Today we
celebrate the feast of Saint Stephen, the first martyr of the Church. His
martyrdom is described in the first reading for today,
and while it is a sad account, it is also appropriate to the joy of
Christmastide. For Stephen’s death was actually a new birth, one made possible
by the birth of Christ. As Saint John Paul II said on this day in 2003:
The Church calls the day of martyrdom a dies
natalis (birthday). Indeed, by virtue of Christ's death and Resurrection,
the death of the martyr is a birth in Heaven. This is why it is so
meaningful to celebrate the First Martyr the day after Christmas: Jesus who was
born in Bethlehem gave his life for us so that we too, reborn “from on high”
through faith and Baptism, might be willing to give up our own lives for love
of our brothers and sisters.
St.
Stephen, please pray for us, that we may receive whatever grace we need to
offer the gift of ourselves to God and others during this season of giving.
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