[Salvation]

Divine Intimacy Devotional

Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

Presence of God

"I return thanks to You, O God, one and true Trinity, one sovereign divinity, holy and indivisible unity." (Roman Breviary)

Meditation

1. From Advent until today, the Church has had us consider the magnificent manifestations of God's mercy toward men: the Incarnation, the Redemption, Pentecost. Now she directs our attention to the source of these gifts, the most Holy Trinity, from whom everything proceeds. Spontaneously, there rises to our lips the hymn of gratitude expressed in the Introit of the Mass: "Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity; we will give glory to Him, because He has shown His mercy to us": the mercy of God the Father, "who so loved the world that He gave it His only-begotten Son" (cf. John 3,16); the mercy of God the Son, who to redeem us became incarnate and died on the Cross; the mercy of the Holy Spirit, who deigned to come down into our hearts to communicate to us the charity of God and to make us participate in the divine life. The Church has very fittingly included in the Office for today the beautiful antiphon inspired by St Paul: "Caritas Pater est, gratia Filius, communicatio Spiritus Sanctus, O beata Trinitas!"; the Father is charity, the Son is grace and the Holy Spirit is communication: applying this, the charity of the Father and the grace of the Son are communicated to us by the Holy Spirit, who diffuses them in our heart. The marvellous work of the Trinity in our souls could not be better synthesized. Today's Office and Mass form a veritable paean of praise and gratitude to the Blessed Trinity; they are a prolonged Gloria Patri and Te Deum. These two hymns — one a succinct epitome, and the other a majestic alternation of praises — are truly the hymns for today, intended to awaken in our hearts a deep echo of praise, thanksgiving and adoration.

2. Today's feast draws us to praise and glorify the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, not only because of the great mercy They have shown to men, but also and especially in Themselves and for Themselves: first, by reason of Their supreme essence which had no beginning and will never have an end; next, because of Their infinite perfections, Their majesty, essential beauty and goodness. Equally worthy of our adoration is the sublime fruitfulness of life by which the Father continually generates the Word, while from the Father and the Word proceeds the Holy Spirit. The Father is not prior to, or superior to the Word; nor are the Father and the Word prior to or greater than the Holy Spirit. The three divine Persons are all co-eternal and equal among Themselves: the divinity and all the divine perfections and attributes are one and the same in the Father, in the Son and in the Holy Spirit. What can man say in the presence of such a sublime mystery? What can he understand of it? Nothing! Yet what has been revealed to us is certain, because the Son of God Himself, "who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1,18). But the mystery is so sublime and it so exceeds our understanding, that we can only bow our heads and adore in silence. "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable are His ways!" exclaims St Paul in today's Epistle (Romans 11, 33-36). He who, having been "caught up in paradise", could neither know nor say anything except that he had "heard secret words which it is not granted to man to utter" (2 Corinthians 12, 2-4). In the presence of the unspeakable mystery of the Trinity the highest praise is silence, the silence of the soul that adores, knowing it is incapable of praising or glorifying the divine Majesty worthily.

Colloquy

"O eternal Trinity, You are a deep sea in which the more I seek the more I find, and the more I find, the more I seek to know You. You fill us insatiably, because the soul, before the abyss which You are, is always famished; and hungering for You, O eternal Trinity, it desires to behold truth in Your light. As the thirsty hart pants after the fount of living water, so does my soul long to leave this gloomy body and see You as You are, in truth.

"O unfathomable depth! O Deity eternal! O deep ocean! What more could You give me than to give me Yourself? You are an ever-burning fire; You consume and are not consumed. By Your fire, You consume every trace of self-love in the soul. You are a Fire which drives away all coldness and illumines minds with its light, and with this light You have made me know Your truth. Truly this light is a sea which feeds the soul until it is all immersed in You, O peaceful Sea, eternal Trinity! The water of this sea is never turbid; it never causes fear, but gives knowledge of the truth. This water is transparent and discloses hidden things; and a living faith gives such abundance of light that the soul almost attains to certitude in what it believes.

