St. Stephen – Proto-martyr
Can you recall the different times this late Fall and Winter when one day the temperatures were in the seventies and the next morning you awoke to the middle thirties? Almost unbelievable change ... until you walked outside ... and bavoom ... the cold hits you squarely in your face.
The feast day of yesterday and of today is similar to that. Yesterday, we basked in the sunshine of the greatest gift God has ever given the world. Today we are hit squarely what it can cost to be a follower of Jesus Christ, the wonderful gift from God to us.
For the last three weeks I have been writing and speaking out God’s intention for us and the purpose He has given us in our lives at any given time. Looking at the martyrdom of St. Stephen, his being stoned to death, we encounter a man who gave his life for the one who sacrificed his life for Stephen.
Today we go from unwrapping to repackaging: from the special joy of the birth of Jesus to putting that away for a while, yet again, and now returning to the ordinary. Yet, as we know, there is nothing ordinary about our ordinary life as followers of Jesus. It is difficult, I believe to think about martyrdom. It is not something we would expect to encounter in our country. But accepting in an adult manner the reality of our Baptism and Confirmation, we know deep within our hearts, in that placeless place, that there are daily martyrdoms we are called upon to live in our lives ... simply by following the Commandments, following what the Catholic Church teaches us and calls us to follow.
Think of the major concerns that we have in our Church vis-a-vis our societal ways. Moral issues in the medical field ... they are here every day not just during presidential campaigns. Economic issues in our world: the ever-increasing numbers of poor matched only by the great increases in wealth in an ever-smaller segment of society. In our Church, how do we confront those who feel alienated from the Church? How do we labor to understand why they feel alienated? How can we help bring them back to the Church? Yes, there are many martyrdoms out there if we respond as Stephen did with his words: Yes, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." The painting is the work of Annibale Carraci. Completed in 1604, it can be seen in the Louvre, Paris, France.
Can you recall the different times this late Fall and Winter when one day the temperatures were in the seventies and the next morning you awoke to the middle thirties? Almost unbelievable change ... until you walked outside ... and bavoom ... the cold hits you squarely in your face.
The feast day of yesterday and of today is similar to that. Yesterday, we basked in the sunshine of the greatest gift God has ever given the world. Today we are hit squarely what it can cost to be a follower of Jesus Christ, the wonderful gift from God to us.
For the last three weeks I have been writing and speaking out God’s intention for us and the purpose He has given us in our lives at any given time. Looking at the martyrdom of St. Stephen, his being stoned to death, we encounter a man who gave his life for the one who sacrificed his life for Stephen.
Today we go from unwrapping to repackaging: from the special joy of the birth of Jesus to putting that away for a while, yet again, and now returning to the ordinary. Yet, as we know, there is nothing ordinary about our ordinary life as followers of Jesus. It is difficult, I believe to think about martyrdom. It is not something we would expect to encounter in our country. But accepting in an adult manner the reality of our Baptism and Confirmation, we know deep within our hearts, in that placeless place, that there are daily martyrdoms we are called upon to live in our lives ... simply by following the Commandments, following what the Catholic Church teaches us and calls us to follow.
Think of the major concerns that we have in our Church vis-a-vis our societal ways. Moral issues in the medical field ... they are here every day not just during presidential campaigns. Economic issues in our world: the ever-increasing numbers of poor matched only by the great increases in wealth in an ever-smaller segment of society. In our Church, how do we confront those who feel alienated from the Church? How do we labor to understand why they feel alienated? How can we help bring them back to the Church? Yes, there are many martyrdoms out there if we respond as Stephen did with his words: Yes, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." The painting is the work of Annibale Carraci. Completed in 1604, it can be seen in the Louvre, Paris, France.
