Catholic church celebrates divine mercy Sunday

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On Sunday (April 7, 2024), Catholics in Uganda and elsewhere in the world converged at their respective churches to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday.

The popular Catholic feast that is celebrated every second Sunday of Easter is rooted in the revelation of Jesus to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938). It has as its essence the Christian requirement of recognizing Jesus as the Divine Mercy. The feast was declared by Pope (Saint) John Paul II on the occasion of the canonisation of Sr Faustyna on April 30, 2000.

At Lubaga Cathedral, where the main celebrations of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kampala took place, the mid-morning mass was presided over by the assistant Cathedral administrator, the Rev. Fr Stephen Mayanja, who asked Christians to seek the mercy of Jesus at all times.

“The situation we are living in today leaves us with no other alternative but to seek the Mercy of Jesus. Evil is all around us; oppression, repression, violence, land-grabbing, nepotism, tribalism, hatred, bickering. Let us turn to Jesus who is the fountain of love and mercy. Let us yearn for the sacraments. Many of us give excuses and shun the Sacrament of penance but this is wrong, In fact, according to Sr Faustyna’s diary, it is sheer pride that can lead us into eternal destruction,” Mayanja said.

The celebration at Lubaga Cathedral was a very colorful one.  A giant image of Jesus the Divine Mercy stood in majestic splendor at the cathedral’s sanctuary facing the Christians with a loving/merciful disposition.