Fr. Ssembatya Warns Christians against Contempt for Holy Mass

by Valerian Kkonde

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

Fr. John Bosco Ssembatya - Christ the King Parish, Kampala

At Christ the King parish, in the heart of the capital city Kampala, at least three Holy Sacrifices of Mass are celebrated every day. On Sundays there are at least six Masses. It was due to this special gift that Fr. John Bosco Ssembatya made a pertinent observation that there was a risk of familiarity and demystification of this sacred celebration.

And the appropriate day for this warning was February 5, 2018 on the day when the Roman Catholic Church remembered St. Agatha, a virgin and martyr. The day’s readings were extracted from 1Kigs 8: 1-7, 9-13 and Mk 6: 53-56.

St. Agatha was born in the Island of Sicily in 230 and martyred in 251 for refusing to renounce her faith and remaining steadfast to her vow of purity. She is the patroness of nurses, firemen and women suffering from breast cancer.

“It is unfortunate that some of you do not appreciate the fact that you can come for Mass every day. Some people are yearning for this opportunity but can only get it maybe once in a year!”

Referring to the day’s First reading, Fr. John Bosco Ssembatya added: “The Jews were filled with great joy when the Ark of the Covenant was brought in their midst. How much more happier must you be with Christ Himself in your midst?

“The Ark of the Covenant contains the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments, God handed over to Moses, are written. But those people were still able to realise the mercy of God towards them and thus the joy. Just imagine that those people are the one living today and are the ones before our Lord in the tabernacle.

“May the good Lord give us the grace to appreciate His love for us which made Him decide to stay with us always! May we also be grateful for this opportunity to come and stay before Him, sinful as we are, so that we may benefit from His abundant blessings, protection and guidance!”

He reminded the Christians that in every Church where there is a tabernacle, Christ is there with His divinity. That is why Christians have to genuflect before the tabernacle.

Fr. Ssembatya went ahead and warned the Christians about doing things wrongly in the church, pointing to ten main areas.

On genuflecting, the priest warned that it has to be done towards the tabernacle. He pointed out that some people genuflect facing away from the tabernacle indicating they do not understand what they are doing. He added that it is the right knee that is supposed to bend and touch the floor.

The Holy Mass is the re-enacting of the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ. He said that every action in the Mass is for a purpose and must be performed as directed. He warned against changing posture before time.

“If it is time for standing, please do stand and with respect. If it is time for kneeling, then everyone must kneel. And if it is time to sit let every sit down and respectfully.”

Observing that there are some variations in our Liturgy in the different dioceses, Fr. Ssembatya pointed out that it is proper to follow what the host diocese does. He gave the example of Kampala Archdiocese where the Creed is no longer sung but simply recited.

The youthful priest, who doubles as the Youth and Communication Chaplain of the Parish, also pointed out the growing practice by some people who do not want to offer others the sign of peace. Fr. Ssembatya questioned the intention behind this practice reminding Christians that if God were to shun people for their uncleanliness, no one would dare stand before Him.

“Either some Christians consider themselves so clean that they cannot touch other people’s hands or they consider others too dirty to shake hands with them. This is self deceit. Let us be merciful to others just as we seek God’s mercy for ourselves.”

Stressing that the Holy Mass is a prayer from the start to the end, the priest warned that full participation requires taking part in all the activities so as to win for oneself the blessings and mercy sought from the almighty.

“Different prayers require different responses. Let us participate by responding appropriately. If it is “… and your Spirit” say so.

“Some people do not want to say “Amen” when they come to receive the Holy Communion. You have to say so to indicate that you understand that you are receiving Christ Himself. In fact some priests refuse to give you the body of Christ if you do not say Amen!

“For those who decide to receive Christ in their hands, you must know that every particle is Christ Himself and make sure you do not just shake it off your fingers. Be respectful. Be respectful.”

Ordained priest on August 8, 2015, Fr. Ssembatya is known for moving and enriching sermons. He is greatly appreciated by the Christians for helping them keep faith in these challenging times and even guiding them to remain steadfast.

He told Christians that one rather not receive Holy Communion than receive well knowing that you are not worthy. He said that Msgr. Joseph Mugambe is always available to help them receive the Sacrament   of Penance and that they must make use of him.

He sent Christians into wild laughter when he said that the time he tried to emulate Msgr. Mugambe during his absence it was a hot seat.

Ordained priest on October 2, 1956 Msgr. Mugambe at times arrives in the Confession box at midday up to 1:00 pm when the midday Mass begins. He them resumes immediately after Mass until all those in need of Confession have been helped.

More on prayer, the Christians were warned that they have to sing because one who sings prays twice.

Due to reasons best known by the people themselves who engage in the practice, the priest warned against leaving before the Holy Mass is concluded.

“If it is not out of contempt, then why should one come from wherever and then move out before Mass ends? Out of the 24 hours at your disposal a person cannot spare a few minutes to stay before God the source of all that we need! Do you know how precious this moment is?”

Fr. Ssembatya also warned those who come for Mass and spend all the time on social media. He added that some people keep moving in and out just to answer phone calls. He advised Christians to either switch off phones or put them in silent mode so that they can fully participate in the Holy sacrifice of Mass.

“If you feel that you cannot stay before the Lord from the beginning to the end, then don’t bother to come. By the way when you are disrespectful you even interrupt those who are here for prayer.”

On the dress code the priest warned those who think that Mass is a nude show. He pointed out especially girls calling upon them to dress decently when they come for the Holy Sacrifice of Mass. He said that he had seen many people who come to church in sportswear, drenched in sweat.    

“This is total disrespect and contempt of the highest order.”

Fr. Ssembatya reminded the Christians to pray for the grace to understand God’s ways so that they can partake of the graces of those who love Him, His friends.