His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power.
Today's first reading from the First Letter of Saint Peter is very dense and deserves our careful consideration; especially as we observe today's feast of the martyrs Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions.
First, let us remember that he died as a result of very familiar problems. The king of Uganda was an opium addict and a pedophile. Charles Lwanga was a young Catholic man charged with the education and care of young men and boys in the king's palace. The sovereign wanted the boys for his own purposes and Lwanga was determined to protect them. When the king discovered the reason for their resistance he ordered that the whole group of Catholic young men be burned alive.
His divine power has bestowed on useverything that makes for life and devotion,through the knowledge of himwho called us by his own glory and power.
Charles and the young men felt divine power which simply dismissed the king's authority. Although he commanded soldiers and guards, and could imprison, torture, and kill the students, they had the power of true freedom. He could neither dampen their joy nor redirect their devotion.
Through these, he has bestowed on usthe precious and very great promises,so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature,after escaping from the corruption that is in the worldbecause of evil desire.
We honor the young men and their teacher as great saints and martyrs because God bestowed on them his precious and very great promises. They shared in God's divine nature, and escaped the corruption that is in this world.
Bizarre sexual desires are still with us, and more manifest than ever. Chemical addictions have surpassed the quaint limits of alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana. A panoply of compelling substances hectors young and old day and night; and serious thinkers wonder if we should not simply change the laws and legalize unlimited drug use. They already recognize oxymoronic "same sex marriage." Do they suppose a compromise with evil will satisfy Satan and his sexual fascinations?
We need the Spirit of Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions now more than ever.
For this very reason,make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,
The age of half-hearted Catholicism is passing. Catholics who suppose the compromising attitudes of the last century will guide them through our times will disappear. Only those who make every effort to supplement their faith with virtue will remain in the remnant Church of the 2030's and 2040's.
(... and supplement) virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control,self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion,devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.
Some of the boys were at home visiting their families when the arrests began on that fatal Sunday. Returning to the capital, they discovered what had happened and hurried to catch up with their brothers. All were savagely murdered even as they continued to sing the Praises of God.
More than a century later, every Ugandan citizen identifies one or more of them among their ancestors. We pray that we might be worthy of their company.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.