"You are the supreme and infinite Good, good above all good; good which is joyful, incomprehensible, inestimable; beauty exceeding all other beauty; wisdom surpassing all wisdom, because You are Wisdom itself. Food of angels, giving Yourself with fire of love to men! You are the garment which covers our nakedness; You feed us, hungry as we are, with Your sweetness, because You are all sweetness with no bitterness. Clothe me, O eternal Trinity, clothe me with Yourself, so that I may pass this mortal life in true obedience and in the light of the most holy faith with which You have inebriated my soul." (St Catherine of Siena)

[Salvation]

Saint Charles Lwanga & Companions, Martyrs

Saint Charles Lwanga & Companions, Martyrs
Memorial
June 3rd

 

King Mwanga of Uganda launched persecutions of Christians in response to their opposition to his homosexual and corrupt court. St. Charles, the master of his pages, was martyred with fourteen other pages on June 3, 1886; other companions were killed later.

Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003

 

Patronage:
African Catholic Youth Action, Catholic youth, converts, torture victims

Collect:
Father,
You have made the blood of the martyrs
the seed of Christians.
May the witness of Saint Charles and his companions
and their loyalty to Christ in the face of torture
inspire countless men and women
to live the Christian faith.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: II Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14
It happened also that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were being compelled by the king, under torture with whips and cords, to partake of unlawful swine's flesh. One of them, acting as their spokesman, said, "What do you intend to ask and learn from us? For we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our fathers."

And when he was at his last breath, he said, "You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws."

After him, the third was the victim of their sport. When it was demanded, he quickly put out his tongue and courageously stretched forth his hands, and said nobly, "I got these from Heaven, and because of His laws I disdain them, and from Him I hope to get them back again." As a result the king himself and those with him were astonished at the young man's spirit, for he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

When he too had died, they maltreated and tortured the fourth in the same way. And when he was near death, he said, "One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by Him. But for you there will be no resurrection to life!"

Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:1-12
Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Prayers:

• Martyrs of Uganda, pray for the faith where it is danger and for Christians who must suffer because of their faith. Give them the same courage, zeal, and joy you showed. And help those of us who live in places where Christianity is accepted to remain aware of the persecution in other parts of the world. Amen
• Dear Lord, the Uganda Martyrs were willing to give their lives as witness of their faith in You. Help us to have the same courage and bestow upon us the faith of these martyrs - that we too may live our lives as witness to Your Love for us, and our love of You.

 

"The African martyrs add another page to the Church's roll of honor -- an occasion both of mourning and of joy. These African martyrs herald the dawn of a new age. If only the mind of man might be directed not toward persecutions and religious conflicts but toward a rebirth of Christianity and civilization! Africa has been washed by the blood of these latest martyrs, and first of this new age (and, God willing, let them be the last, although such a holocaust is precious indeed). Africa is reborn free and independent."
- from the homily at the canonization of Saint Charles Lwanga and companions by Pope Paul VI

Died at Namugongo, Uganda, 1885-1887; beatified in 1920; canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1964; feast added to the Roman Calendar in 1969; declared the protomartyrs of Black Africa. Twenty-two Catholic men, including seventeen young pages between the ages of 13 and 30, plus some Protestants, were martyred by King Mwanga of Uganda. Their heroic courage rivalled that of the early martyrs.

Catholic Christianity began to take root in Uganda after Cardinal Lavigerie's White Fathers established missions in central Africa in 1879. Progress was made under the rule of the not unfriendly local chieftain named Mtesa; however, his successor, Mwanga detested the faith that would accuse him of debauchery.

King Mwanga of Uganda took as chief steward a young Christian named Joseph Msaka Balikuddembe. Joseph detested the king's debauched ways, especially his attempts to corrupt other young men of Uganda, whom the steward tried to protect. Mwanga distrusted foreign visitors, fearing they might report his evil ways to the British government, which had given him his power.

