† 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 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. Alleluia Ps 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 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.
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."
| Daily Meditation: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:56) On the day after Christmas, we might find ourselves focused on the gifts we gave or received. We might even be heading to the store to return something! So it's easy to forget that we've just received the greatest gift of all: Emmanuel, God with us. Out of his great love for us, Jesus became man. He lives among us and is always at our side. This truth was especially evident in St. Stephen, whose feast we celebrate today. Scripture tells us that he was "filled with grace and power" and "was working great wonders and signs among the people" (Acts 6:8). Clearly, Jesus was with Stephen, giving him all the gifts he needed to build up the Church. So we might think that the Lord would gift him with a long life, working side by side with the apostles. But that's not what happened. Instead, Stephen became the first Christian martyr. Even in the midst of Stephen's suffering, however, Jesus provided him with the great gift of his presence. He opened Stephen's eyes so that he could see the very throne of heaven "and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56). Even when he was being stoned because of his proclamation of Jesus, it was that same Lord who strengthened him to endure to the end. Jesus was pouring out his grace in the midst of a terrible ordeal. Today, think back on an especially difficult season or event of your life. Now, look a bit deeper, and let God bring to mind the ways in which he was present to you. How did he pour out his grace? In what ways did you see him care for you through the people around you? Our God is so faithful! He doesn't promise us a life free of suffering. He even warned that we might be persecuted because of our belief in him. But he does promise to be with us at every moment of our lives, and especially in our trials. Today, ask St. Stephen to pray that you would see God's presence in your life as clearly as he did. Then praise the Lord for such an amazing gift! "Lord Jesus, may I always appreciate the gift and promise of your presence!" Psalm 31:3-4, 6, 8, 16-17
Matthew 10:17-22 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Click to hear Audio | In the Holy Scripture we hear today: "You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved."....." end Gospel quote, word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus predicts the coming persecution of his disciples. And we can see his prophetic word realized through the ages.
Think of St. Peter himself, crucified upside down in the circus of Nero; of Felicity and Perpetua, thrown to wild animals because they wouldn't deny their faith; of Thomas More, who resisted King Henry VIII and paid for it with his head; of Paul Miki, the Japanese Jesuit, who was crucified for announcing the Christian faith; of Miguel Pro, who was shot to death for defying a repressive Mexican government, shouting as he was shot, "Viva, Cristo Rey!"; of Franz Jägerstätter and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whom the Nazi regime put to death; of Maximilian Kolbe, who died at Auschwitz, willingly taking the place of another man. And the list goes on and on.
Indeed, the martyrs have come from all corners of the world, and they have spoken Greek, Latin, French, German, English, Japanese, Polish, and many other languages besides. Friends, this, strangely, is the army that undermines the foundations of the fallen world through the centuries. This is the great fighting force that Jesus has unleashed and continues to unleash........" End quote from Bishop Barron.
From a Spanish reflection:
"On this day when we celebrate the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, we remember his courage and faithfulness to the end, even when he was stoned for proclaiming his faith in Christ. May his example inspire us to be courageous witnesses of our faith, even in the midst of adversity and persecution. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will give us strength and courage to remain faithful to Christ at all times, trusting that He is with us to the end. St. Stephen, pray for us. Amen." end quote from Roberto Juárez.
Holy Spirit, come with your fire.
John the Baptist proclaimed one that would come and baptize us with fire.
And this fire came to be and came to be true, the only truth.
This fire is none other than the the fire of God's love, where love reigns supreme.
The day after Christmas, we remember a martyr for Christ.
And not much longer, we will remember the death of many toddlers, butchered by an angry and proud King and governor, seeking the death of the newborn king.
How can this be after celebrating a touching moment, of an infant being born in a manger?
Darkness hates light. That's how it can be. As I am writing, a co-worker came by taking down office Christmas decorations. i told him that for us Catholics, the original Christians, Christmas has just started at the nativity of our Lord, for the next 2 weeks we celebrate. For the world, it's over, but for us, it is just the beginning of lights shining in the dark. And darkness wants the lights put down, and put out.
If we are of God, and Jesus is our Way, then we must be the light. How? Contrary to the norms of the world. Contrary to perversion. Contrary to impurity. Contrary to hatred. Contrary to all things against God's Holy will and commands of Love.
There is a dark ruler asking all to be peaceful, but it is only asking for neutrality, not true peace. It is asking for the light to be dimmed so you can barely see what is lurking in the dark. But the light of Christ shines so strong, that all darkness is revealed in the inner core of a human being.
This is why those that persecuted Saint Stephen covered their ears. They hated to hear that he could see God and they couldn't. A new type of prophet, baptized with fire, was proclaiming the truth of Jesus, sitting at the right hand of the Father, our God.
Does it hurt to hear the truth? In our world, many don't care, in a neutral world, many do not want to care. In other parts of the world, you could still be stoned or imprisoned for proclaiming Jesus is Lord and King.
Which is worse? Being stoned or imprisoned, or proclaiming the Word of God day after day, and no one cares?
The blood of martyrs is the seed of faith. It would be better to be a martyr in another part of the world than a martyr in a place where nobody cares anymore.
A loved one texted early yesterday on my birthday, "what are you all doing"? And I responded "we just celebrated Christ Mass" The Mass of the Christ. I don't believe they went to the Mass of Christ on the day, the purpose of the love of God.
Are we doing His thing, His will, or are we following the way of the world that has by now decided to put out the lights?
His desire is Holy Obedience, and love of Jesus, to the very core, the essence of our being. These bare a closer resemblance to the Father. A Christ child. One in Him.
And in the light of the burning Sacred Heart. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Acts 16:31 31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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