Saint
Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs
Lectionary: 355
Lectionary: 355
Grief-stricken in spirit, I, Tobit, groaned and wept aloud.
Then with sobs I began to pray:
“You are righteous, O Lord,
and all your deeds are just;
All your ways are mercy and truth;
you are the judge of the world.
And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me,
and look with favor upon me.
Punish me not for my sins,
nor for my inadvertent offenses,
nor for those of my ancestors.
“We sinned against you,
and disobeyed your commandments.
So you handed us over to plundering, exile, and death,
till you made us the talk and reproach of all the nations
among whom you had dispersed us.
“Yes, your judgments are many and true
in dealing with me as my sins
and those of my ancestors deserve.
For we have not kept your commandments,
nor have we trodden the paths of truth before you.
“So now, deal with me as you please,
and command my life breath to be taken from me,
that I may go from the face of the earth into dust.
It is better for me to die than to live,
because I have heard insulting calumnies,
and I am overwhelmed with grief.
“Lord, command me to be delivered from such anguish;
let me go to the everlasting abode;
Lord, refuse me not.
For it is better for me to die
than to endure so much misery in life,
and to hear these insults!”
On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media,
it so happened that Raguel’s daughter Sarah
also had to listen to abuse,
from one of her father’s maids.
For she had been married to seven husbands,
but the wicked demon Asmodeus killed them off
before they could have intercourse with her,
as it is prescribed for wives.
So the maid said to her:
“You are the one who strangles your husbands!
Look at you!
You have already been married seven times,
but you have had no joy with any one of your husbands.
Why do you beat us? Is it on account of your seven husbands,
Because they are dead?
May we never see a son or daughter of yours!”
The girl was deeply saddened that day,
and she went into an upper chamber of her house,
where she planned to hang herself.
But she reconsidered, saying to herself:
“No! People would level this insult against my father:
‘You had only one beloved daughter,
but she hanged herself because of ill fortune!’
And thus would I cause my father in his old age
to go down to the nether world laden with sorrow.
It is far better for me not to hang myself,
but to beg the Lord to have me die,
so that I need no longer live to hear such insults.”
At that time, then, she spread out her hands,
and facing the window, poured out her prayer:
“Blessed are you, O Lord, merciful God,
and blessed is your holy and honorable name.
Blessed are you in all your works for ever!”
At that very time,
the prayer of these two suppliants
was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God.
So Raphael was sent to heal them both:
to remove the cataracts from Tobit’s eyes,
so that he might again see God’s sunlight;
and to marry Raguel’s daughter Sarah to Tobit’s son Tobiah,
and then drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her.
Then with sobs I began to pray:
“You are righteous, O Lord,
and all your deeds are just;
All your ways are mercy and truth;
you are the judge of the world.
And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me,
and look with favor upon me.
Punish me not for my sins,
nor for my inadvertent offenses,
nor for those of my ancestors.
“We sinned against you,
and disobeyed your commandments.
So you handed us over to plundering, exile, and death,
till you made us the talk and reproach of all the nations
among whom you had dispersed us.
“Yes, your judgments are many and true
in dealing with me as my sins
and those of my ancestors deserve.
For we have not kept your commandments,
nor have we trodden the paths of truth before you.
“So now, deal with me as you please,
and command my life breath to be taken from me,
that I may go from the face of the earth into dust.
It is better for me to die than to live,
because I have heard insulting calumnies,
and I am overwhelmed with grief.
“Lord, command me to be delivered from such anguish;
let me go to the everlasting abode;
Lord, refuse me not.
For it is better for me to die
than to endure so much misery in life,
and to hear these insults!”
On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media,
it so happened that Raguel’s daughter Sarah
also had to listen to abuse,
from one of her father’s maids.
For she had been married to seven husbands,
but the wicked demon Asmodeus killed them off
before they could have intercourse with her,
as it is prescribed for wives.
So the maid said to her:
“You are the one who strangles your husbands!
Look at you!
You have already been married seven times,
but you have had no joy with any one of your husbands.
Why do you beat us? Is it on account of your seven husbands,
Because they are dead?
May we never see a son or daughter of yours!”
The girl was deeply saddened that day,
and she went into an upper chamber of her house,
where she planned to hang herself.
But she reconsidered, saying to herself:
“No! People would level this insult against my father:
‘You had only one beloved daughter,
but she hanged herself because of ill fortune!’
And thus would I cause my father in his old age
to go down to the nether world laden with sorrow.
