Spirit
to speak your word as it is,
bold and demanding,
without compromising or giving in
to the changing moods and fashions of the day.
And may our lives be like an open book
in which people can read your word.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
your Son Jesus Christ
carried out the mission you had given him,
without fear and in all faithfulness to you.
God, give us a bit
of his sense of mission.
Give us the strength of the Spirit
to speak your word as it is,
bold and demanding,
without compromising or giving in
to the changing moods and fashions of the day.
And may our lives be like an open book
in which people can read your word.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
2)
GOSPEL READING - JOHN 17,1-11A
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Father, the hour has
come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; so that, just as you
have given him power over all humanity, he may give eternal life to all those
you have entrusted to him. And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you
gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before
ever the world existed. I have revealed your name to those whom you took from
the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have
kept your word. Now at last they have recognised that all you have given me
comes from you for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have
indeed accepted it and know for certain that I came from you, and have believed
that it was you who sent me.
It is for them that I pray. I am not praying for the world but
for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All I have is yours
and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified. I am no longer in the
world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.
3)
REFLECTION
• In today’s Gospel, in that of tomorrow and of day after
tomorrow, we will meditate on the words that Jesus addressed to the Father at
the moment of his farewell, when leaving. John keeps these words and puts them
in Jesus’ mouth during his last encounter with the disciples. It is the
Testament of Jesus in the form of a prayer, also called the Priestly Prayer (Jn
17, 1-26).
• Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John is the end of a long
reflection of Jesus, begun in chapter 15, on the mission in the world. The
communities preserved these reflections in order to be able to understand
better the difficult moment that they were going through: tribulations,
abandonment, doubts, and persecution. The long reflection ends with the prayer
of Jesus for the communities. In it are expressed the sentiments and concerns
which, according to the Evangelist, indwelled Jesus at that moment in which he
was going out, leaving this world and going toward the Father. With these
sentiments and with this concern Jesus now finds himself before his Father,
interceding for us. Because of this the Priestly Prayer is also the Testament
of Jesus. Many persons, in the moment when they leave forever, leave some
message. Everyone keeps the important words of a father and of the mother,
especially when they are the last moments of life. To keep these words is like
keeping the persons. It is a form of respect and of affection.
• Chapter 17 is a diverse text. It is a friendlier one rather
than one of reasoning. In order to grasp well the whole sense, it is not
sufficient to reflect with the head, with reason. This text has to be meditated
upon and accepted also in the heart. It is a text not so much to be discussed,
but to meditate on and to reflect. Therefore, do not be worried if you do not
understand it immediately. This text demands a whole life to meditate it and to
deepen it. Such a text should be read, meditated on, thought, read again,
repeated, savoured, as one does with a good sweet in the mouth. One turns it
and turns it in the mouth until it is finished. For this, close the eyes, keep
silence within you and listen to Jesus who speaks to you, transmitting in his
Testament his greatest concern, his last will. Try to discover which is the
point on which Jesus insists the most and, which he considers the most
important.
• John 17, 1-3: “Father, the hour has come!” It is the long
awaited hour (Jn 2, 4; 7,30; 8, 20; 12, 23.27; 13, 1; 16, 32). It is the moment
of the glorification which will take place through the Passion, Death and
Resurrection. In reaching the end of his mission, Jesus looks back and proceeds
to a revision. In this prayer, he expresses the most intimate sentiment of his
heart and the profound discovery of his soul: the presence of the Father in his
life.
• John 17, 4-8: Father, they will recognize that I come from
you! In reviewing his own life Jesus sees himself as a manifestation of the
Father for the friends whom the Father has given him. Jesus does not live for
himself. He lives in order that all may have a flash of goodness and of love
which are enclosed in the Name of God which is Abba, Father.
• John 17, 9-11a: All I have is yours and all you have is mine!
At the moment of leaving the world, Jesus expresses to the Father his concern
and prays for the friends whom he leaves behind; and that they will continue in
the world, but they are not of the world. They are of Jesus, they are God’s,
and they are signs of God and of Jesus in this world. Jesus is concerned about
the persons who remain, and he prays for them.
4)
FOR PERSONAL CONFRONTATION
• Which are the words which orientate your life and which are
from persons whom you love? If you were about to die which would be the message
that you would like to leave to your family and to your community?
• Which is the word of the Testament of Jesus which struck you
the most? Why?
5)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Blessed be the Lord day after day,
he carries us along, God our Saviour.
This God of ours is a God who saves;
from Lord Yahweh comes escape from death. (Ps 68,19-20)
he carries us along, God our Saviour.
This God of ours is a God who saves;
from Lord Yahweh comes escape from death. (Ps 68,19-20)
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