Homily Ordinary 12A: Persecution is part of the Christian equation

 Homily for 12^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2026

20200621 @7pm – Ascension

Introduction

I was in the third grade when I first wanted to become a priest. I saw the priest at the altar in those nice vestments, everybody calling him "Father." But what impressed me most was that he could stand there and preach for twenty minutes and nobody talked back to him. So I told my mother, "I want to be that guy."

Of course, I had to wait a few more years before I could formally apply to the seminary. When the time finally came, I did. Very soon, however, I discovered that my childhood image of the priesthood was not quite complete. Seminary formation had its challenges. Priesthood had even greater challenges. Being a minister of Jesus Christ is no walk in the park.

One of the things that helped me overcome my youthful naiveté was studying Scripture. For example, today’s readings remind us of something that every disciple, and especially every minister of the Gospel, eventually learns: persecution is not an accident of the Christian life. It is part and parcel of the Christian equation.

Scripture and Theology

Our first reading presents the prophet Jeremiah. God called him at a critical moment in Israel's history. The people had turned away from the Lord. They were convinced everything was fine when it was not.  Jeremiah's mission was to tell them the truth.

Jeremiah’s message was simple: “repent and return to God.” If they refused, disaster would come upon them. Jerusalem would fall. The Temple would be destroyed. God would use foreign nations to discipline His people.

Now imagine receiving that assignment of Jeremiah.  Imagine being told by God to spend your life delivering a message that people do not want to hear.  Then imagine the response of the people, which is, like today, not to examine or listen to the message, but to attack the messenger.

Jeremiah is mocked, rejected, threatened, and eventually condemned. You can tell his anguish as he cries: "I hear the whisperings of many: . . . Denounce! Let us denounce him!'" Even his friends are watching for him to fail.  Earlier in the book, Jeremiah even complained to God: "You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped.” In other words, "Lord, this is not what I signed up for."

Jeremiah discovers that proclaiming God's truth does not always earn applause. Often it earns ridicule. Often it earns rejection. Sometimes it earns persecution.

Yet he also discovers something else. God never abandons those whom He sends.  That is why he can finally proclaim: "But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion." The opposition is real. The suffering is real. But God is more real still.

That same lesson appears in today's Gospel.  Jesus is preparing the Twelve for their mission. Notice what He does not say. He does not say, "If people oppose you." He does not say, "If persecution comes." No. He assumes it will come. He tells them, three times: "Fear no one."  "Do not be afraid." "Do not be afraid."

Jesus knows that anyone who faithfully proclaims the Gospel will eventually encounter opposition. But He also knows that God is greater than every opponent. God, the one who watches over the sparrows watches over His disciples as well.

Christian Life

We need to hear that message today.  And I am not speaking only to priests, deacons, and bishops. Through baptism, every one of us is called to be a witness to Christ.  And Jesus never promised that this would be an easy ride; in fact, he promised the opposite.  The measure of a disciple is not whether he encounters opposition, but whether he remains faithful when opposition comes

That is because the Gospel challenges every human heart. It challenges our sins, our selfishness, our pride, and our idols. And whenever the Gospel challenges us, there is a temptation to reject the messenger rather than receive the message.  That has been true throughout the history of the Church.  Just look at the recent popes, today’s Jeremiah’s who have been attacked by one group or other

In 1961 Pope John XXIII wrote a document called in Latin Mater et Magistra, which translates to Mother and Teacher, that the Church is both a Mother and Teacher.  Unfortunately then, as today, many Catholics like teenagers responded: “I will accept you as my mother, but not as my teacher.”  It is one thing to struggle with understanding and living by Church teaching on any subject, as we all do.  It is another thing to reject it out of hand and to do so with contempt.

Pope Benedict XVI, was perhaps the greatest theologian of the last one hundred years.  When he rightly diagnosed the central problem of today’s world, the dictatorship of relativism and the abandonment of truth, he was routinely attacked.

Perhaps no recent pope has experienced the fate of Jeremiah than Pope Francis. He tried to remind us of the basic teachings of the gospel, God’s love and mercy, concern for the little ones and the marginalized.  And for his efforts, he was called all manner of names, some of which I cannot repeat at this pulpit.

