9th Wednesday of Ordinary Time
Saint Charles Lwanga & Companions, Martyrs
3 June 2026
Believing in the Resurrection like the martyrs
Today we encounter saints Charles Lwanga and his companions, and their witness of their belief in the resurrection not just with their lips but with their lives. The Ugandan martyrs were young men, many of them teenagers and young adults. They lived in the late nineteenth century and served in the court of King Mwanga. As Christianity spread through Uganda, these young converts embraced the faith with remarkable sincerity and courage.
Their faith was tested when the king demanded moral compromises and sought to exert control over them. Charles Lwanga not only remained faithful himself but encouraged and strengthened the younger Christians around him. Ultimately, he and his companions were executed for refusing to renounce Christ and for refusing to participate in grave sin. They died because they believed there was something more important than preserving their earthly lives.
That conviction stands very close to the center of today's Gospel.
The Sadducees approach Jesus with a question about the resurrection. Once again, they do not ask because they are sincerely seeking truth. Mark tells us that the Sadducees denied the resurrection altogether. Their question is designed to make belief in eternal life appear absurd.
Jesus responds by correcting their misunderstanding. They have confined their thinking to the categories of this world. They assume that eternal life is simply a continuation of earthly life with all its present structures and limitations.
But Jesus reveals something far greater.
The resurrection is not merely the resuscitation of a corpse. It is the fulfillment of God's plan for humanity. The God who created man and woman, who called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob into covenant, who guided Israel through centuries of promise and expectation, is not the God of the dead but of the living.
Throughout salvation history, God has been preparing His people not merely for earthly blessings but for eternal communion with Himself. That is why the resurrection matters so profoundly. Without it, suffering has no final answer. Without it, martyrdom becomes tragedy rather than triumph. Without it, death has the last word.
The Ugandan martyrs understood this. They were not fearless because they enjoyed suffering. They were fearless because they believed Christ had conquered death.
This is where Saint Paul's words to Timothy become especially relevant:
"God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control."
Those words could almost serve as a summary of the lives of Charles Lwanga and his companions. The courage that sustained them did not come from natural strength alone. It came from grace. The Holy Spirit strengthened them to remain faithful when faithfulness carried a terrible cost.
As we continue through this month dedicated to the Sacred Heart, it is worth remembering that the Heart of Christ is not merely a symbol of tenderness. It is also a symbol of steadfast love. The love of Christ remained faithful unto death on the Cross, and that same love sustained the martyrs.
The world often assumes that courage belongs to the powerful, the wealthy, or the influential. The Church remembers something different. Some of the greatest acts of courage in history were performed by young believers who possessed almost nothing except faith in Christ.
Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions remind us that Christianity is ultimately not about preserving comfort. It is about belonging to the living Christ. And when a person truly believes that Christ is risen and that eternal life is real, even death loses its power to intimidate.