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Adeladius Makwega – DODOMA
We are celebrating the 24th Sunday of Year A in the Church’s Liturgical Year. In today’s Gospel, the Lord urges us to forgive seventy-seven times.
This is the Lord’s answer and recommendation to Peter. Why? Because His disciples are expected to reflect the forgiving nature of God.
Let us look at this example. There was a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. One of them pleaded earnestly with his master, and eventually his debt was forgiven.
However, this servant was unable to show the same compassion to a fellow servant who owed him a much smaller amount than the debt he himself owed his master. He seized him, choked him, and had him thrown into prison.
When the king learned about what had happened, he handed the wicked servant over to the torturers until he could repay his entire debt.
My brothers and sisters, God redeems us and forgives our sins so that we, too, may forgive one another. By doing so, we become the face and the living examples of God’s forgiveness in our communities.
God’s love has no measure. It does not end after seven acts of forgiveness.
These are the words of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Evangelization of Peoples of the Catholic Church, the institution responsible for the evangelization of peoples throughout the world and headquartered in the Vatican, on this Sunday, September 13, 2026.
On this Sunday, Mwanakwetu, Kigulu na Njia, attended Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Chamwino Ikulu Parish, in the Archdiocese of Dodoma.
The first event that Mwanakwetu witnessed and recorded at the church was this:
“The priest who celebrated this Mass, during Holy Communion, gathered all those who were prepared to receive the Lord at the front of the altar.
Later, he saw an elderly man coming at the very end to receive Holy Communion. The priest left the sanctuary and went to give Communion to this elderly man, who was using a walking stick. I believe he was the same elderly man with the walking stick whom the priest had not been able to give Communion to on the 23rd Sunday of Year A in the Church’s Liturgical Year (Yohane Mazoea).”
Judging from the distance between where the elderly man was and where the priest had been, it was about three-quarters of the length of the church. If the church was 400 metres long, it means that the priest walked approximately 300 metres to reach the elderly man.
Normally, healthy and spiritually prepared faithful who wish to receive the Lord follow the priest to the front. The distance may be shorter when there are several priests and ministers distributing Holy Communion.
As Mwanakwetu returned home after this Mass, he remembered two major events from many years ago: one at Vikindu Outstation and another at Mtoni Mtongani Outstation, both of which were under Mbagala Parish at the time, in the years 1988–1989, in the Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam.
“We arrived at Mtoni Mtongani Outstation, where Father Fidelis celebrated the Good Friday service. When the Mass had ended, a man came and said that there was a seriously ill person at his home in Mtoni Relini who was in danger of dying.
We, the altar servers, together with our priest, got into a car and travelled to Mtoni Relini, down in the valley. The small Volkswagen Golf could only reach the area beside the railway, so we continued on foot with our white priest. The parishioner went ahead on a bicycle to prepare the patient to receive the Anointing of the Sick.
When we arrived, we began looking for the house. Remember, on Good Friday the priest and the servers wear cassocks and red vestments. At that time, the Mtoni Outstation was still under construction and was surrounded by many houses. The area was small, and there was nowhere to change clothes.
While we were at Mtoni Relini, people began shouting:
‘Bloodsuckers! Those bloodsuckers! Bloodsuckers! Those bloodsuckers!’
The area had many Catholics of Fipa origin, including Mzee Maembe, the father of musician Vital Maembe, and Mzee Kisunga, the brother of Kisunga Steven of RTD. Amid the commotion, with stones and sticks being thrown, Mzee Kisunga came forward and said:
‘Please, these people are not bloodsuckers. They have come to provide spiritual care to our sick person. They are our fellow believers; the parishioner himself is a newcomer from Sumbawanga.’
The situation calmed down. We eventually reached the patient, and Father Fidelis administered the Sacrament. We then returned to Mbagala Msalabani(Misheni).
The second event took place at Vikindu Outstation, which was also under Mbagala Parish at the time.
A parishioner came to Father Wolfram and told him that there was a sick person at their outstation in Vikindu. The Vikindu Outstation had four main groups of Catholics. First were Makonde families; second were government employees, many of whom were tutors at Vikindu Teachers’ College; and the fourth group consisted of students at Vikindu Teachers’ College. There were also a few local residents.
On this particular day, we went to the home of a Baganda woman near the church of the outstation. I believe this was in 1989, and I believe this is the area where Vikindu Parish is located today.
Father Wolfram started the car and said:
‘Antony Masele Gogali, and you, Makwega Mpogoro of Luhombero Parish, let us go to Vikindu. There is a sick person.’
The priest quickly prepared himself and took the Sacrament. The man who had reported the situation was related to the Baganda woman. He had a small car and went ahead, while we followed in our vehicle to Vikindu.
Nearby lived a Baganda woman who was caring for children living with HIV. She came from a well-off family, and we often went there on Sundays and ate food prepared by the family.
I remember that caring for children living with HIV was something new to us at the time. People said that this woman used to take orphaned children from Kagera Region and raise them in Vikindu. At that time, we were greatly amazed by what she was doing.
The priest went inside and administered the Sacrament to the sick woman. Afterwards, we returned with him to a small shelter where he could rest. The priest spoke with the Baganda woman and her brother. Antony Masele Gopali and I sat in another small shelter, where we were served food. We ate and then left to return to Mbagala.
What I want to say is that when it comes to this Sacrament in times of emergency, illness and the danger of death, a priest cannot simply say, ‘I am busy.’ He has a responsibility to go to the person in need wherever that person may be, regardless of the cost of transportation, the distance involved, or any other challenges.
Remember, Father Fidelis and Mwanakwetu were almost killed in 1988 because they were accused of being ‘bloodsuckers’ at Mtoni Relini.
Father Fidelis did not give up serving the people of Mbagala. He continued that work and forgave the people of Mtoni Mtongani, until his death in 1993. Today, the people of Mtoni Mtongani have their own parish.
Mwanakwetu, are you there? Remember.
A Sacrament That Knows No Distance.
I wish you a blessed Sunday.
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