Move with warm hearts

Pope Francis for this year’s World Mission Sunday chose the theme inspired by the story of the disciples on the way to Emmaus, in the Gospel of Luke (cf. 24:13-35): “Hearts on fire, feet on the move.” Notably, the two disciples were confused and dismayed but, their encounter with Christ in the word and in the breaking of the bread sparked in them the enthusiastic desire to set out again towards Jerusalem and proclaim that the Lord had truly risen. In this issue, we acknowledge the vital events commemorated in September and October. During the month of September, we celebrate the season of creation from September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, to October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The month of October on the other hand is a month of missions. It is also the month of the Rosary and as a country, the month when we commemorate our independence.  As a Church, we share particular situations in different regions of the world cited in the Instrumentum Laboris (IL); we are faced with the reality of too many wars, the threat lof climate change, the cry to oppose an economic system that produces exploitation, inequality and a throwaway culture and the desire to resist the homogenising pressure of cultural colonialism that crushes minorities. There are also situations of persecution to the point of martyrdom and emigration that progressively hollow out communities, threatening their very survival. Thus, though we are on the move as a Synodal Church, we become confused and disoriented by different things. Talk of the desert of loneliness, poverty, corruption, social stratifications, murders, betrayal among other things that surround us and make us inept to follow Christ. We are sometimes faithless, doubtful, weak, pessimistic and dismayed; in fact, “foolish and slow of heart.” It is only through our encounter with Christ that we are re-energized and arise on our feet to veer on. As a Synodal Church, let us move with warm hearts, cultivating love for God, love for our brothers and sisters and above all, love for the natural world. May God set our hearts on fire and nourish us with everlasting zeal to traverse the boundaries of our world. As a country, we will then be able to talk about ‘democracy’, ‘citizenship’ and ‘’Liberation.’ As stated by PM, Obote during the handover ceremony; “Our independence shall mean great responsibilities for us all. Collectively, we shall all be responsible to safeguard our independence and to ensure peace and stability within our country…” So, let us set out once more, illumined by our encounter with the risen Lord and prompted by His Spirit. Let us set out again with burning hearts, with our eyes open and our feet in motion. Let us set out to make other hearts burn with the word of God, to open the eyes of others to Jesus in the Eucharist and to invite everyone to walk together on the path of peace and salvation that God, in Christ, has bestowed upon all humanity. May Our Lady of the Way, Mother of Christ’s missionary disciples and Queen of Missions, pray for us!