HOLIDAY ANGELUS
The first Christian martyr
was a model for evangelizers
Pope Benedict led noontime Angelus prayers today in St. Peter's Square on the day after Christmas, which is the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. In English, he said this:
Today, immediately after Christmas Day, by tradition we celebrate the feast of the first martyr, Saint Stephen the Deacon. Like him, may we be blessed by God’s grace to have the courage to speak up and to defend the truth of our faith in public, with charity and constancy. God bless all of you and your loved ones!
Here is a full translation of the Holy Father's reflections:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Every year, the day after the Nativity of the Lord, the liturgy celebrates the Feast of St. Stephen, deacon and first Christian martyr. The Book, Acts of the Apostles, presents us as someone full of grace and the Holy Spirit (cfr Acts 6,8-10; 7,55);.
The promise of Jesus reported in today's Gospel is fully confirmed in him, namely, that believers called on to bear witness to the Lord in difficult and dangerous circumstances shall not be abandoned and left defenseless: the Spirit of God will speak in them (cfr Mt 10,20).
The deacon Stephen, in effect, worked, spoke and died with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness to the love of Christ to the point of the ultimate sacrifice. The first martyr is described in his suffering, as a perfect imitation of Christ, whose passion he recapitulated even in the details.
The life of St. Stephen was entirely shaped by God, conformed to Christ, whose passion was repeated in him. In the final moments of his dying, he fell to his knees, repeating Jesus's prayer on the Cross, entrusting himself to the Lord (cfr Acts 7,59) and pardoning his enemies: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (v 60.)
Filled with the Holy Spirit, while his eyes were about to close forever, he fixed his gaze on "Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (v 55),, Lord of everyone and who draws everything to him.
On St. Stephen's Day, we too are called to fix our gaze on the Son of God, whom we contemplate in the joyous atmosphere of Christmas in all the mystery of his Incarnation.
With Baptism and Confirmation, with the precious gift of faith nourished by the Sacraments, especially by the Eucharist, Jesus Christ has joined us to him and wishes to continue dwelling in us, with the action of the Holy Spirit, his work of salvation, which rescues, appreciates, elevates and leads everyone to fulfillment.
To let ourselves be drawn to Christ, as St. Stephen did, means opening up our life to the light that calls to us, thank orients us and makes us follow the way of goodness, the way of a humanity according to God's plan of love.
Finally, St. Stephen is a model for all those who wish to place themselves in the service of the new evangelization. He demonstrates that the novelty of announcing Christ does not consist primarily in the use of original methods or techniques, which certainly have their uses, but in being full of the Holy Spirit and letting ourselves be led by him.
The novelty of proclaiming Christ is the depth of immersion in the mystery of Christ, in the assimilation of his Word and his presence in the Eucharist, so that He himself, the living Jesus, can speak and act through his messenger.
In effect, the evangelizer becomes able to bring Christ to others effectively when he lives in Christ, when the novelty of the Gospel is manifest in his own life.
Let us pray to the Virgin Mary so that the Church, in this Year of Faith, shall see a multiplication of men and women who, like St. Stephen, will be able to bear convincing and courageous witness to the Lord Jesus.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 27/12/2012 03:24]