It is far better for me not to hang myself,
but to beg the Lord to have me die,
so that I need no longer live to hear such insults.”
At that time, then, she spread out her hands,
and facing the window, poured out her prayer:
“Blessed are you, O Lord, merciful God,
and blessed is your holy and honorable name.
Blessed are you in all your works for ever!”
At that very time,
the prayer of these two suppliants
was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God.
So Raphael was sent to heal them both:
to remove the cataracts from Tobit’s eyes,
so that he might again see God’s sunlight;
and to marry Raguel’s daughter Sarah to Tobit’s son Tobiah,
and then drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 25:2-3, 4-5AB, 6 AND 7BC, 8-9
R. (1) To
you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
In you I trust; let me not be put to shame,
let not my enemies exult over me.
No one who waits for you shall be put to shame;
those shall be put to shame who heedlessly break faith.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
In you I trust; let me not be put to shame,
let not my enemies exult over me.
No one who waits for you shall be put to shame;
those shall be put to shame who heedlessly break faith.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
AlleluiaJN 11:25A, 26
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 12:18-27
Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection,
came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
‘If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.’
Now there were seven brothers.
The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.
So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants,
and the third likewise.
And the seven left no descendants.
Last of all the woman also died.
At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?
For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled
because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
When they rise from the dead,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but they are like the angels in heaven.
As for the dead being raised,
have you not read in the Book of Moses,
in the passage about the bush, how God told him,
I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob?
He is not God of the dead but of the living.
You are greatly misled.”
came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
‘If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.’
Now there were seven brothers.
The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.
So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants,
and the third likewise.
And the seven left no descendants.
Last of all the woman also died.
At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?
For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled
because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
When they rise from the dead,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but they are like the angels in heaven.
As for the dead being raised,
have you not read in the Book of Moses,
in the passage about the bush, how God told him,
I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob?
He is not God of the dead but of the living.
You are greatly misled.”
Wednesday (June 3): "You
know neither the scriptures nor the power of God"
Meditation: How
reliable is the belief that all will be raised from the dead? The Sadducees,
who were a group of religious leaders from the upper classes in Jesus' time,
did not believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead to eternal life. They
could not conceive of heaven beyond what they could see with their naked eyes!
Aren’t we often like them? We don't recognize spiritual realities because we
try to make heaven into an earthly image we can touch and see. The Sadducees
came to Jesus with a test question to make the resurrection look ridiculous.
The Sadducees, unlike the Pharisees, did not believe in the existence of
immortal beings - whether humans, angels, or evil spirits. Their religion was
literally grounded in an earthly image of heaven which ended in death.
Jesus responds to their argument by dealing with the fact of the
resurrection and immortal life. Jesus shows that God is a living God of a
living people. The Scriptures give proof of it. In Exodus 3:6, God calls
himself the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
God was the friend of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when they lived on the earth.
That friendship with God could not cease with death. David in the Psalms also
speaks of the reality of immortal life with God. In Psalm 73:23-24 we pray
through the words of David: "I am continually with you; you hold
my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive
me to glory." The Holy Spirit reveals to us the eternal truths of
God’s unending love and the life he desires to share with us for all eternity.
Paul the Apostle, quoting from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 64:4; 65:17) states: “What
no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has
prepared for those who love him,” God has revealed to us through the Spirit (1
Corinthians 2:9-10). The promise of paradise - heavenly bliss and unending life
with an all-loving God - is beyond human reckoning. We have only begun to taste
the first-fruits! Do you believe the Scriptures and do you know the power of
the Holy Spirit?
“May the Lord Jesus put his hands on our eyes also, for then we
too shall begin to look not at what is seen but at what is not seen. May
he open the eyes that are concerned not with the present but with what is yet
to come, may he unseal the heart’s vision, that we may gaze on God in the
Spirit, through the same Lord, Jesus Christ, whose glory and power will endure
throughout the unending succession of ages.” (Prayer of Origen, 185-254
AD)
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, MARK 12:18-27
Weekday
(Tobit 3;:1-11a, 160-17a; Psalm 25)
Weekday
(Tobit 3;:1-11a, 160-17a; Psalm 25)
KEY VERSE: "He is not God of the dead but of the living" (v 27).
