The love of Jesus sought a way of how he should remain with people and he instituted the sacrament of Eucharist. The Sacrament of Eucharist is a sacrament of Charity/love. This was said by Rev. Fr. Lubein Mubangizi, the Pastoral Coordinator of Kabale Diocese while leading Mass earlier today in the 12th Eucharistic Congress held at Our Lady of Good Shepherd Rushoroza Cathedral grounds.
Quoting from today’s first reading from the book of Ruth, Fr. Lubein showed how Ruth showed love towards her mother in-law Naomi so much even though she was not a Jew, for she was a Moabite. For Ruth and said to Naomi her mother-in-law “Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die and that is where I will be buried” (Ruth 1:16-17). Her love was extraordinary and she was blessed with a son called Obed, the father of Jesse who bore David, the grandfather of Jesus, who is with us in the sacrament of Eucharist. Fr. Lubein implored the daughters-in-law to love their mothers-in-law and vice versa.
Jesus in the same way showed his utmost love towards his people, and his love is characterized by charity. The sacrament of Eucharist is a sacrament of Love/charity. For Jesus assures his people that whoever eats of his body and drinks his blood will have life in him and will be raised on the last day and that there can be no greater love that one laying down his life for others. But Jesus did it and does it every day in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Fr. Lubein reminded the people what Jesus taught about love: “Whoever loves me will obey my my teaching, my Father will love him, and my Father and I will come and live with him (John 14:23). If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, lust as I obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love (John 14:10) I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (John 14:11). A new command I give you, love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34) If you love me, you will obey my commandments (John 14:15). Let the love of God be in you so that yours many be full.
He reminded the people that Pope Francis says that adoration of Jesus in the sacrament should revive charity in us. The Pope notes that the Eucharist – “the sacrament of love, sign of unity, and bond of charity”, as Vatican II says – was at the heart of their lives: “Love, unity, and charity; to adore, serve and repair, that is, to fill with tenderness the wounds and voids produced by sin in man and society, beginning by kneeling before Jesus in the Consecrated Host, and remaining there for a long time.”
The Eucharist Congress is an annual gathering in the month of August where Catholics and non Catholics from all corners of Kabale Diocese and beyond converge at the Diocesan Headquarters at Rushoroza Cathedral to have various teachings about Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist. This year, the congress has taken place for the 12th consecutive year from Thursday 24th August to Sunday 27th August 2023. The theme for this year’s Congress was “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
Fr. Lubein implored people that from this 12th Eucharistic Congress, to renew their love for God and each other and the spirit of charity should increase in them. The mission of the Church is to evangelize and this is done through prayer and charity. But these days charity has reduced because love has been diluted and lost meaning in the era of materialism and individualism.