A total of 124 couples across Kabale Diocese turned up to attend and benefit from the Cana seminar. The three day seminar organized by Kabale Diocesan Family Ministry from 8th-13th September 2024 marked the 9th annual seminar since the Cana arrangement was introduced in 2015. The Cana couple and families ministry which pushes for deeper stronger love has helped enrich and deepen the lives of thousands of couples whether married in church or another form of marital relationship.
Cana program in Uganda is the largest group in the world so far and has equipped over 1000 couples with basic and durable solutions to the various marital challenges like domestic violence, child neglect, financial management and literacy, alcoholism, addressing the issues in regard to conjugal rights, property ownership and above all the role and position of the Holy Spirit in their marriage lives.
According Sr. Bernadette Atukwase, coordinator of the Family Ministry in Kabale Diocese, the name Cana stems from the Biblical feast of the wedding of Cana in Galilee where Jesus turned water into wine after it had been̈ exhausted. The new wine is symbolic of the fresh love and joy that couples receive during the Cana seminars.
The testimonies from couples indicated tremendous revamping in the nature and stature of families of Catholics in the entire Diocese. They appreciated Cana programs for having been a stronghold unto which their marriage has been stabilized.
During the closing Mass that took place at St. Mary’s Bukinda Catholic Parish, Rev. Fr. John Byamukama, the Parish Priest emphasized the role of tolerance in the family as he urged couples to endure and also cope with the differences of their partners noting that God created us differently and we come from different backgrounds. Fr. John urged the couples to be the salt of the earth and light of the world. During the same Sacrifice of Mass, the wedded couples renewed their matrimonial vows and lit candles as a symbol of illumination in their marriage as they embarked on a new phase of rejuvenated joy and love in their families.
Rev. Sr. Bernadette Atukwase, the Coordinator of the Family Ministry in Kabale Diocese while officiating at the closure the three day seminar acknowledged the significant strides that the Family Ministry has taken and called upon more couples to join Cana programs for the betterment of society. She noted that Cana Program was initiated in Kabale Diocese in 2015 with only 27 couples, but have now multiplied to over one thousand couples, thereby appreciating the couples’ efforts and encouraging them to always pray for each other as they take the message to the community.
The retreat was concluded with the Cana feast where a grand dinner was prepared for the members to signify the wedding party at Cana in the Bible. During this feast, husbands served meals to their wives as an act of expressing the love renewed in them.