And now with the current Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, who has been our shepherd for a little more than a year.  Politicians, even Catholic ones, activists, media personalities, take wanton pleasure in condemning him for his message of peace and reconciliation.  

But this is not really about Pope Leo or any pope for that matter. It is about something much deeper.  Too often we judge the Gospel through the lens of ideology rather than judging ideology through the lens of the Gospel. That is why the attacks often come from opposite directions at the same time.  One group says the pope is too conservative.  Another says he is too progressive. Instead of asking, "How must I change in order to follow Christ?" we ask, "How can I make Christ support what I already think?"

This temptation is not found in only one political or ideological movement, but in all of them.  Whenever our political loyalties, cultural preferences, or personal opinions become more important than the Gospel, like the people of Jeremiah’s time, we have begun to follow something other than our Lord.

We should not be surprised when faithful disciples are opposed today, like they did with Jeremiah. After all, if the world rejected the perfect preacher, Jesus Christ Himself, and killed him on the Cross, why should we expect a better reception?

And this applies, not just to our leaders, but even to us in our daily lives.  Think of parents trying to raise children in the faith today. Sometimes they are mocked for insisting on Sunday Mass. Sometimes they are criticized for teaching Christian sexual morality. Sometimes they are accused of being old-fashioned simply because they insist on traditional values like modesty and discipline.

Yet, faithful they must remain, despite the opposition and attacks.  Parents must preach the Gospel in their homes, at work, on the street.  And every baptized Christian must bear witness to Christ, whether the message is welcomed or rejected.  Our responsibility is not to make the Gospel popular, but fidelity to it.

Conclusion

And today, Father’s Day, as we honour our natural fathers, let us not forget to pray for our fathers in the faith, our priests and bishops.  Pray for me in a special way, 46 years since I first wanted to be a priest and 28 years since my ordination, that nothing will stop me and my brother priests, from preaching the Gospel in season and out of season. And pray the same for yourselves. For whether we are fathers in our families, priests in our parishes, or disciples in the world, the Lord says the same thing to all of us today: "Fear no one... Do not be afraid... You are worth more than many sparrows."

Homily Ordinary 11A: We are loved, we are called, we are sent

 Homily for 11^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2026

20260614 – EHS Formation House Namugongo

Introduction

My dear Sisters the readings today tell a beautiful story. In three simple steps, they tell us:

·        First, God loves us and Jesus makes that love visible.

·        Second, Jesus calls laborers to share in that mission of sharing God’s love.

·        Third, the laborers are called to give freely what they have received.

So let us reflect on these three points.

Scripture and Theology

In the first reading, we hear the message that God loves us first, when God speaks to Israel through Moses and tells them:  "You shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people ... a kingdom of priests, a holy nation."

These words are remarkable because they are spoken to a people who have not always been faithful. They have complained in the desert. They have doubted. They have grumbled against Moses and against God.

Yet before God asks anything of them, He reminds them how much He loves them.  God does not begin with commandments. He begins with love. Before Israel is told what to do, she is told who she is, God’s beloved.

The same is true for us. Before you are a sister, a novice, a postulant, or a candidate, you are a beloved daughter of God.  Every vocation begins here, with the realization that God loves you.

Sometimes young people wonder whether they are worthy of a vocation. They wonder whether they are holy enough, generous enough, or capable enough.  But vocation does not begin because we are worthy. It begins because God loves us first, like he first loved Israel.

The greatest miracle in your vocation is not that you chose God. The greatest miracle is that God chose you first.  God loved you enough to choose you.  Every authentic vocation is a response to a love that was already there.  We love because He first loved us.

In the Gospel, we see what that divine love looks like in practice.  Jesus makes God’s love visible in human form.

We heard St. Matthew tell us in the gospel: "At the sight of the crowds, Jesus' heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd."

Jesus does not simply observe human suffering. He is moved by it.

·        He really sees the sick.

·        He really sees the confused.

·        He really sees the poor.

·        He really sees the sinners.

·        He really sees those who have lost their way.

And His heart is filled with compassion.  This is the heart of God revealed in human flesh. The God who told Israel, "You are my special possession," now walks among His people in Jesus Christ.

