Saints Charles Lwanga and companions, Martyrs.

Saturday 3rd June 2023 Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A

Saints Charles Lwanga and companions, Martyrs.

Saints Charles Lwanga and companions were 21 in number, the youngest of which was just 13 years old. They were tortured and burnt alive by the Ugandan king Mwanga between 1885 to 1887. They were killed for being Christians, for refusing to be sodomised by the king whose atrocities they decried.

But soon after their execution, the number of believers quadrupled. Their death brought so much renewal that St Charles was adopted as the Patron of Catholic action and African Youth. This feast is called a Ugandan martyrs feast and is a public holiday in Uganda.

By the virtue of our faith and life in the spirit, our sufferings are never in vain. They do become sources of salvation to others. Through these martyrs’ faithfulness in suffering and death, souls were drawn to Christ. Let us pray that through our own faithful endurance in sufferings, we may become channels of salvation for others. We make our prayers through Christ Our Lord. Amen