June 3 - Homily for Today

Charles Lwanga (ca. 1860-86) and his companions are regarded as the protomartyrs (first martyrs) of black Africa. He was one of twenty-two African Catholics who were executed for their faith. Twenty-four Protestants were also martyred.

Charles was born in Buddu County, Uganda and became a catechumen after learning of Christianity from two members of the chief’s court. He served as an assistant to Joseph Mkasa, who was in charge of the king’s pages. On the night of Mikasa’s martyrdom by beheading upon the orders of the new chief, Charles requested and received Baptism. He then became head of the pages and spent much of his energy protecting them from the chief’s sexual designs upon them. He instructed the pages in the Christian faith and then, when their lives were threatened, he baptized them.

Charles and the pages were forced to confess their faith, arrested, and then taken on a brutal sixteen-mile march to a town on Lake Victoria. Three of the youths were killed on the way. Charles and six others suffered martyred by burning on the feast of the Ascension (June 3, 1886). It is said that their courage and cheerfulness in the face of death were reminiscent of the spirit of the early Christian martyrs.

These martyrs were beatified in 1920 and canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1964.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven: may we like the Uganda martyrs, put our faith on the line, not just because it is fashionable, but because we are impelled by the love of Christ for us, who loved us first and gave his life so that we might be “freed from the hunter’s snare!”

Let us rejoice and be glad that we are counted worthy to suffer for Christ and to imitate his total trust and confidence in the Father. He was rewarded for such unconditional trust – and so will we be!

Amen!