To understand what Jesus is doing here, we can look at the difference between sympathy and empathy.  Sympathy says, "I feel sorry for you."  Empathy says, "I feel sorry with you. I enter into your experience. I try to understand what you are carrying." Jesus does exactly that and more. He not only feels sorry for the crowds. He does not simply understand their suffering. He enters into it. He takes it upon Himself. He becomes one of us. He carries our burdens and ultimately gives His life for us on the Cross.

For you as Eucharistic Handmaids, this is especially important.  The One whom you adore in the Blessed Sacrament is this same Jesus whose heart was moved with pity for the crowds.  The Eucharist is not merely Christ's presence. It is the presence of the compassionate Shepherd who continues to love His people.  The more closely we draw near to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, the more we learn to love as He loves, to not merely sympathise with their problems, but empathise with them and try to find solutions to them.

That is why after seeing the crowds, Jesus moves to the second step.  He calls people to help him attend to the crowds. He says: "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few."  Notice that Jesus does not say the harvest is small.  The harvest is abundant. The problem is not that there are no souls to save. The problem is that there are too few laborers.

Then Jesus immediately begins calling the Twelve Apostles and sending them out. In other words, He tells them to pray for laborers and then He makes them the answer to that prayer.

God has always worked through human instruments. He could have evangelized the world directly. Instead He called Moses. He called the prophets. He called the Apostles. He called the saints.

The Twelve were not extraordinary men. They were ordinary men with weaknesses and limitations.  Yet Christ entrusted them with His mission. The same remains true today. The Lord does not necessarily call the most talented or the most capable. Rather, He takes ordinary people and does extraordinary things through them. A vocation is not saying, "Lord, I am capable." A vocation is saying, "Lord, I am available."

Yet we should notice something else. Jesus does not call the Twelve to privilege. He calls them to service. The Apostles are not chosen so that others may serve them. They are chosen so that they may serve others. This is an important lesson for every priest, religious, and candidate.

One of the great temptations in every vocation is gradually to shift the focus from Christ's mission to ourselves. We can begin with great generosity and enthusiasm. But over time we may begin asking different questions. Instead of asking, "What does Christ need from me?" we begin asking, "What do I want for myself?" Instead of asking, "How can I serve?" we begin asking, "What can I gain?"  This temptation is not found only in the world. It can enter religious life and priesthood as well.

·        Sometimes we become more concerned about our own comfort than about the mission.

·        Sometimes we become more concerned about our personal interests than about the people entrusted to us.

·        Sometimes we become more concerned about our families than about the family of God.

Of course, we must continue to love our families. Gratitude and filial love remain important virtues. But when we freely embrace a vocation, we freely place Christ and His Kingdom first. The question is not, "What can religious life do for me?" The question is, "How can I give myself more completely to Christ and to His people?"

Jesus concludes His instructions with these words, the third step: "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."

Everything begins as a gift. None of us purchased our faith. None of us earned our baptism. None of us deserved God's mercy. None of us bought our vocation. Everything has been received freely. And because it has been received freely, it must be given freely. The Christian life is not based on calculation. The world teaches us to calculate. What will I get? What will I gain? What is in it for me?

Jesus teaches a different logic.

·        The logic of self-gift.

·        The logic of generosity.

·        The logic of the Cross.

The saints changed the world because they were willing to spend themselves completely. They did not hold back. They poured themselves out for God and for His people.

A religious vocation becomes fruitful not when a sister preserves herself, but when she gives herself away in love and service. The seed bears fruit only when it falls into the earth and dies.

Christian Life

There is one final point. When Jesus speaks about the harvest, we often imagine distant mission territories, parishes, schools, hospitals, and apostolates.  Certainly these are part of the harvest.

But the first harvest may be much closer than we think. For many of you, the first field entrusted to you is your own community. Before we bring strangers to Christ, we must help our sisters come closer to Christ. Before we evangelize the world, we must evangelize our own house. Before we speak about charity, we must practice charity with those who live under the same roof.

·        The harvest begins when a sister encourages another sister who is discouraged.

