December 26, 2012

Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr

Read more about St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...two turtle doves

The two turtle doves symbolize the Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God's revelation and salvation history.  They might also be a reminder of the two turtle doves which Mary gave in ritual atonement sin.

Luke 2:22-24
King James Version (KJV)
22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

This video is to remind you that Christmas is a season, 12 days from Dec. 25 to Jan 6, the Epiphany.

Lectionary: 696

Reading 1 from St. Luke's record of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59

Stephen, filled with grace and power,
was working great wonders and signs among the people.

St. Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and worked great miracles among the Jewish people.

Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,
Cyrenians, and Alexandrians,
and people from Cilicia and Asia,
came forward and debated with Stephen,
but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

A certain group of Jews, however, tried to obstruct St. Stephen in his work of God.  But St. Stephen overcame their arguments with great wisdom.

When they heard this, they were infuriated,
and they ground their teeth at him.

Instead of being humbled, they were filled with hatred of St. Stephen.

But he, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven
and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and he said,
"Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man
standing at the right hand of God."

But God revealed Himself to St. Stepeh at that moment so that he saw Jesus Christ sitting on His Throne at the right hand of the Power.

But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears,
and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.

They became so angry that they lynched him and killed him.

The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul.

A leader in this deed was a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees, whose name was Saul and would later be known as St. Paul of Tarsus.

As they were stoning Stephen, he called out
"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

As they were stoning him, St. Stephen cried out to Our Lord and said, "receive my spirit."

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 31:3cd-4, 6 And 8ab, 16bc And 17

R. (6) Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name's sake you will lead and guide me.

R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy.

R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Rescue me from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.

R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

We should not wait until our dying day to commend our spirit to God.  We should do that daily and more frequently, we can do it with every breath we take.  We should unite ourselves to God, continually:

Romans 13:14
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew
Mt 10:17-22

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.

Christ foresees that His Apostles and disciples will be persecuted.

When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.  

You will be given at that moment what you are to say.

He doesn't say we will not suffer, but that we will, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, be told what to say.

For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

In fact, it will be God speaking through us.

Brother will hand over brother to death,
and the father his child;
children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved."

Many Christians have been martyred and will be martyred in the name of Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

De Maria