The Feast of Stephen

It is no accident that the feast of the very first martyr for the faith falls on the day after we begin to celebrate the Lord's birth. For deacons-and for those of us who are Aspirants to the deaconate-it is a most significant feast because it celebrates the martyrdom of one of the first deacons-Stephen-who was stoned to death for preaching in Jesus' name.

Stephen was not afraid to meet death for the sake of the Holy Name, and the freedom to preach in Jesus' name. We live in a country where we have enjoyed that freedom for many decades and, by and large, been able to take it for granted. In other parts of the world, especially in places like the Khartoum region of Sudan, or in parts of Nigeria, or in Indonesia, or North Korea, churches are burned, Christians  are hunted down, many are forced underground, a great many are killed for the sake of Jesus' name. We read the account of Stephen's stoning-it is the first reading at Mass today, and the lengthier reading of the account can be found in the Office of Readings for today-and we laud the great martyrdom and heroism of Stephen and we might speak of his willingness to give everything for Christ, even his very life. The reality, though, is that we are called to the same spirit of sacrifice for the sake of Christ-even unto our life. We may never have to give our life, as Stephen did, but it is a legitimate question: Are we willing to, because Jesus himself said we might have to (cf. Matthew 24:9-10). On most days of the year, the Church commemorates a saint who died that day, and very often is this notation next to that person's name "____, martyr." The word martyr means "witness."

Stephen was a great witness for the faith in its earliest days. His witness causes me to ponder...am I a great witness, how can I be a better witness?

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Nicole got me the most awesome Christmas present. It was the New Testament of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. The notes and commentaries in it are extensive and excellent-they are written by Dr. Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch. I find myself reading some passage of scripture and then getting some insight from the notes that then causes me to cross reference some other passage where I will then find more information. My only problem with it seems to be that I spend so much time buried in it that I have to remind myself to finish the assigned reading for formation this coming month!