Christ Offers Himself for Us in Mass

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, the Beloved, carries His Cross on His Shoulders up to Calvary, where He offers Himself as a Sacrifice of infinite value for all men. In the book of Genesis, we read that Isaac was made to carry the wood for the holocaust; he is a figure of Christ who was made to carry His Cross on His Shoulders. He was crucified onto the cross he carried as both priest and victim. A Priest because he offered the Father his obedience, and a victim, because he died! Today, ordained priests have the task of carrying the wood for the sacrifice.

This priestly ministry of Jesus is made present in every celebration of the Eucharist. In the celebration of Mass and through the ministry of the priest, Jesus offers to his Father the perfect worship, he thus brings about the sanctification of his people. It is the highest sacrifice acceptable to the Father. Nothing can ever rival this sacrifice in its perfection; as we read in the first letter of Peter “The price of (our) redemption was not something of fleeting value like gold or silver, but the costly shedding of the blood of Christ, the lamb without blemish or defect” (1Peter:18-19).

Mass, therefore, has an infinite, immense value beyond our understanding. Though there is a priest we see at the altar when Mass is celebrated, Christ remains the principal priest; the victim truly offered and Sacramentally immolated (offered as a sacrifice). He offers himself.

The Mass is the best means we have, to render God the highest form of worship, thank Him for all His blessings, obtain reparation for all our sins, obtain all the blessings we desire, release souls from purgatory and shorten our own time there, preserve us from all dangers to soul and body, be consoled at the hour of death, intercede for us at the Judgment Seat of God and to bring down God's blessings.

Reader, you see how important Mass is? Therefore, during Mass we should neither talk to each other, walk up and down, nor allow our children to play about. Also do you see how important Priests are? Sr. Mother Tereza said, "Without Priests we cannot receive Jesus'. Let us meditate now in the Presence of God on how well we pray for Priests, how we treat them, how we Care for them, how Grateful we ought to be to them for having responded positively to our Lord's Call, how to Help them persevere and be Saints.

Tue 31, Jul 2018 08:07 am

HE WAS BORN 66 YEARS AGO

Last Monday 23^rd July, our Parish Priest, Fr. Godfrey Kyeyune made 66 years of age. Congratulations Father!

Parishioners who attended the 1:00PM ( lunch time) Mass that day,  mobilized a cake and treated Father to a cocktail. This birthday celebration was held at 6:00 P.M that evening. Though  it was at a very short notice, a sizable number of  parishioners attended. Thank you everyone for the support and donations.

May Father grow stronger and stronger.

Tue 31, Jul 2018 07:07 am

2nd Annual Solemn Novena to St. Jude, 7 July to 15 July 2018

Members of St. Jude Thaddeus Devotion, all devotees of St. Jude, Naggulu parishioners and interested people of God, on (7/7/2018) evening, opened the second annual solemn novena to St. Jude. The ceremony, which started with a procession at 04:00 p.m,  took place in our church during a solemn Eucharistic celebration) Mass.

As usual, we are celebrating the novena Masses in the evening, and concluding with St. Jude Novena prayers. The faithful are encouraged to be in time, and the organizers are expected not to waste time with unnecessary speeches or lengthy announcements. All concerned are reminded that some of the faithful come from far and evening transport tends to be problematic.

Then on the ninth day  -  Sunday 15th July  -  Mass will start at 10:30 a.m. The main celebrant for this closing Mass is expected to be the chancellor of Kampala Archdiocese, Fr. Joseph Mary Ssebunya. The choir to lead the liturgical singing will be ‘Morning Star Choir’ from Old Kampala Parish.

Msgrs. J.B. Kanyi & A.K. Kamya and Fr. H. Steegmans R.I.P.

