Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr
Reading 1 Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59
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
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
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
"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."
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
December 26, 2024 // Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 10:17-22
Reflect on the Word//
One of our family’s most beloved Christmas traditions is the at-home Nativity play we put on after Christmas dinner. The script is from Luke 2:1-20 and Matthew 2:1-12. The costumes are dad’s t-shirts; the props are household items. The actors are members of the family plus our unsuspecting dinner guests.
It’s been a source of great family memories over the years: of toddler innkeepers enthusiastically bellowing “NO ROOM,” of the various interpretations of the facial expressions required to convey that Herod was “troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2:3), and exactly how exceedingly we’re talking when the kings “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matthew 2:10).
No memorization is required. I hand the adults a script to read from, and for the younger kids, I just feed them their lines as they need them. No preparation needed. We all know just what to say.
Just like Saint Stephen.
For today, the second day of Christmas, is the feast of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr. And we are reminded by Saint Stephen’s Day just what our faith requires of us—God gave His whole self to us, and we are to give ourselves entirely to Him. In the Gospel today, Jesus reminds His disciples—and us—that our faith requires our witness, but we are never going it alone. “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” (Matthew 10:19). We can trust the Holy Spirit to speak through us, to say what hearts need to hear. And while they may hate us for it, the God Who became a little Baby is worth it all.
Whether the Holy Spirit is inspiring our last words before martyrdom, or just giving us that little nudge to invite a friend to Mass (or over for dinner and a Nativity play), when we are docile to where the Holy Spirit is leading us, memorable things are sure to happen.
Relate to the Lord // Invite the Holy Spirit to guide you today, whether in conversation or action.
Kendra Tierney Norton is grateful to be a wife, mother, and stepmother. She lives in the wilds of unincorporated Los Angeles County in a big old fixer-upper house with her husband and a varying number of their combined fourteen children, plus one fish, two cats, and twenty chickens. She likes to say that her goal is keeping Catholicism weird. To that end, she is the author of books including the Catholic All Year Compendium: Liturgical Living for Real Life with Ignatius Press and O Come, Emmanuel: Advent Reflections on the Jesse Tree for Families with Emmaus Road Publishing, the creator of the TV series Catholic All Year At Home on FORMED, and the CEO of Catholic All Year, an apostolate dedicated to helping parents live out their Catholic faith and pass it along to their children.
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