St. Stephen, Deacon and First Martyr



On the day after the solemnity of Christmas, we celebrate today the feast of St. Stephen, deacon and first martyr. All that we know of him is contained in the Acts of the Apostles, chapters 6 and 7. In Acts 6:5 seven men were selected and specially ordained by the Apostles to take care of the temporal relief of the poorer members. Of these seven, Stephen, is the first deacon mentioned and the best known. The Church had, by selecting him for a deacon, publicly acknowledged him as a man "of good reputation, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom" (Acts 6:3). He was "a man full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost" (vi, 5), "full of grace and fortitude."

Certain Jews, members of the Synagogue of Roman Freedmen, debated with Stephen but proved no match for the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke. They persuaded others to make the charge of blasphemy against him. He was seized and carried before the Sanhedrin.

Stephen spoke to the crowd and recalled the mercies of God towards Israel during its long history and of the ungratefulness by which, throughout, Israel repaid these mercies. “[Y]ou always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors” (Acts 7:51b). His speech provoked the anger of his audience.

But "[Stephen], 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....’ They dragged him out of the city, and began to stone him....As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit....Lord, do not hold this sin against them’” (Acts 7:55-56, 58a, 59, 60b). Little did all the people present, casting stones upon him, realize that the blood they shed was the first seed of a harvest that was to cover the world.

Stephen's supposed tomb was discovered by a man named Lucian in 415, which spread his cult when his relics were taken to Constantinople and Rome. Some of these relics included some of the stones that killed him.

St. Stephen's name means "crown," and he was the first disciple of Jesus to receive the martyr's crown. He is the Patron saint of: coffin makers, deacons, headaches, horses, masons, stone masons, Germany, Owensboro, Kentucky, and Prato, Italy.

Prayer
Lord,
we celebrate the entrance of St. Stephen into eternal glory.
He died praying for those who killed him.
Help us to imitate his goodness
and to love our enemies.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Name: Fr Leo Donovan OP Order: Dominican (Order of Preachers) Date of Ordination: July 9, 1967 Portfolio: Parish Priest, Petit Valley “I am grateful to Trinidad and to the Church in Trinidad.” A sentiment shared by many priests who come into our archdiocese to serve. These same sentiments were shared by Irish-born, Fr Leo Donovan. As a young boy, Leo loved the members of his very Catholic family. Two members whom he particularly admired were two of his uncles, both of whom were priests serving in Trinidad, one in the 1930s, Fr Aengus Byrnes and one in the 1960s, Fr Anthony Roche. He also had three cousins who were priests and one cousin who is a nun. It was therefore relatively natural that he would, at a young age, decide to join the Order of Preachers. After seven years of study for the priesthood, he was ordained in 1967 and went to Rome to study for a license in theology. In 1968, he followed in the footsteps of his uncles and came to Trinidad to serve as a priest. He arrived a few...
Read more

The contemplative life in Rosary Monastery

Image
    Supplements - 50th Anniversary of T&T Independence Saturday, 01 September 2012 21:21 Interview with Sr Ann Bradshaw Sr Ann Bradshaw Rosary Monastery Sr Ann Bradshaw, Dominican contemplative nun and present Prioress of Holy Rosary Monastery, St Ann’s entered Holy Rosary Monastery on May 5, 1962, at a pivotal moment in history, about four months before Trinidad and Tobago gained its Independence from Great Britain on August 31, 1962 and about five months before Vatican Council II began on October 11, 1962. In this jubilee year of her entrance, she shares with us the readers of Catholic News some of the significant experiences of the past 50 years in the history of our nation and local Church and in addition what Rosary Monastery contributes to our local Catholic Culture and Identity. It is helpful to remember where we have come from as a people so that armed with some historical context we can engage more fully in...
Read more