† Quote of the Day "In a world gone astray from God there is no peace, but it also lacks charity, which is true and perfect love... Nothing is more beautiful than love. Indeed, faith and hope will end when we die, whereas love, that is, charity, will last for eternity."" -Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Today's Meditation "We might say the whole mystery of our redemption in Christ, by his incarnation, his death and his resurrection, consists of this marvelous exchange: in the heart of Christ, God has loved us humanly, so as to render our human hearts capable of loving divinely. God became man so that man might become God—might love as only God is capable of loving, with the purity, intensity, power, tenderness, and inexhaustible patience that belong to the divine love. It is an extraordinary source of hope and a great consolation to know that, by virtue of God's grace working in us (if we remain open to it by persevering in faith, prayer, and the sacraments), the Holy Spirit will transform and expand our hearts to the point of one day making them capable of loving as God loves." —Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 67-68
An excerpt from Interior Freedom Daily Verse "But whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name." -1 Peter 4:16 | St Stephen St. Stephen (1st. c.) was one of the Church's first deacons in Jerusalem and an eloquent preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. According to Sacred Scripture he was "a man full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost" and "full of grace and fortitude." The account of his martyrdom is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. After boldly preaching against the Jewish leaders for their rejection of the promised Messiah, he was accused of blasphemy and stoned to death by an angry mob. The man who would later become St. Paul the Apostle, while he was persecuting the Church before his conversion, was among the mob as an approving witness. St. Stephen's name comes from the Greek word meaning 'crown,' fitting as he was the first Christian to earn the martyr's crown. St. Stephen's feast day is celebrated on December 26th. | Feast of Saint Stephen, First Martyr Reading 1 Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 Stephen, filled with grace and power,
was working great wonders and signs among the 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. When they heard this, they were infuriated,
and they ground their teeth at him.
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 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.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul.
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out
"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Responsorial Psalm Psalm 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. Alleluia Psalm 118:26a, 27a R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD:
the LORD is God and has given us light.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Matthew 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.
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.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
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."
| Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 I see the heavens opened. (Acts 7:56) In December of the year AD 415, a priest in Jerusalem named Fr. Lucian had a dream that told him to seek out a cave in the mountains of Judea. There he would find St. Stephen's bones. Lucian obeyed and, sure enough, found them exactly as his dream had foretold. Overjoyed at the discovery, the bishop of Jerusalem arranged for a solemn procession of these treasured relics to a church just outside the city walls. That procession took place on December 26. That's the historical reason why today is St. Stephen's feast day. But there's another reason: Stephen's dramatic death reveals the magnitude of what Jesus began when he came to earth as a child. At Jesus' birth, shepherds outside of Bethlehem had a vision of an opened heaven and a host of angels glorifying God. At his death, Stephen also proclaimed, "I see the heavens opened," and he not only saw angels, but Jesus himself, standing at the Father's right hand (Acts 7:56). Stephen's proclamation revealed that Jesus came to open heaven for everyone—including us. Stephen's joy and courage in the face of death also reveal that Jesus came to bring an end to death itself for everyone who believes. He shows how our trust in the Lord and our faith in Jesus' promises can free us from the fear of death. Just as Stephen did, we, too, can cry out in faith, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59). We can make that prayer every morning as we entrust our day to the Lord, and we can make it in a special way as we approach the end of our lives. We know, just as Stephen did, that we belong to the Lord—now and for eternity. So today, follow the example of our first martyr, who "looked up intently to heaven" and saw the risen Lord (Acts 7:55). Don't fix your eyes only on the child in the manger; gaze also at "the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (7:55). Let that vision fill your heart with joy and confidence. "St. Stephen, pray that my heart might be transformed by a vision of the risen Lord!" Psalm 31:3-4, 6, 8, 16-17
Matthew 10:17-22 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Audio of 2 Cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "... For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
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." ...." Word of the Lord. | From Roberto Juarez:
"The feast of St. Stephen invites us to ask ourselves: what place does Christ occupy in our lives? How far are we willing to go for Him? Being a Christian does not consist only of beautiful emotions at Christmas, but of a concrete choice for Christ every day, even when it is demanding.
Jesus ends the Gospel with a clear promise: "He who endures to the end will be saved." He does not ask us for spectacular successes, but loyalty. To persevere in faith, in prayer, in love, in forgiveness, even in the midst of difficulty. St Stephen did not change the world with his death, but he was faithful to the end, and that fidelity continues to bear fruit, even in the conversion of St Paul, who was present at his martyrdom.
Today let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of St Stephen, to grant us a courageous and trusting heart, capable of bearing witness with humility and love. May we know how to live our faith without fear, sustained by the Holy Spirit, and who, like Stephen, may know how to look to heaven even in the most difficult moments.
May the Child born in Bethlehem give us the strength to follow him always, until the end. Amen." end quote.
In the first scripture today we hear: "Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, 10but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke".
And so, because they couldn't beat him intellectually, and because they were spiritually weak, they wanted to beat him violently.
Weakness is violence. Strength is peace.
Think about how hard it is for you to bite your tongue when an argument arises and strikes you personally.
Think about what it costs you to be strong...in humility.
And look at the strength of God's love on the cross.
Can you imagine how hard it was for our Lord to be quiet, all the way to the cross?
Therefore, love is a choice, and it is described as "willing the good of the other".
All else false short. Violence continues today, weakness. Hatred continues today, all things pride, all things that affect a personal ego.
But, as other reflections point out...the light has entered our world...Christ our Light.
And today, physically, the world will begin to see brighter days, longer days as we orbit around the sun, our physical light. More sun...more life will come, more light, more life for us.
And I dare ask "who is Jesus that we would live for and die for?"
The bible tells us to seek...Him.
The Lord seeks our love, to love with jointly. This is God's love affair...to be in the affairs of us men on earth, and by men, we mean mankind, all of humanity. Indeed, humus means dirt, that which we are made of like clay, clay figures brought to life...to resemble the creator. Like the famous artists, Leonardo and so forth, they say they really draw themselves because they are most familiar with that figure. So God created us in Himself...in His image.
Saint Stephen resembled an image...of Christ.
For Christ had become alive in Saint Stephen, a deacon.
Do you know a deacon that resembles our Lord? Someone filled with the Holy Spirit and zeal?
They exist. They are dedicated to God, and His mission. They serve to help the priest....Jesus in "persona Christi", as we all should, be the bride, the very love of God, one dying for the other out of pure love!
Saint Stephen's last words on earth: ""Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man
standing at the right hand of God." Pray for us! |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." . . . . . . . . Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