Sticking to tradition, the 2nd Annual Solemn Novena, will be dedicated to   Msgr. John Baptist Kanyi who worked devotedly and tirelessly to see that the devotion to St. Jude germinates and sprouts here at Naggulu and in Uganda at large; Msgr. Anatoli Kiriggwajjo Kamya who madesure that what his predecessor started continued to grow stronger, and finally Rev. Fr.  Henry Steegmans who not only founded this parish but also made sure that St. Jude was one of its patrons.

Since Msgrs. Kanyi and Kamya were laid to rest behind our church, on the last day of the Novena, again according to tradition, we shall have a brief memorial prayer service before we proceed to Hill Top gardens for Mass. As for Fr. Steegmans, who is buried elsewhere, our prayers for his eternal rest and our thanksgiving to God for sending him to us, will suffice.

Theme of the Novena

We did not see any good reason to have a different theme from that of the Archdiocese of Kampala, under whose jurisdiction we fall. Thus we continue to: Remember, Rejoice, Renew.

We remember what God has done for us through St. Jude, through the aforementioned men of God and through many other men and women  devoted to St. Jude. We rejoice that the hand of God is still working today through St. Jude, and show our gratitude in visible symbols. Then we renew by tuning our lives to the Good News that St. Jude was sent to spread and by ‘cleaning’ any areas in our lives which may not be shining in the light of the gospel.

Novena at Diocesan Level

We have official branches of the Devotion in the following Diocese: Arua, Bungoma (Kenya) Fort Portal, Gulu, Hoima, Jinja, Kabale, Kampala, Kasana, Kaseese, Kiyinda Mityana, Lira, Lugazi, Masaka, Mbarara, Soroti and Tororo.

The Executive Committee of the devotion recommended that, as we celebrate the three annual novenas here at the center, we should also do likewise at the Parish and at Diocesan levels. Thus the March novena be at the Parish level and that of July, at the Diocesan level. Then for the third, all branches come here at the centre and conclude everything with the celebration of the Feast of Ss Simon and Jude  -  28 October. The recommendation received the approval of the branches and is already operational. We therefore wish all our braches in the various dioceses a successful 2nd Annual Novena. We shall see them in October for the “grand finale”.

Wed 11, Jul 2018 13:07 pm

FUNDRAISING WALK 2018 - THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH

The Parish Executive would like to give a thousand thank you, to all Parishioners, guests friends and well wishers, for successfully completing the activities of the fundraising on , June 17,2018.

The chair and members of the fundraising committee, many thanks for the preparatory meetings, time, leg-work and everything else you put in the function.

All who donated funds thank you. May God give you His blessings.

We cannot forget to thank Fr. N. Kiruma for leading the Mass that preceded the walk.

Our Lady and St. Jude, intercede for us.

Tue 03, Jul 2018 14:07 pm

NAGGULU YOUTH ARISE IN STRENGTH AND IN HIS GRACE

On 13th May,2018, we celebrated our youth day. We thank God for the tremendous work He does in His church through the Youth Apostolate.

There is a growing active Participation of the youth in the church. This comes with in increased awareness of the need to belong somewhere. We are youth for Christ and unless we accept this reality, we risk becoming vagabonds.

I want to thank the leadership of the Youth Apostolate, the support from the Parish, and the youth in the following departments under the Youth Apostolate:

· The Legionaries

· The Xaverians

· The Children Ministry

· The Heaven dancers

· Divine Mercy choir

· Altar servers

· Bible Apostolate

· And all the departments of the Parish in which the youth participate.

Under these departments, the youth are mentored empowered to realize their potentials , given access to meet various opportunities and above all brought close to Christ our master.

We want to thank the parents of these youth, our patroness Mama Marcella and the co-patron Ambassador Joseph Ocwet and all the friends that support the Youth Apostolate.

We thank the main celebrant Fr. Joseph Luzindana for honoring our invitation. I want to thank the organizing committee for this year’s Youth day, and all the friends who gave us money and all the support we needed to prepare our day. May God bless you all.

To all the active youth, I want to encourage you to remain strong in the service of God, for it is where we meet our blessing and to invite those who are still lukewarm. To embrace Christ in whom everything is possible. Arise in strength and in His grace.

