Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr
Merry Christmas! Our Savior is born! Keep those Christmas decorations up. We’ve got 40 days to celebrate the Messiah’s birth! On this first day after Christmas, we are reminded of the cost of the Christian life. Today, we honor and celebrate a deacon of the early Church, St. Stephen. He was martyred because of his Christian faith, guilt by association. Christ warns of this in his words to the disciples in today’s gospel. He tells them that people will wish them pain and suffering because of the One they are following.
This guilt of association continues today. How did Stephen handle this? What can he teach us as we remember him? We find our answer from the Prophet Isiah, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me.” St. Stephen believed in and gave himself over to that Spirit. And possessing it, Stephen had already won. Brothers and sisters, we received this Spirit by way of the newborn Son of God. He is our shield, he is our breastplate, that will guide us and protect us. Fr. Etienne, Happy Name Day. St. Stephen, pray for us.
Reflection by Fr. Macario Martinez, OSB
Posted in Articles for Christmas, Daily Reflections