June 03 2022 - St. Charles Lwanga - Love of Chastity

 o many of us, the name of the Ugandan Martyr St. Charles Lwanga is unfamiliar.  But, he is well-known and revered in much of tropical Africa and is honored throughout the universal Church as a patron saint of young people and chastity. 

Evangelization of Uganda only began in the mid-1800s by the Society of Missionaries of Africa (known as the White Fathers because of the white cassock they wore). At that time Uganda had a very vicious, lustful king named Mwanga who forced himself on the young boys and young men of his court.  Charles Lwanga, who had become a Catechist for the Christian community, encouraged the young boys to preserve their chastity. For opposing the King’s lusts, Charles was arrested and burned to death on June 3.

St. Charles Lwanga’s witness reminds us that chastity is part of God’s plan for all people, but the culture is not always receptive to that message. Especially as “National Pride Month” is celebrated by many in our land, Christ’s call to chastity needs to joyfully resound in his Church.

Chastity involves self-mastery, self-control, self-knowledge, developing the virtue of temperance, and learning to rely on God’s grace in times of temptation. Chastity brings freedom from our baser, fallen, and disordered impulses, and the joy of bringing one’s life more under the dominion of the Holy Spirit. Chastity is largely a personal journey, though Christian parents certainly have a pivotal role in protecting the innocence of their children from the perversions of the culture. Indeed, the Church has a role in promoting chastity in the larger culture. 

The proliferation of pornography, the confused gender ideologies which are pushed in public schools and in the media, the cultural-acceptance of sex before marriage, are certainly signs that we have a lot of work to do in this area. 

In the Gospel for today’s feast of St. Charles we heard the Lord’s beatitudes, in which he proclaims, “blessed are the pure of heart.” The “pure of heart,” according to the Catechism, “refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God’s holiness, chiefly in three areas: charity; chastity or sexual rectitude; love of truth and orthodoxy of faith."

Through the intercession of St. Charles Lwanga and his martyred companions, may we seek that purity of intellect and will, that chastity, and the love of the truth that St. Charles lived and died for, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the witness, sufferings, and death of the  martyrs may bring about rebirth of Christianity and civilization, in those places where faith and morals have diminished.

Through the intercession of St. Charles Lwanga, patron of youth, may our young people be protected from the perversion of our culture and be infused with virtue.

That religious indifference in our country and around the world may be transformed to radical commitment to the Gospel of Christ.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and…

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.