ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

This evening we gather in this Church dedicated to Saint Athanasius. Entering this great house of God, one is immediately inspired by the beauty of the sacred art and images that raise our minds to God. However, tonight this sacred place is especially beautified by the gathering of God’s holy people. For we gather tonight in the Name of Jesus to celebrate the lives of the Holy Martyrs of Uganda.

Among these twenty-two young men from Africa we find Charles Lwanga, Andrew Kaggwa, Kizito and Gonzaga Gonza. They remained loyal to their faith in Jesus Christ rather than succumb to the evil demands of the king. They clearly acknowledged their Lord and Savior was Jesus Christ. They knew that the king could attack their bodies but had no claim on their souls, for their souls were purchased by the Blood of the Lamb of God. Their story reminds us of the words of the African American Spiritual— Oh Freedom: "Oh freedom, Oh freedom over me. And before I’ll be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave And go home to my God and be free!"

Our first reading this evening was taken from the Second Book of Maccabees. In the account, seven brothers and their mother were arrested and tortured by the king. They were told to violate the law of God. Yet, they responded to this persecution with courage and conviction. They remained faithful and loyal, even until death. The writer tells us: "One of the brothers, speaking for the others said, "What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors" (2 Mc 7:1-2).

This story of great courage is the same as that of the Ugandan Martyrs. Indeed, it is the same story as that of every martyr of Holy Mother Church. For the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Christian Faith that we celebrate today. It is also exactly what Jesus Himself teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus goes up a mountain and takes His seat as the New Moses and New Teacher and gives us the message of how we are called to live. Over and over, Jesus lists the attributes of a follower of His. Jesus calls "blessed" those who are persecuted for righteousness and He promises that the Kingdom of God is theirs! (cf. Mt 5:1-12).

We all know that it is not easy to follow Jesus and be a faithful member of His Body, the Church. We all know that sometimes we too are persecuted for our faith. This is why our Church gives us the saints, the holy men and women of every time and place that we can identify with in our struggle to avoid evil and do good. God does not need saints, we do! We need them to inspire us to be faithful, even in the midst of persecution.

In canonizing the Martyrs of Uganda in 1964, Pope Paul VI said this: "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! "That hope expressed by Pope Paul VI now becomes our prayer. We pray indeed that the Christian faith be born anew in the hearts and lives of all God’s people! And we entrust this prayer to our Blessed Mother Mary.

How good it is that in this celebration we gaze upon the altar and we see the source of our unity and the cause of our joy—Jesus Christ. Our Church is indeed one, holy, catholic and apostolic precisely because of Jesus Christ. The Holy Eucharist, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, must always be the center of our lives. It was the inspiration and strength of the Ugandan Martyrs and every saint of the Church and it is ours today and always. Amen.