St. Kizito Parish hosted a two-day Lenten retreat facilitated by Fr. John Kaliwamba, DP. Guided by the theme “Lazaro, tuluka” (Lazarus, come out) from John 11, Fr. Kaliwamba challenged parishioners to look beyond physical mortality to the “deaths” occurring within.
Fr. John noted that the greatest tragedy is not physical death, but rather the death of the soul through sin, fear, and a normalised sense of amorality. “The loss of the sense of sin is a modern crisis,” he observed, urging the faithful to reclaim their moral compass.
Reflecting on the honesty of Martha and the devotion of Mary, Fr. John explained that even when hope seems lost—much like the four days Lazarus spent in the tomb—Jesus remains the master of the impossible. By calling Lazarus forth, Jesus did not just perform a miracle; He invited everyone present to step out of their own dark places of sin and moral decay.
The retreat concluded with a call to action: to model our lives after Christ. Just as Jesus resisted temptation in the desert, Fr. John encouraged the congregation to stand firm in the Lord, replacing fear with hope and choosing life over the “dead values” of the world.