PRAYER MOMENT
Tuesday
3 June 2014, St Charles Lwanga and the other martyrs of Uganda
YOU WILL NOT SEE MY FACE AGAIN
Pause. Be still in
the presence of God
Reading: “I feel
sure that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom of
God will ever see my face again.” (Acts 20:17-27)
Reflection. The
Ascension period is marked not only by the withdrawal of Jesus but, as we move
towards the end of the Acts, by the withdrawal of Paul. I once stood on the spot
at Miletus where Paul said farewell to the elders of Ephesus and we read this passage.
It was a moving moment. You sense you are part of a huge drama reaching
backwards to those days and into the fuure when the “kingdom” will be revealed.
And the young Christians of Uganda, in the mid-1880s, were part of this drama. They too “withdrew”
despite all the entreaties of their families, and were never seen again. These
days the veil that separates us from God is penetrated and we are encouraged to
have a lively sense of how close God is. As the Irish say, “He is no further than
the door.”
Prayer. Lord, as
we celebrate the martyrs of Uganda so close to Africa Day, draw us closer to
the mystery that you reveal, that our life is “hidden in God”. Grant that all
the peoples of Africa may draw ever closer to You and find peace and unity in
You. Amen.
David Harold-Barry SJ
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