·        The harvest begins when a candidate patiently bears with the weaknesses of another.

·        The harvest begins when forgiveness is offered after a misunderstanding.

·        The harvest begins when you share Christ’s love with someone who feels lonely, overlooked, or forgotten encounters.

Some of the most important souls God has entrusted to you are sitting beside you in chapel, at table, in recreation, and in the ordinary routines of community life. The Lord is asking you not only to bring people to Christ someday, somewhere else. He is asking you to bring one another to Christ today.

Conclusion

My dear sisters and candidates, today's readings remind us of four great truths.

·        First, God loves us and calls us His special possession; Jesus reveals that love through His compassionate heart.

·        Second, He calls laborers to share in His mission.

·        Third, He asks those laborers to give freely because they have freely received.

May the Eucharistic Lord help each of us to remember that we are loved, called, and sent.

May He free us from seeking ourselves and teach us instead to give ourselves generously.

May He help us place His Kingdom before our own interests.

And may He make our communities places where His love is experienced, His compassion is visible, and His harvest is already being gathered.

Homily Sanctoral June 3rd, Uganda Martyrs - The diverse ways of witnessing to the faith

 Homily for St. Charles Lwanga and Companions 2026

20260603 @ Mother Kevin Secondary School, Kanyenye

Introduction

My dear brothers and sisters, when I was growing up, we used to be asked a simple maths question to test our common sense: "There are ten birds sitting on a tree. Then someone kills one with a catapult. How many birds remain?"

While the clever kids in maths would answer, nine, of course the correct answer is zero. The moment one bird is struck, all the others fly away.

Why? Why do they fly away?

Because protecting one's life is natural. Every living creature instinctively avoids danger. If someone suddenly shouted that there was a snake in this room, many of us would jump. If we heard gunshots nearby, we would all take cover. We lock our doors at night. We avoid dangerous places. Life is precious.

That is why today’s feast of the Uganda Martyrs force us to ask a very important question:

·        If life is so precious, what made these men, many of them young men, willingly give it up?  What made young pages in the king's court walk toward death instead of simply saying, "I no longer believe"?

·        What made a fourteen-year-old boy like Saint Kizito smile on the way to execution?

·        What gave them such courage?

The answer is simple: Faith. Not a weak faith. Not a faith of convenience. Not a faith that lasts only when things are easy.  A deep faith. A faith that convinced them that God was worth more than anything else—even life itself.

Scripture and Theology

The readings chosen by the Church for today’s celebration help us understand answer these questions.

In the first reading, we hear about the seven brothers and their mother who chose death rather than disobey God's law.  To modern ears, their decision sounds extreme. We might ask, "Why not just eat the pork and save your life?" I am sure many of your here even like pork.

But they understood something many people today have forgotten: Some things are more important than comfort. Some things are more important than popularity. Some things are even more important than life itself.

Again and again they declare their confidence that God will raise them up. Their faith gave them courage. The same was true of the Uganda Martyrs.

What makes the story of the Uganda Martyrs even more remarkable is that Christianity had arrived in Uganda only a few years earlier. Some of the martyrs had been baptized only recently, Kizito baptized on the way to execution. One was even still a catechumen. Yet they possessed extraordinary faith.

Think about the diversity among them.

·        Some were important officials in the king's court.

·        Others were ordinary workers.

·        Some were adults.

·        One was a teenager.

And right next to the burning Catholic martyrs, there were also Anglican martyrs who shared the same desire to give their lives to God, despite their different denominations. Yet all of them stood together.

Their witness reminds us that holiness is not reserved for one type of person. God calls all of us. And that includes every student sitting here today.

The Uganda Martyrs were not priests. They were not bishops. They were not religious sisters. They were ordinary young lay Catholics. Many of them were not much older than some of you.

The Gospel helps us understand even more deeply what was happening in the hearts of the martyrs. Jesus says: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Now, if we are honest, that sounds completely backwards.

The world says:

·        "Blessed are the powerful."

·        "Blessed are the rich."

·        "Blessed are the popular."

·        "Blessed are those who always get their own way."

But Jesus says:

·        "Blessed are the pure in heart."

·        "Blessed are the merciful."

