Celebrating the Mass for the inauguration of the 2026-2027 academic year at Hekima University College (HUC) on Saturday, August 15, the President of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM), Rev. Father José Minaku Lukoli, SJ, delivered a homily centered on shifting perspectives, spiritual contemplation, and hope. Coinciding with the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Eucharistic celebration officially launched HUC’s new academic theme: “Expanding Horizons, Empowering Futures.”
In his homily, Fr. Minaku described education as an ongoing movement to expand personal boundaries and enable communities to shape their own destinies. Reflecting on the Assumption, he noted that Mary’s story reveals that humanity’s present struggles do not define the limits of its future. Drawing from the Gospel of John, where Peter and the disciples return to fishing after the Resurrection, Fr. Minaku observed how easily people retreat to familiar routines during moments of uncertainty.
“They worked all night and caught nothing, not a single fish,” Fr. Minaku said. “When Jesus appears on the shore and tells them to cast the net on the right side of the boat, He is inviting them to look in another direction. The boat is the same, the fishermen are the same, the lake is the same; the only thing changing is looking in another direction.”
This shift in perspective, he emphasized, represents a fundamental goal of higher education, which includes; (beyond information gathering) whereby quality education must not simply fill the mind with data but must change the vantage point from which scholars view reality; (reframing society) whereby education should train minds to recognize systemic injustice, appreciate diverse cultures without judgment, and view the world through a lens of faith and human dignity’ and finally (Ignatian contemplation) whereby drawing on Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Fr. Minaku stressed that true wisdom requires humility, integrity, and the capacity to hold difficult questions long enough for deeper meaning to surface.
Reflecting on the First Reading from the Book of Isaiah, Fr. Minaku reminded the congregation that God restores humanity’s capacity to imagine a future even in times of exile and darkness. Highlighting the Gospel scene where Jesus prepares breakfast on the shore before the disciples land, Fr. Minaku noted that divine providence is always one step ahead. Yet, Christ still asks the disciples to bring the fish they have caught.
“God is always at work, but He still wants the fish that we bring,” Fr. Minaku stated, urging the HUC academic community to actively offer their efforts. “Bring your research, your papers, your teaching, your technology, your dreams, and even your failures. God’s grace does not make human effort unnecessary; it makes our efforts fruitful.”
Concluding his homily, Fr. Minaku invoked Our Lady of Wisdom (Mary Hekima), encouraging students and faculty to embrace the dual callings of Mary at Nazareth (“Let it be done to me”) and Cana (“Do whatever He tells you”). He prayed that the HUC community would proceed through the 2026-2027 academic year with the courage to expand their horizons and the generosity to empower futures across Africa and the world.
By Pamela Adinda, HUC Communications and International Office Coordinator
