JESUS PUT OUT HIS HAND

Dear Parishioners,

I almost got the temptation of letting my faith waver, when I asked myself whether it was relevant, during our present situation, to say “I am a Catholic and happy about IT —  Rejoicing in our Catholic practices”!!

I certainly had begun to sink, then my guardian angel helped me to cry out to Jesus: ‘Lord! Save me!’  Jesus put out his hand and at once and held me. His hand was in the form of an Angel he sent me on Wednesday last week (of course not literally) when we went to Mulago ICU. As we were alighting from the lift on the 5th floor, there was somebody in an orange body bag, on one of those infamous trolleys, waiting to be taken down. We went out, the trolley went in. Somebody had just succumbed to cancer and we were going for cancer treatment! One day we shall be in some sort of body bag whenever that happens. May be ours will not be an orange body bag, but we shall be covered in something and be carried until we get lowered down, down, down.

The hand of Jesus - the Angel (again not literally) was telling me; man of little faith why did you doubt? Should you not be happy that you are a Catholic? That you believe that your friend who is going down in that orange body bag, has just passed on? He/she (I did not ask whether it was a man or woman) has to go through that in order to be alive forever. You are blessed that this is your belief or don’t you believe thus any more. Are you not ashamed that you do not find the relevance of writing the Parishioner column because of the present hard times?

Jesus rescued me, and I resolved to go ahead with the column and even tell those who read it that Covid-19 or whatever circumstances, I am happy to be a Catholic who believes in the hereafter and who believes in purgatory. That even if I am put in an orange body bag, with some purification to undergo so that I may achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven, for nothing unclean goes to heaven (Rev. 21:27), I will still be on my way no matter how long it takes. (CCC 1030). I am happy to be rooted in that doctrine. That even when I go in a body bag with my mortal sins forgiven, there may be still many impurities in me, specifically venial sins and the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven. Why not rejoice that I firmly believe that?

After seeing my Doctor, as I was sitting in the room where various drugs are administered to us, just in front of me, lying on a bed was a man. This man is battling cancer too. I looked at his arms, there seems to be not a single muscle left on them. He could not turn on the bed, he had to be assisted by his attendant who was a lady. When he wanted to go out for one reason or another, I saw the lady lift up this man and carried him in her arms like a baby!

The Angel was still active. You can still walk and sit in a chair for your drug, but he has to be carried like a baby? And you say you should not rejoice that as Catholic you know that these are stages of your life? Even when you get to that stage, it will be like Jesus demonstrated to Peter, James, and John at the transfiguration, that you go through suffering to get to glorification.

I thank Jesus for putting out his hand for all whose faith is being challenged during the Corona virus pandemic, and manage to cry out “Lord save me”. Some of these could save a shilling or two by not giving anything to us here at the presbytery, but they give something to keep us going. A bunch of matooke, posho, rice cooking oil, blue and, soap name it. Others are so keen on giving their tithe! May God bless you all. I am sure many are continually praying for us.

I ‘saw’ the  Lord and promise you that you will also see him. If you feel you are sinking? You know what to do.

I wish you a great week, which we shall end with a great celebration; The Assumption of the B.V. Mary. May she intercede for us that our faith may not weaver.          

Sun 09, Aug 2020 08:08 am