TO READ: The Sadducees were a conservative group within Judaism. Unlike the Pharisees, they did not believe in oral tradition, but alleged that all revelation ended with Moses. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and they challenged Jesus' teaching. They presented him with an absurd situation in which a woman had been married to seven different men who all died. The Sadducees asked whose wife the woman would be in the "supposed" resurrection. Jesus told them that they misunderstood the risen life as merely a continuation of the present life. Jesus reminded them that the God of their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, was the God of all who are eternally alive.
TO REFLECT: Who do I need to console with the belief in the resurrection?
TO RESPOND: Lord Jesus, thank you for allowing me to share eternity with you.
Optional Memorial
of Charles Lwanga, martyr, and his companions, martyrsThere
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 in 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.
To honor these modern saints, Paul VI became the first reigning pope to visit sub-Sahara Africa in 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.
Wednesday
3 June 2015
St Charles Lwanga & Cc. Tobit 3:3-11, 16-17.
To you, O Lord, I lift my soul—Ps 24(25):2-9. Mark 12:18-27.
The Resurrection is a mystery.
While it is central to our faith,
Jesus’ resurrection does not lend itself to being easily understood. All we
know from the gospels is that it is about the fullness life. Jesus in today’s
gospel challenges the Sadducees to stop their preoccupation with what happens
to the dead at the time of the resurrection. Their fixation is with the dead.
Jesus reminds them, and us, that the
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of the living. God is not concerned
with death. Death has no power over Jesus, and, through his resurrection, Jesus
proves that it has no power over us.
Faith in this resurrection drove
martyrs like Charles Lwanga and his companions to proclaim the Gospel in the
face of certain death.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
|
Pray
for Forgiveness
|
Heavenly Father, I ask forgiveness of anyone I have wronged during
my lifetime. I sincerely regret any harm I may have caused. Likewise, I am
willing to forgive anyone who has wronged me. When my time comes, open your
arms to me and accept me into your heavenly kingdom, where I will be united
with all the loved ones who have gone before me, and I will rejoice forever in
your saving presence. Amen.
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: MARK
12,18-27
Lectio:
Wednesday,
June 3, 2015
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
your love never fails.
Hear our call.
Keep us from danger
and provide for all our needs.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
your love never fails.
Hear our call.
Keep us from danger
and provide for all our needs.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 12,18-27
Then
some Sadducees -- who deny that there is a resurrection -- came to Jesus and
they put this question to him, 'Master, Moses prescribed for us that if a man's
brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow to raise
up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married a
wife and then died leaving no children. The second married the widow, and he
too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same, and none of the
seven left any children. Last of all the woman herself died. Now at the resurrection,
when they rise again, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all
seven?' Jesus said to them, 'Surely the reason why you are wrong is that you
understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God. For when they rise from
the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven.
Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in
the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him and said: I am the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is God, not of the dead, but
of the living. You are very much mistaken.'
3) Reflection
•
In today’s Gospel the confrontation between Jesus and the authority continues.
After the priests, the elders and the Scribes (Mk 12, 1-12) and the Pharisees
and the Herodians (Mk 12, 13-17), now the Sadducees appear who ask a question
about resurrection. A controversial theme, which caused argument and discussion
among the Sadducees and the Pharisees (Mk 12,18-27; cf. At 23,6-1).
• In the Christian communities of the years seventy, the time when Mark wrote his Gospel, there were some Christians who, in order not to be persecuted, tried to reconcile the project of Jesus with the project of the Roman Emperor. The others who resisted the Empire were persecuted, accused and questioned by the authority of by the neighbours who felt annoyed, bothered by their witness. The description of the conflicts of Jesus with the authority was a very great help in order that the Christians did not allow themselves to be manipulated by the ideology of the Empire. In reading these episodes of conflict of Jesus with authority, the persecuted Christians were encouraged to continue on this road.
• Mark 12, 18-23. The Sadducees: The Sadducees were the aristocratic elite of land owners and traders. They were conservative. They did not accept faith in the Resurrection. At that time, this faith was beginning to be evaporated by the Pharisees and popular piety. It urged to the resistance of the people against the dominion of the Romans, and of the priests, of the elders and of the Sadducees themselves. For the Sadducees, the Messianic Kingdom was already present in the situation of well-being in which they were living. They followed the so called “Theology of Retribution” which distorted reality. According to this Theology God rewards with richness and well-being those who observe the Law of God, and he punishes with suffering and poverty those who do evil. This makes one understand why the Sadducees did not want changes. They wanted that religion remain as it was, immutable like God himself. This is why they did not accept the faith in the Resurrection and in the help of the angels, who sustained the struggle of those who sought changes and liberation.