In October 1885, Mwanga ordered his followers to kill an Anglican missionary, Bishop James Hannington. The Catholic steward Joseph protested at the murder of a fellow Christian. The following month, Mwanga had him beheaded. "A Christian who gives his life for God is not afraid to die," Joseph proclaimed. "Mwanga has condemned me without cause; but tell him I forgive him from my heart." To the king's astonishment, the Christians were not cowed by his sudden outrage.

Six months later Mwanga's savagery was even worse. He discovered that a 14-year-old page, Mwafu, had been receiving instruction in the Catholic faith. He called for Denis Sebuggwago, who had been teaching the page, and killed him by thrusting a butcher's cleaver or spear through his throat. That night Charles Lwanga, the new master of the pages, baptized five of them including Kizito, who he had repeatedly rescued from Mwanga's pederasty.

The next day the baptisms were discovered. Enraged, Mwanga assembled all the pages and ordered the Christians to separate themselves from the others. Fifteen, all under the age of 25, did so at once and were later joined by two others who were already under arrest and by two soldiers. They were asked if they wished to remain Christian and each replied, "Until death." The king then ordered every Protestant and Catholic living in the royal enclosure to be put to death.

Thirty-two Catholics and Protestants were led 37 miles away to a place called Namugongo to be burned to death in a literal holocaust. Three were killed on the way. One of these, a district judge named Matthias Kalemba, declared, "God will rescue me. But you will not see how he does it, because he will take my soul and leave you only my body." He was cut into pieces and left to die slowly by the roadside.

The rest of the martyrs were taken to Namugongo. They were imprisoned there for seven days while a huge pyre was prepared. At the appointed time on Ascension Day, they were forced to lie down on reed mats. Wrapped up in the mats and tightly bound, they were laid side by side. Fuel was poured on them, and they were set afire. As their executioners sang barbarously, the martyrs died confidently praying to their Savior.

The persecution spread. A leader among the confessors was Matthias Murumba, who was killed with revolting cruelty. During the reign of Mwanga about 100 Christians of various denominations were martyred.

• Andrew Kagwa (Kaggwa, d. 1886) was a native chief of Kigowa and the royal bandmaster of King Mwanga. He was baptized in 1881, converted his wife, and became active in missionary work. He had gathered a large body of catechumens around him. Condemned to death for the faith, he right arm was severed from his body before he was beheaded.
• Charles Lwanga (d. 1886) was a servant of the king, who was baptized in November 1885 and martyred the following June. He succeeded Joseph Mkasa as master of the pages and continued his predecessor's censure of the king's homosexual practices and corruption of the young pages. This intensified King Mwanga's hatred of Catholics.
• Denis (Dionysius) Sebuggwago (Sebuggwawo) (d. 1885) was a servant of the King. He killed with a butcher's cleaver by the king himself because he was caught teaching the catechism. He was the first victim of the persecution.
• John Maria Muzeyi (d. 1886) practiced the corporal works of mercy until his martyrdom.
• Joseph Mikasa (Mkasa, Musaka) Balikuddembe (d. 1885), was the Christian steward in charge of the pages, at the court of King Mwanga of Uganda. He was beheaded on November 15, when he denounced the king's notorious immoralities and his murder of Joseph Harrington, a Protestant missionary, and his group.
• Kizito (d. 1886), 13-year old boy, who went to his death "laughing and chattering," was saved from the king's pedophilic tendencies by Charles Lwanga, who baptized the child.
• Mbanga (Mbaga) Tuzinde (d. 1886) was a page to the king and the adopted son of the chief executioner. He had to resist the pleas of his family up until the moment of he was thrown on the pyre at Namuyongo. At the last moment his father killed him with a blow to the neck to prevent him from suffering the agony of burning.
• Matthias Kalemba (d. 1886) was a Membo judge, who was tortured to death.
• Matthias Murumba, a Muslim assistant judge who converted, first to Protestantism, then to the Catholic faith. He was baptized by Fr. Livinhac, then martyred on Kumpala Hill.
• Pontain Ngondwe (d. 1886), a soldier in the Royal Guard (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Farmer, Faupel, Gill, Thoonen, Walsh, White).

(source: For All the Saints, Saint Patrick's church, Washington, DC)