MEDITATION FOR DECEMBER 26TH

FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN

“And Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and things among the people. Now there arose some of the synagogue, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit that spoke” (Acts 6, 8). ‘Now hearing these things, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed with their teeth at him. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looking up steadfastly to heaven, saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And he said: ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God’ (Acts 7, 54-55).

First Prelude: Behold the saint at the moment of his death, his eyes raised to heaven, praying for his executioners.

Second Prelude: O my Jesus, inflame my heart with ardent love of Thee, that I may exercise it faithfully on the many occasions offered.

FIRST POINT

ST. STEPHEN WAS REPLETE WITH THE GRACE AND THE STRENGTH OF THE HOLY GHOST

“The grace of God, our Saviour, hath appeared to all men” (Tit. 2, II). Holy Church exclaims on Christmas day, and today she invites all her children to rejoice when she says, “Come, let us adore the new-born Saviour, Who hath today crowned St. Stephen” (Office). This saint, who as the first martyr gave such glorious testimony of the Lord, is a precious fruit of that superabundant grace which Jesus has poured out upon mankind at His advent into the world. The fire that Jesus had come to cast on the earth enkindled the heart of the holy deacon and inflamed him with holy zeal, which impelled him to spread the doctrine of Christ more and more.

Holy Scripture styles him a man of faith, and full of the Holy Spirit “And Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6, 8). Undoubtedly, it was largely through his influence that the number of disciples increased so rapidly in Jerusalem. Dare we wonder that the spirit of iniquity rose up in arms against this man so full of the Holy Spirit, and goaded the Jews on to destroy him? “They were cut to the heart, and gnashed their teeth at him” we read further in the Acts (7, 54). Such or similar persecutions are, by divine decree, the portion of those who in all sincerity aim at virtue and sanctity.

Let not, then, the fear of tribulations discourage us, for God will not suffer His faithful servants to lack heavenly consolations. “Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, looking up steadfastly to heaven, saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7, 56).

How must a look into heaven have entranced the holy martyr!

Was it not a foretaste of eternal bliss? How must the sight of the Redeemer have strengthened and encouraged him to brave any danger, since he saw in Christ the reward promised to the faithful combatant! But what rendered St. Stephen worthy of such distinction? The Holy Ghost dwelt in his heart because it was pure and spotless; the Holy Ghost filled him with lively faith and burning love, freed him from the fetters of earthly things, so that his mind and heart were constantly directed heavenward, and his glance fixed upwards more with the eye of the spirit than with the bodily eye.

We, too, must prepare a pure and pleasing abode for the Holy Ghost in our heart, that He may replenish it and elevate our desires heavenwards. We will draw nigh to the crib of the Saviour with the living faith and the burning love of St. Stephen. The hard resting place on which our Saviour reposes, like the humiliations and sacrifices that He demands of His servants, will not frighten us, and we will, rather, comprehend the mysteries of His holy Childhood, in all simplicity, and receive the treasure of His grace into our hearts.

SECOND POINT

THE HEROIC LOVE OF ST. STEPHEN

It was the love of the Incarnate God that so powerfully incited St. Stephen to love his God in return, and that with his whole heart, even to the immolation of his life. Therefore he rejoiced to be found worthy, as first martyr, to shed his blood for Him Who had shed His amid excruciating torments on the Cross. This is the power of love, imbibed from the contemplation of the excessive love of God for us, of which St. Paul says: “The charity of Christ presseth us” (2 Cor. 5, 14).

In order to strengthen him in his combat, Jesus vouchsafed Stephen a look into His glory, but He did not deliver him from the hands of his enemies. He himself appeared on earth that by poverty and renunciation, by immolation, and finally by a painful death, He might enter into His glory, into which He desires His servants to enter, but only after they, too, have trodden the path of suffering. “Everyone who does not renounce all that he possesses cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14, 33), and “Who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 14, 33). These are the words of our Divine Saviour, which all the saints and all true Christians have pondered in their hearts. The Lord offers to all opportunities to testify their love, if not by bloody martyrdom then, at least, by countless greater or lesser sufferings attendant upon the faithful discharge of the duties of our vocation, and especially the striving for perfection.

St. Stephen suffered cheerfully and heroically because of his great love. He even prayed for his executioners while suffering death at their hands. What a glorious example of love of God and of neighbor! We, however, often lack the necessary strength of soul in the least sufferings; the smallest pebbles of reverses and contradictions smite us to the ground, and we consider them an oppressive burden. We find it hard to pardon an insult, an insignificant fault or offense; and to requite good for evil, we deem impossible. Oh, how weak and inefficient is our love of Jesus! Let us seek to strengthen it by frequent meditation on the boundless love of the Son of God, which drew Him down into this vale of tears to submit to the humiliations of the manger and, later, to the greatest sufferings. Let us implore this love especially when receiving the Sacrament of Love, in which the Lord is so eager to impart His sentiments to our hearts. In sorrow and tribulations, in imitation of St. Stephen, we will look unwaveringly upon the Saviour, Who watches our combat from the heights of heaven, and rejoices at the victory we achieve by the aid of His all-powerful grace.

Affections: O my Divine Saviour, is it not the self-same immeasurable love and mercy that revealed Thee yesterday in the poverty and lowliness of the manger, in the weakness and amiability of childhood, that today reveals Thee in heavenly glory encouraging Thy holy martyr to persevere in the struggle, by holding out to him the crown of victory? Yes, O my Jesus, Thou wouldst say: The more you resemble Me in renunciation and patience, in humility and faithful imitation on the way of the cross, the more glorious will be your portion in Me and My glory! Oh enrich us with Thy graces, enrich us with the love of God and of neighbor, that therein we may find strength to fight for Thee, in order to enter Thy glory, to which Thou didst today call Thy faithful servant.

Resolution: I will beg St. Stephen for great love of God and of neighbor.

Spiritual Bouquet: “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7, 55).

Prayer: Our Father . . .