• Mark 12,19-23. The question of the Sadducees: They go to Jesus to criticize and to ridicule the faith in the Resurrection, to tell about the fictitious case of the woman who got married seven times and at the end she died without having any children. The so called Law of the levirate obliged the widow who had no children to marry the brother of the deceased husband. The son who would have been born from this new marriage would be considered the son of the deceased husband. And thus he would have descent. But in the case proposed by the Sadducees, the woman, in spite of the fact of having had seven husbands, remained without a husband. They asked Jesus: “In the Resurrection, when they will rise, to whom will the woman belong? Because seven had her as wife!” This was in order to say that to believe in the resurrection led the person to accept what was absurd.
• Mark 12, 24-27: The response of Jesus. Jesus responds harshly: Surely, the reason why you are wrong is that you understand neither the Scriptures nor the power of God“. Jesus explains that the condition of persons after death will be totally different from the present condition. After death there will be no marriage, but all will be as the angels in Heaven. The Sadducees imagined life in Heaven as life on earth. And at the end Jesus concludes: “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living! You are in great error”. The disciples are warned: those who are on the side of these Sadducees will be on the side opposite to God.
• In the Christian communities of the years seventy, the time when Mark wrote his Gospel, there were some Christians who, in order not to be persecuted, tried to reconcile the project of Jesus with the project of the Roman Emperor. The others who resisted the Empire were persecuted, accused and questioned by the authority of by the neighbours who felt annoyed, bothered by their witness. The description of the conflicts of Jesus with the authority was a very great help in order that the Christians did not allow themselves to be manipulated by the ideology of the Empire. In reading these episodes of conflict of Jesus with authority, the persecuted Christians were encouraged to continue on this road.
• Mark 12, 18-23. The Sadducees: The Sadducees were the aristocratic elite of land owners and traders. They were conservative. They did not accept faith in the Resurrection. At that time, this faith was beginning to be evaporated by the Pharisees and popular piety. It urged to the resistance of the people against the dominion of the Romans, and of the priests, of the elders and of the Sadducees themselves. For the Sadducees, the Messianic Kingdom was already present in the situation of well-being in which they were living. They followed the so called “Theology of Retribution” which distorted reality. According to this Theology God rewards with richness and well-being those who observe the Law of God, and he punishes with suffering and poverty those who do evil. This makes one understand why the Sadducees did not want changes. They wanted that religion remain as it was, immutable like God himself. This is why they did not accept the faith in the Resurrection and in the help of the angels, who sustained the struggle of those who sought changes and liberation.
• Mark 12,19-23. The question of the Sadducees: They go to Jesus to criticize and to ridicule the faith in the Resurrection, to tell about the fictitious case of the woman who got married seven times and at the end she died without having any children. The so called Law of the levirate obliged the widow who had no children to marry the brother of the deceased husband. The son who would have been born from this new marriage would be considered the son of the deceased husband. And thus he would have descent. But in the case proposed by the Sadducees, the woman, in spite of the fact of having had seven husbands, remained without a husband. They asked Jesus: “In the Resurrection, when they will rise, to whom will the woman belong? Because seven had her as wife!” This was in order to say that to believe in the resurrection led the person to accept what was absurd.
• Mark 12, 24-27: The response of Jesus. Jesus responds harshly: Surely, the reason why you are wrong is that you understand neither the Scriptures nor the power of God“. Jesus explains that the condition of persons after death will be totally different from the present condition. After death there will be no marriage, but all will be as the angels in Heaven. The Sadducees imagined life in Heaven as life on earth. And at the end Jesus concludes: “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living! You are in great error”. The disciples are warned: those who are on the side of these Sadducees will be on the side opposite to God.
4) Personal questions
•
Today, which is the sense of this phrase: God is not the God of the dead but of
the living”?
• Do I also believe the same thing in the resurrection? What does the following mean for me: “I believe in the resurrection of the body and in life everlasting?
• Do I also believe the same thing in the resurrection? What does the following mean for me: “I believe in the resurrection of the body and in life everlasting?
5) Concluding Prayer
Lord,
I lift up my eyes to you who are enthroned in heaven.
Just as the eyes of slaves are on their masters' hand,
or the eyes of a slave-girl on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on Yahweh our God,
for him to take pity on us. (Ps 123,1-2)
Just as the eyes of slaves are on their masters' hand,
or the eyes of a slave-girl on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on Yahweh our God,
for him to take pity on us. (Ps 123,1-2)
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