·        "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness."

·        "Blessed are those who are persecuted because they do what is right."

The Uganda Martyrs believed Jesus instead of the world.  They believed that the Beatitudes were not merely beautiful words but the truth.

·        When Charles Lwanga protected the younger pages entrusted to his care, he chose righteousness over safety.

·        When Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe tried to protect the life of the Protestant Bishop, Hannington, he chose Christ over fear.

·        When Matia Mulumba, a high government official, put his position in danger by standing up for gospel, he was living the Beatitudes.

They lost their lives, but they gained the Kingdom.

Then Saint Paul, in the second reading, tells us where they found the strength to do this.

·        He asks: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?"

·        Then he gives a whole list: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, danger, the sword?

·        And his answer is simple: "Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

That is the faith of the martyrs. They were not fearless because they were naturally brave. They were fearless because they knew they were loved. They knew that even if the king took everything from them—even their lives—he could not take Christ from them. The flames of Namugongo could burn their bodies, but they could not separate them from the love of Christ. That is why they could face death with peace. That is why they could remain faithful to the end.

Christian Life

Now perhaps none of us will ever be asked to die for the faith in the Uganda Martyrs did or the way the Maccabees brothers did. But every one of us will be asked to live for it. And sometimes living for Christ can be harder than we think.

Students today face different fires from those of Namugongo. The martyrs faced literal flames. You face the flames of peer pressure.

·        The pressure to fit in.

·        The pressure to cheat in examinations.

·        The pressure to join others in bullying.

·        The pressure to make fun of those who take their faith seriously.

·        The pressure to engage in relationships that do not respect God's plan.

·        The pressure to spend more time on social media than with God.

·        The pressure to be one person in church and a completely different person in the dormitory.

Every generation has its test. The question is not whether we will be tested. The question is whether we will remain faithful.

Every day you must decide whether you believe the Beatitudes or whether you believe the world.

·        Do you believe that the pure in heart are truly blessed?

·        Do you believe that doing what is right is worth the cost?

·        Do you believe that Christ's love is worth more than popularity, marks obtained dishonestly, or acceptance by the crowd?

That is the same choice the martyrs faced, only in a different form.

Saint Charles Lwanga's witness is especially relevant here. One of the reasons he was killed was because he refused to cooperate with the immoral demands of the king. He protected the younger boys entrusted to his care. He knew that following Christ meant saying "no" when everyone else was saying "yes."

That takes courage. The same courage is needed today.

·        When everyone is cheating, will you remain honest?

·        When everyone is gossiping, will you refuse?

·        When everyone is mocking a classmate, will you defend him or her?

·        When everyone is compromising their values, will you stand firm?

That is modern martyrdom. Not martyrdom of blood. But martyrdom of character. Martyrdom of integrity. Martyrdom of faithfulness.

Conclusion

My dear young people, the Uganda Martyrs were not superheroes. They were ordinary young men transformed by extraordinary faith. Their secret was not strength. Their secret was conviction. They truly believed that Jesus Christ was worth everything.

Today, God is not asking most of us to die for the faith. But He is asking us to live it.

·        To be honest.

·        To be pure.

·        To be prayerful.

·        To be courageous.

·        To be faithful when it is difficult.

·        To be witnesses.

The word martyr means witness. Every student here is called to be a witness. Not necessarily by shedding your blood, but by living in such a way that others can see Christ in you.

And if there is one lesson that the Uganda Martyrs teach us today, it is this: faith is not measured by how loudly we call ourselves Christians, but by how faithfully we follow Christ when it costs us something.

As we honour Saint Charles Lwanga, Saint Kizito, Saint Matthias Mulumba, Saint Denis Ssebuggwawo, and all their companions today, let us pray for the same faith that inspired them.

·        A faith that does not run away when things become difficult.

·        A faith that remains firm when others compromise.

·        A faith that trusts that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

·        A faith that makes us true witnesses.

And one day, when we stand before God, may we be able to say that we used every gift He gave us and remained faithful to Him until the end; and then, like he welcomed St. Charles and his companions into his Kingdom, he will say to you and me, “Well done good and faithful servant; come and share in your Master’s happiness.”