Vatican City, 29 November 2015 (VIS)
The Pope's day ended with an encounter with the priests, men and
women religious, and seminarians in the cathedral of Kampala,
dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Beforehand the Holy Father
met with the bishops of Uganda, around thirty in number, including
bishops emeritus, in the archbishop's residence near the cathedral.
Upon arrival he was greeted by the
bishop responsible for consecrated life, John Baptist Kaggwa, to whom
he handed the discourse he had prepared for the occasion, and
addressed some extemporaneous remarks in Spanish to those present,
apologising for nt doing so in English.
“There are three things I want to
say”, Francis began. “First, in the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses
reminds his people: 'Do not forget'. He repeats it several times
throughout the book: 'Do not forget'. Do not forget all that God has
done for the people. The first thing I want to say is: ask for the
grace of memory. As I said to the young, the blood of the Catholics
of Uganda is mixed the blood of martyrs. Do not lose the memory of
this seed, so in this way you will continue to grow. The main enemy
of memory is forgetfulness, but it is not the most dangerous. The
most dangerous enemy of memory is getting used to inheriting the
goods of our fathers. The Church in Uganda should never grow
accustomed to viewing her martyrs as a distant memory. Martyr means
witness. The Church in Uganda, to be faithful to this memory, must
continue to be a witness. You should not 'live off the interest'.
Past glories have been the beginning, but you must build future
glories too. And this is the task that the Church entrusts to you: to
bear witness, like the martyrs who gave their lives for the Gospel”.
“In order to be witnesses, we need
faithfulness. Fidelity to memory, fidelity to our vocation, fidelity
to apostolic zeal. Faithfulness means following the way of holiness.
It means doing what previous witnesses did: being missionaries.
Perhaps here in Uganda there are dioceses that have many priests and
dioceses that have few. Faithfulness means suggesting to the bishop
that you go to another diocese in need of missionaries. And this is
not easy. Faithfulness means perseverance in your vocation. Here I
wish to thank the Sisters of the House of Mercy in a special way for
the example of faithfulness they give: fidelity to the poor, the sick
and the needy, because Christ is there. Uganda has been irrigated by
the blood of martyrs and witnesses. Today it is necessary to continue
to irrigate it, and to welcome new challenges, new witnesses and new
missions. Otherwise, you will lose the great wealth you have, and the
'pearl of Africa' will end up preserved in a museum, because this is
how the devil attacks , little by little. I am speaking not only to
priests, but also to the religious. But I wish to say this in a
special way to priests, with regard to the problem of mission: may
priests in dioceses where the clergy is well-represented offer
themselves to diocese with fewer clergy, so Uganda can continue to be
missionary”.
“Memory, which means fidelity; and
fidelity, which is only possible with the prayer. If a religious, a
nun or a priest stops praying or prays rarely, because he or she has
a lot of work, then he or she has already started to lose memory,
which means losing faithfulness. Prayer also means humiliation: the
humiliation of going regularly to the confessor, to tell him your
sins. You can not limp with both legs. We men and women religious,
priests can not lead a double life. If you are a sinner, if you are a
sinner, ask forgiveness. But not to hide a lack of fidelity. Do not
close memory away in the cupboard”.
“Memory, new challenges, faithfulness
to memory, and prayer. Prayer always begins with recognition that we
are sinners. With these three pillars the “pearl of Africa” will
continue to be a pearl, and not just a phrase we find in the
dictionary. May the martyrs, who gave strength to this Church, help
you to move forward in memory, fidelity and prayer. And please, I ask
you not to forget to pray for me”.
Finally, Pope Francis invited those
present to pray the Hail Mary together.
The following is the discourse prepared
by the Holy Father for his encounter with the clergy.
“Dear Brother Priests, Religious and
Seminarians,
I am happy to be with you, and I thank
you for your cordial welcome. I especially thank the speakers for
bearing witness to your hopes and concerns, and, above all, the joy
which inspires you in your service to God’s people in Uganda.
