Will you be the one to help cultivate the seed?
Our own faith journey as Missionary Disciples of Jesus is like an ongoing cycle of growth. Seeds of faith planted by our parents, nurtured by family and friends . . . and strengthened by the season of our lives.
This is the life and viewpoint of Father Herman Kituuma, who celebrates Mass, teaches classes & tends the 500 acres of land used to raise livestock and produce. These are just a few of the daily chores of Father Kituuma, who serves as Rector of Saint Thomas Aquinas Katigondo Seminary, in the Mission country of Uganda.
St. Thomas Aquinas Katigondo Major Seminary in Masaka, Uganda. “I think Jesus was making a point in a spiritual sense when talking about the one seed that grows and becomes a shrub,” Father Kituuma tells visitors to the Seminary. “When I have a seed, I potentially have a forest,” he continued, “I plant that seed and it grows into a single tree, and from that tree I get more seeds to plant, and in no time I will have a forest all from one single seed.”
Today, Saint Thomas Seminary has 300 students being formed to be tomorrow’s leaders in the faith. For many of these future Religious living in Mission areas, their studies would not continue and the seeds of their faith cannot grow without the financial support of the members of the Society of St. Peter Apostle . . . one of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Seminarians at Saint Thomas are being formed in the faith – and in the field, as they learn agriculture practices on the Seminary’s farm, the knowledge they’ll take to their future parishes to help combat hunger. These future priests will be ready to feed body and soul.
Africa is a continent of abundant natural resources, farmland and workers, yet daily, millions go hungry or are malnourished. Pope Francis has called each of us to “eliminate this injustice.”
These future priests & Religious can make a difference.
One such priest, trained at the St. Thomas Seminary is Father Joachim. Father attributes his vocation to the priesthood through those priests he met during his youth, along with the prayer life of his family. “Priesthood was an inclination deep in my heart,” Father Joachim says, “I am very grateful to all who have helped it grow.” By faith that was nurtured by friends and family, Father was able to complete his studies and become a parish priest and begin his role in nurturing the seeds of the Catholic faith in others.
“One sows, another reaps” John 4: 17 holds true at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Reparatrix-Institute [IHMR], not far from Saint Thomas Seminary in Uganda. This group of Religious women are dedicated to evangelize through word and deed. As Sisters, they will serve locally in 21 schools, 9 hospitals and help operate ministries, which include a bakery, to provide employment to local abandoned youths. From postulant studies to tending to a small poultry farm, Sister Naluggya Mary Justine is teaching these young women to bring the Good News of Jesus to their neighbors, to be self-sustaining financially and to help feed the needy in their community.
By investing in the endeavors of Fathers Kituuma & Joachim, the IHMR Sisters and all Religious throughout the Mission lands, we will ensure they all have what they need to spread the Gospel . . . as well as hope for our Mission family.
Growing the Faith – Will you help?