Yours, Fr. Joseph Kaseeta,

Youth Chaplain

Tue 22, May 2018 09:05 am

Naggulu Parish Youth Apostolate Day 2018 - Arise in strength and in His grace

Thu 10, May 2018 09:05 am

May - A whole month for the Blessed Mother ( Part 1 of two parts)

As we begin the month of Mary, this Tuesday, we should be ready to calmly face the forces opposed to the honor given to Our Lady. In today’s world, where all kinds of “informed people” give us information via a little gadget we hold in the palm of our hand, we may be confused and make the wrong turn. The best line to take is to stick to what Mother Church teaches us and trust in the Holy Spirit who guides her to show us the right way. The same spirit will help us follow the way.

Consider this teaching of the Church: (1) God alone, the Supreme, Infinite Being, must be adored. To adore any creature, however exalted, would be to commit idolatry.  (2) Jesus Christ alone is our Mediator of Redemption. He alone, by his supreme sacrifice, of infinite value, redeemed and ransomed mankind. 

With that teaching in mind, let us look at the way we put the Virgin Mary on a very high pedestal, on so many occasions. A whole month (May), is dedicated to her. Are we not going a little bit too far? What about the way we behave before her images wherever they may be: are we not kind of adoring her? Yet the teaching spells it out; God alone is to be adored, and Christ alone is to be worshiped as our Mediator of Redemption. Why give all this honor to Mary?

Rev. Fr. M.D. Forrest M.S.C., in his article ‘Devotion to the Blessed Virgin’ C.A. January 02, 2007; explains Catholic doctrine and practice regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here are some of the points from his article.

He says that among humans, there is an innate law dictating that “creatures who are clothed with a special dignity”, should be shown special honor…. ‘Children must honor their parents; servants must revere their masters; soldiers must respect their officers; subjects must show loyalty to their rulers.’ Fr. Forrest continues: “God himself has, in fact, positively commanded, in his revelation to man, this honor that the natural law prescribes. Thus besides the supreme honor that we give God, and which we term adoration, there is an inferior honor that we not only may but must show to all creatures who are clothed with special dignity.”

Forrest gives two reasons why Mary’s dignity, transcends that of any other creature. She is: (i) the only creature privileged to adore her son, and (ii) the only one God the Son can address as Mother.

This puts her in a position that: as Forrest puts it, “far transcends that of any other creature as heaven excels earth”.

Scripture plays a part:

The priest goes on to show that the words of the “Hail Mary”, which Catholics use so lovingly and so often to honor Mary are mainly from Luke 1:26-55. In this passage, the angel’s words and those of Elizabeth put together (inserting the names Mary and Jesus), form the first part of the prayer. Thus Catholics follow the Bible in giving honor to Mary. Still referring to that same passage, where Mary in her Magnificat says, “all generations will call me blessed”, the priest asks: who “fulfills this prophecy: those who refuse to apply the adjective blessed to the Virgin Mary, or Catholics, who love to call Mary the Blessed Virgin?” 

Mary is invoked

We ask Mary to intercede for us with her divine Son. Now, Fr. Forrest points out that Christians, non-Catholic ones included, often ask one another to pray for them. So he asks: “if I may say to a sinner on this earth, and he may say to me, another sinner, "Pray for me," for what reason may we not say to the sinless Mother of God enthroned in heaven, "Pray for us"?

“If St. Paul asked the Romans to "help him in their prayers for him to God" (Rom. 15:16); if he wrote to the Thessalonians, "Pray for us," why may we not ask Mary, who is far holier and nearer to God than the Roman and Thessalonian converts, to "pray for us"? ——————

Really we are not going too far when we dedicate a full month to Mary.

PART II —- next week.

Mon 30, Apr 2018 13:04 pm

Proselytsm

A quick search in number of dictionaries for the meaning of ‘proselytism’ may give you something  that goes like this: ‘...any effort to persuade a person to give up one point of view in favor of another’. This could be political, (or social?) but very often religious. The most common synonym given for “proselytize” is “convert”.