I am pleased, too, that our meeting
takes place on the eve of the First Sunday of Advent, a season which
invites us to look to new beginnings. This Advent we are also
preparing to cross the threshold of the extraordinary Jubilee Year of
Mercy which I have called for the whole Church.
As we approach the Jubilee of Mercy, I
would ask you two questions. First: who are you, as priests or future
priests, and as consecrated persons? In one sense, the answer is an
easy one: surely you are men and women whose lives have been shaped
by a 'personal encounter with Jesus Christ'. Jesus has touched your
hearts, called you by name, and asked you to follow him with an
undivided heart in the service of his holy people.
The Church in Uganda has been blessed,
in its short yet venerable history, with a great cloud of witnesses –
lay faithful, catechists, priests and religious – who forsook
everything for the love of Jesus: homes, families, and, in the case
of the martyrs, their own lives. In your own lives, whether in the
priestly ministry or in your religious consecration, you are called
to carry on this great legacy, above all with quiet acts of humble
service. Jesus wants to use you to touch the hearts of yet other
people: he wants to use your mouths to proclaim his saving word, your
arms to embrace the poor whom he loves, your hands to build up
communities of authentic missionary disciples. May we never forget
that our 'yes' to Jesus is a 'yes' to his people. Our doors, the
doors of our churches, but above all the doors of our hearts, must
constantly be open to God’s people, our people. For that is who we
are.
A second question I would ask you
tonight is: What more are you called to do in living your specific
vocation? Because there is always more that we can do, another mile
to be walked on our journey.
God’s people, indeed all people,
yearn for new life, forgiveness and peace. Sadly, there are many
troubling situations in our world for which we must pray, beginning
with realities closest to us. I pray especially for the beloved
people of Burundi, that the Lord may awaken in their leaders and in
society as a whole a commitment to dialogue and cooperation,
reconciliation and peace. If we are to accompany those who suffer,
then like the light passing through the stained glass windows of this
Cathedral, we must let God’s power and healing pass through us. We
must first let the waves of his mercy flow over us, purify us, and
refresh us, so that we can bring that mercy to others, especially
those on the peripheries.
All of us know well how difficult this
can be. There is so much work to be done. At the same time, modern
life also offers so many distractions which can dull our consciences,
dissipate our zeal, and even lure us into that 'spiritual
worldliness' which eats away at the foundations of the Christian
life. The work of conversion – that conversion which is the heart
of the Gospel of Jesus – must be carried out each day, in the
battle to recognise and overcome those habits and ways of thinking
which can fuel spiritual complacency. We need to examine our
consciences, as individuals and as communities.
As I mentioned, we are entering the
season of Advent, which is a time of new beginnings. In the Church
we like to say that Africa is the continent of hope, and with good
reason. The Church in these lands is blessed with an abundant
harvest of religious vocations. This evening I would offer a special
word of encouragement to the young seminarians and religious present.
The Lord’s call is a source of joy and a summons to serve. Jesus
tells us that 'it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth
speaks'. May the fire of the Holy Spirit purify your hearts, so that
you can be joyful and convincing witnesses to the hope of the Gospel.
You have a beautiful word to speak! May you always speak it, above
all, by the integrity and conviction of your lives.
Dear brothers and sisters, my visit to
Uganda is brief, and today was a very long day! But I consider our
meeting tonight to be the crowning of this beautiful day when I was
able to go as a pilgrim to the Shrine of the Uganda Martyrs at
Namugongo, and to meet with the many young people who are the future
of the nation and our Church. Truly I leave Africa with great hope in
the harvest of grace which God is preparing in your midst! I ask all
of you to pray for an outpouring of apostolic zeal, for joyful
perseverance in the calling you have received, and, above all, for
the gift of a pure heart ever open to the needs of all our brothers
and sisters. In this way the Church in Uganda will truly prove worthy
of its glorious heritage and face the challenges of the future with
sure hope in Christ’s promises. I will remember all of you in my
prayers, and I ask you, please, to pray for me!”.
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