Feast of St. Stephen

Lullaby by Wislawa Kwiatkowska

Ave Maria! Today I am posting the above image by Wislawa Kwiatkowska of our Blessed Mother with the Divine Child because it ties in so well with today's feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr for Christ.  If you look carefully at the background behind Jesus and Mary, you will see at least half a dozen crosses.  The Child of Joy, whose birth gladdens our hearts, does not wipe out the sorrow and suffering of the world.  He will grow into the Man of Sorrows and die upon a common cross, redeeming us of all our sinfulness and evil.  Only those who are willing to die for him as St. Stephen did will be able to say with Christ's first martyr, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56).  Most of us will not be stoned to death with the sort of huge boulders that crushed and killed Stephen, but we will have to endure the pebbles and other smaller rocks of the sufferings that will befall us as we strive to live a life in keeping with our Lord's Gospel.  Jesus warns us that we will be hated because of his name (Matt 10:22), and often those who persecute and hurt us the most will be those within our own family and church.  But we also have Christ's blessed assurance that if we to endure to the end, we will be saved (Matt 10:22).  And we have St. Stephen's shining example to help us keep calling out to our  Savior as he did: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" (Acts 7:59). 

Nails, spear shall pierce him through,

The Cross be borne for me, for you;

Hail, hail the Word Made Flesh,

The babe, the son of Mary!

 

Grant, Lord, we pray, that we may imitate what we worship, and so learn to love even our enemies, for we celebrate the heavenly birthday of a man who knew how to pray even for his persecutors.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.  ~Collect, Mass for the Feast of St. Stephen