Calendar

The first Christian missionaries came to Uganda in the 1880s. By 1886, thirty-two young men, all members of the court of the Ugandan king, were burned to death when they refused to renounce their faith. Accepting their fates, the martyrs went to their deaths with prayers for their tormenters on their lips, which so impacted and impressed observers and onlookers that interest in Christianity rose as a result of the public martyrdom. By the time of the Uganda Census of 2002, approximately 85% of Ugandans were Christian (about half of whom Anglican), making Uganda the most Christian nation in Africa.

At Saint Thomas, Uganda is third (after South Africa and Nigeria) in the number of visitors to our website from countries in Africa.

Collect:

O God, by whose providence the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church: Grant that we who remember before thee the blessed martyrs of Uganda, may, like them, be steadfast in our faith in Jesus Christ, to whom they gave obedience even unto death, and by their sacrifice brought forth a plentiful harvest; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Generally, one Saturday per month is set aside to commemorate the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Collect:

O Almighty God, who didst endue with singular grace the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Lord: Vouchsafe, we beseech thee, to hallow our bodies in purity, and our souls in humility and love; through the same our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

In a very real sense, every Eucharist is a feast of the Corpus Christi (at Saint Thomas, we have nearly one thousand Masses every year), but on this Sunday we take the time to contemplate the Holy Mysteries in depth, to dig deep in heart and mind as we attempt to understand what it is we are doing when we go to the altar rail to receive the Blessed Sacrament. Of course, during Holy Week, on Maundy Thursday, we commemorate the institution of the Eucharist by our Lord. Yet, because Holy Week is full of so much activity surrounding our Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection, it is appropriate that we set aside a Sunday later in the year to return to ponder this most intimate and yet ubiquitous of sacraments. That is what this feast day is all about.

Collect:

God our Father, whose Son our Lord Jesus Christ in a wonderful Sacrament hath left unto us a memorial of his passion: Grant us so to venerate the sacred mysteries of his Body and Blood, that we may ever perceive within ourselves the fruit of his redemption; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.