“Is there anything wrong with conversion?”, someone may ask. Many would respond, “of course not”. And they would point out that if you have “to go and tell”, then your aim is to get results. Some of these results will be the conversion of souls!! When you come back you will show that your efforts yielded fruits.

But, Pope Francis is said to have preached that “Evangelization is not proselytism.” Does he not believe in converting souls? To avoid getting confused, read this clarification  by Dr. Jeff Mirus:

‘In the Church's lexicon, proselytism typically refers to conversion efforts that fail to respect the prospective convert’s freedom and dignity. High pressure tactics; telling lies about the other person’s current religion; comparing the weaknesses of another’s religious community with only the strengths of one’s own; attempting to convert children in opposition to their parents; offering worldly inducements to change one’s religious allegiance—these are what Catholics would call proselytism.’ The Doctor continues:

“In contrast, a sincere effort to share one’s faith so that others might freely choose to embrace it is considered a virtue. Terms with positive connotations are used to describe such generosity: evangelization, apologetics, catechesis, personal witness, or even simply “winning converts”.

So, the pontiff is in no way opposed to converting souls. Amen.

Mon 30, Apr 2018 12:04 pm

St. Jude Thaddeus Devotion

Doing it the Grassroots way

The Head of the Lay Apostolate Movements Department, Ms Florence Kyomugisha, has revived the Association of St. Jude Thaddeus in Naggulu Parish.

Not all who have a devotion to St Jude are members of St. Jude Association just as not all who are devoted to Our Lady are members of the Legion of Mary. Neither does it mean that all Parishioners of Our Lady and St. Jude Parish are automatically members of the Association. One has to choose to be a member, register and get a membership card. 

The Association has been in limbo for some time. When Florence was elected to head the Parish Department of the Lay Apostolate Movements, she put the revival of the Association of St. Jude, top on the list of “things to do” during the first year of her term.

She called a meeting of the Association and only three turned up! She was disappointed but not deterred. The next meeting she called, raised the attendance to five, then seven……… and now she has over forty members. They meet every second Sunday of the month at 8:30 a.m. (after the 7:00 a.m. Mass).

The members are preparing to make a grand re-entrance on the stage of active Lay Movements very soon.

Success to you Florence and all the members of the Association.

Tue 24, Apr 2018 08:04 am

A massage to members of our Parish Council

Dear councilors,

Greetings and best wishes to you all. Those of you who have a special devotion to St. Jude Thaddeus, congratulations upon successfully concluding the first annual Novena to the beloved Saint. Need I point out that as lay leaders in our church, you share in the ministry of this apostle? As he is known for solving impossible cases, you too are sent to contribute to the solving of so many hard problems among the people you were elected to serve. May he be a shining example as well as an intercessor for you in that mission.

To our mothers (of course I mean all women) among you , I say; we prayed for you on the International Women’s day, Thursday 8th March. We are proud of you and acknowledge the fact that you have come out to take positions of responsibility, not only in the civil society but also in our church. Our Ssaabakristu, our head Catechist, head of the Good Samaritan Ministry, just to mention a few, are women. My prayer for you is: ‘May God give you eyes to see, courage to rise and believe in His providence, peace amidst the storms of daily life and success as you carry out His duties’.

Now to all of you councilors, we have now passed the mid point of Lent (which always falls on Thursday of the Third Week of Lent). As leaders you have the big responsibility of being exemplary before those you serve in your communities or departments, and guiding them in what has to be done during such seasons as this one of Lent.

We have the 4th and 5th Week of Lent plus Holy Week still ahead, use those weeks to do some special Lenten activity in your community or department, so that at the end of the season, you will have something to show to the Almighty, as your achievement during the Lenten Season of the first year of this kisanja (term).

Blessings to you all.

Tue 13, Mar 2018 08:03 am