The theme for this year’s Martyrs’ day celebration taken from the Gospel of (Luke 17:5) is: “Lord Increase our Faith.” This is what the apostles prayed for and Jesus’ reply to them is simple: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.This year like all the other years before Covid-19, we delve back into the celebration of the Holy Martyrs of Uganda who were canonized in 1964. These twenty two young men and boys whose martyrdom in 1886 is considered the spark that ignited the flame of Christianity in modern Africa in general and Uganda in particular, are revered for their faith, courage and their counter cultural witness to Christ. It is not by coincidence that the theme this year is calling on an increase in faith. The times have changed and we must acknowledge that we are humanly lacking and therefore need to be strengthened in God’s love. Fr Paulino Twesigye Mondo MCCJ in this issue puts into perspective the essence of Martyrdom: Martyrdom inspires us to avoid the tendency of being born scared. Martyrs encourage us never simply to go through pain but to grow through pain. Faith confirms to us that we are Children of the resurrection. Even in the face of death, we can be confident that our Father is God of eternal life…’ he explains. In 1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT, we are told that three things stand the test of time: “Three things will last forever–faith, hope, and love–and the greatest of these is love.” The Bible goes ahead to warn us that faith, which is not lived is dead. Therefore, to be relevant today, we must be able to emulate the Uganda martyrs and stand for what we believe in. This involves not only speaking the truth and living in truth but also living in love and in faith under God’s care and love. This is what our society and the world is battling with today, to live in truth and for the truth. Herein, we focus on press freedom, which Timothy Kalyegira explains is a right to beexercised and not necessarily an obligation to be carried out. We thus implore: Should the truth be compromised? The Holy Father suggests otherwise; ‘…it is the heart that moves us towards an open and welcoming way of communicating.’ This is what we need today, to train our hearts to see, to listen and to speak the truth with faith and in faith.
The blood of the Uganda Martyrs is the seed of the Church. We pray that we who celebrate these courageous witnesses of God’s love, may be steadfast in our faith, even unto death. May the seed of faith planted by the Uganda Martyrs find fertile ground on which to germinate and may their journey of faith be a journey each one of us has to make in this world to eternity. We will be able to rejoice with the choirs of heaven and say; Beebale, Amansi ne Mapeera, beebale abaleeta ekitangaala!
