Embrace that Great Role of Bringing up Children- Bishop Kakooza

By Valerian Kkonde

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

Auxiliary Bishop of Kampala Archdiocese, Christopher Kakooza, has called upon parents to seriously embrace the role of bringing up children because the family is the first and best school that one can ever attend.

Bishop Kakooza sounded this call during the 10:00 O’clock Mass at St. Agnes Kibuye-Makindye Parish on September 22, 2013. He administered the sacrament of Confirmation on 233 children who he said were at the climax of their love for the Catholic Church.

“Parents can say that the children are theirs, but given to you by God. The kid is an individual with rights; you too are an individual,” the bishop told the congregation.

Thanking Kibuye- Makindye parents for bringing their children for confirmation, he emphasized the importance of the home saying it is the first school and the best of all.

“It is in the home that a child learns how to walk. A kid quietly suckles the mother’s breast but while at the same time learning. These kids speak Luganda very well but none of them has ever studied the Luganda grammar; the grammar is studied in the home.

“It is in the home that these kids were taught to bathe, good manners and to kneel when greeting elders. In the home the kid learns by imitating, that is why the kid will make the same mistake as the parent. Parents have to be very careful with what you say and do before these children.”

Recognizing the role of catechists in the Catholic Church, bishop Kakooza reminded the congregation that with the exception of priests and the religious, many Christians never get a chance to learn their religion further than the first instructions given by the catechists. Instructions included the first Holy Communion, the first instructions and then Confirmation.

“Christ taught his disciples for three years and when time came, he left them. But he told them that it will be the Holy Spirit to guide them. The Holy Spirit will reveal all that you do not understand.”

At Consecration, the bishop added, the host and wine will be transformed into the body and blood of Christ, the bread angles. The Holy Spirit transforms them into the bread of angles that is why we all kneel.

“The bread of angles is only in the Catholic Church. If you go to the hotel and ask for a soda and the bread of angles they will tell you that they do not have it.

“They will tell you to go to Kibuye –Makindye Parish, and in Mass. That is where you will find the bread of angels.”

Making reference to the day’s readings, bishop Kakooza urged the congregation to equally toil hard to sustain their spiritual life just as they do for the human life. He counseled that it is not bad to work hard and get money. That, he said, is the best way to sustain themselves as well as the work of the Church. He singled out the Parish’s new magnificent church pending completion.

The bishop castigated the youth for spending hours discussing the Premier League yet they have no where to sleep and cannot meet their needs to lead dignified lives.

“You cannot see happiness and kindness but can see a happy and kind person. Happiness and kindness reside in people.

“Even the Holy spirit cannot be seen but resides in people. Your actions and deeds will reveal whether the Holy Spirit resides in you or not.”

Bishop Kakooza told the children, in particular, that people including non- Catholics will be able to tell that they received the Holy Spirit if they are obedient, prayerful and respectful.