GOSPEL REFLECTIONS OF POPE FRANCIS: 12/26/23 (Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr)

From the Gospel according to Matthew

Mt 10:17-22

Jesus said to his disciples:

"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."

Words of the Holy Father:

Today we see the person who witnessed to Jesus, Saint Stephen, who shines in the darkness. Those who witness to Jesus shine with His light, not with their own light. Even the Church does not have its own light. Because of this, the ancient fathers called the Church: “the mystery of the moon”. Like the moon, which does not have its own light, these witnesses do not have their own light, they are capable of taking Jesus’s light and reflecting it. Stephen was falsely accused and brutally stoned, but in the darkness of hatred (which was the torment of his stoning), he allowed the light of Jesus to shine: he prayed for his murderers and forgave them, like Jesus on the cross. He is the first martyr, that is, the first witness, the first of a host of brothers and sisters who, even until today, continue to bring the light into the darkness – people who respond to evil with good, who do not succumb to violence and lies, but break the cycle of hatred with meekness and love. In the world’s nights, these witnesses bring God’s dawn. (Angelus, 26 December 2020)

Source:

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +

Saint Stephen, the First Martyr—Feast:

https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/26-december-saint-stephen-the-first-martyr--feast

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth