UGANDA: Our African continent is hungry for good messages and good deliberations but these can be achieved if sown on good soil, says Cardinal Berhaneyesus
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. He didn’t see where they were falling; some fell on the road, and the birds came and ate, some fell on rocky places while other seed fell among thorns and they didn’t produce fruits,” Cardinal Berhaneyesus Souraphiel, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa and President of the Catholic Ethiopian Bishops’ Conference (CBEC) said.
“The only seed that gave fruits are the seed that fell on the good soil. They produced abundant fruits; a hundred, sixty and thirty folds as since they were sowed on the good soil,” he told the delegates of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) in his homily on July 24 at Munyonyo Speke Resort.
Reflecting on the liturgy of the day on ‘The Parable of the Sower and Seed’, Cardinal Berhaneyusus said during Mass of the 18th Plenary Assembly and Golden Jubilee celebrations of the SECAM, that without good soil one can’t expect a crop to grow and produce abundant fruit.
He challenged the Africa bishops to sow their resolutions for the SECAM Plenary on good soil if they are to achieve their goals as a continent.
“What this parable means is that, we have the message, the resolutions and the recommendations which this assembly is preparing for our continent. It is therefore up to us to sow them and hopefully they will be sown on good soil and good hearts so that they can bear good and abundant fruits. Our continent Africa is not only hungry for good food and good salt which should be always available; but above all for good deliberations and recommendations which are able to bear fruits if they are sown on good soil,” the former Chairman of Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) noted.
The Cardinal further urged the delegates to put the resolutions in God’s hands through prayers and trust Him for them to be able to succeed in the implementation of these resolutions that are paramount for the African continent today and many years to come.
The SECAM Plenary, which is underway at Munyonyo, has brought together over 300 delegates from Africa, Madagascar, Europe, America, Asia and beyond. These includes 9 cardinals, 55 archbishops, 106 bishops, about 60 priests, religious men, women and youth, representatives of various partners and selected institutions among others.
The event commenced on Sunday July 20 under the theme “Church-Family of God in Africa, Celebrate your Jubilee! Proclaim and Welcome Christ your Saviour.” It will conclude on Monday July 29 with a Closing Mass at Namugongo Martyrs Shrine.
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By Jacinta W. Odongo; Media Officer, Uganda Episcopal Conference
