From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   December 26th - St. Stephen the Deacon   
      
   "Now Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and miracles   
   among   
   the people.   
      
    "Now there arose some of that which is called synagogue, of the Libertines,   
   and   
   of the Cyreneans, and of Alexandrians, and those of Cilicia and Asia,   
   disputing   
   with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit   
   that   
   spoke ..   
      
   "Now hearing these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed with   
   their teeth at him. But he being full of the Holy Ghost, looking up   
   steadfastly   
   to Heaven, 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.   
      
   "And they, crying out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and with one   
   accord   
   rushed violently upon him. And casting him out of the city, they stoned him   
   and   
   the witness laid down their garments at the feet of a young man, whose name   
   was   
   Saul.   
      
   "And they stoned Stephen, invoking and saying: Lord Jesus, receive my   
   spirit.   
      
   "And falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, saying: Lord, lay   
   not   
   this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep in the   
   Lord"   
   (Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59).   
      
      
   Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)   
      
   The text is so beautiful that almost every phrase deserves a commentary. The   
   scene develops in successive steps, each one with its own character.   
      
   The first step presents St. Stephen as doing wonderful things. The   
   imponderables   
   of the language of Scriptures transmit the picture of a virginal man, and   
   then   
   the text adds that he was full of grace and strength. To describe St.   
   Stephen,   
   the Holy Ghost utilized the same expression - "full of grace" - that the   
   Archangel Gabriel used to greet Our Lady, which is a great honor for St.   
   Stephen. He was a man with the plenitude of strength, and also the plenitude   
   of   
   virtue and grace that acted in him.   
      
   In the second step, we learn about the people to whom he was preaching. He   
   was   
   working his miracles in the midst of those apostate Jews. Jerusalem was a   
   convergence point for Jews from many parts of the world. This is why   
   Scriptures   
   specifies the different synagogues of peoples - the Libertines, Cyreneans,   
   Alexandrians, and so on. Witnessing the miracles of St. Stephen, these   
   people   
   hated him and began to resort to chicaneries and sophisms in order to   
   embarrass   
   him.   
      
   In the third step, we see his disputation with the Jews. He responded so   
   well to   
   his adversaries that the polemic begun by the Jews backfired on them. They   
   became confused and dumbfounded. Prior to this, they could not support his   
   miracles, and after he argued, they could not support his superb   
   argumentation.   
   Their hatred increased to the degree St. Stephen manifested the admirable   
   aspects of his soul.   
      
   In the fourth step, that hatred increased and the people who opposed St.   
   Stephen   
   began to gnash their teeth in fury. What was the object of that hatred? It   
   was   
   goodness, in and of itself. They hated the good because the good is good,   
   and   
   not for any other reason. A person who does not understand reality would   
   say:   
   "No, they didn't like him because he made this or that small error when he   
   was   
   explaining his topic, or he lacked the skill to address a particular   
   matter."   
   Such a person has an erroneous interpretation of reality.   
      
   Those Jews understood perfectly what St. Stephen was saying and doing. They   
   saw   
   that those things were marvelous, and they hated those things because they   
   were   
   good. The nature of evil is such that it attacks good because it is good.   
   This   
   is the perfidy of evil. This is the essence of its iniquity. The more good   
   and   
   truth manifest themselves, the more the sons of darkness hate them.   
      
   That was the same people who had preferred Barrabas to Our Lord, and had   
   called   
   for His death. This is the iniquity of evil and the malice of sin. This   
   malice   
   is different from that of a person who commits a sin. This kind of malice   
   comes   
   from one who has rejected the good and loves the evil that he does.   
      
   In the fifth step, after closing the polemic, St. Stephen raised his eyes to   
   Heaven, and gave testimony to the divinity of Our Lord, Whom he was seeing   
   in a   
   vision. He spoke in a way that left no room for doubt that he was speaking   
   the   
   truth. His words reflected the Holy Ghost Who was filling his soul. He was   
   experiencing a mystical ecstasy, and this supernatural reality was made   
   apparent   
   to those around him.   
      
   Someone could object that it would have been more prudent and efficacious   
   for   
   St. Stephen to have fled the challenge. He would have lived longer and   
   perhaps   
   converted those men. The answer is that St. Stephen was filled with the Holy   
   Ghost when he responded as he did. Therefore, he acted correctly.   
      
   Also at the beginning of the disputation, it was not certain that the mob   
   would   
   murder him. If those people had corresponded to grace, they would have   
   converted. He acted as he did to convert them. He showed them ever greater   
   wonders. He was trying to touch those souls and conquer them for the good.   
   But   
   they refused all those graces. As the episode reached its apex, they made   
   the   
   decision to stone him. He used the perfect method of apostolate: he tried to   
   illuminate their intelligences and move their hearts.   
      
   The sixth step is the murder. Those present pretended to be shocked by the   
   supposed blasphemous words of St. Stephen, and covered their ears. At the   
   same   
   time, they decided to kill him. They left their mantles next to a man called   
   Saul, who would be the future St. Paul according to many interpreters, and   
   went   
   to stone the Saint.   
      
   Like a second Lamb of God, he stood alone, looking up toward Heaven, blood   
   pouring from his wounds, but serene and saying the prayer: "Lord Jesus,   
   receive   
   my spirit." You can imagine the impression this made on the spectators.   
      
   Then, as the stones continued to hit him, he fell onto his knees and asked   
   Our   
   Lord to forgive those criminals. Finally, "he fell asleep in the Lord."   
   Everything was finished. His body was covered with blood and wounds, but on   
   his   
   face was a tranquil expression. He had entered into the sleep of the just.   
   His   
   martyrdom was consummated, and his soul flew to Heaven. We see a scene truly   
   worthy of being the first martyrdom of the Church, described with the   
   inspired   
   language of Scriptures.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   "The Devil writes down our sins--our Guardian Angel all our merits.  Labor   
   that   
   the Guardian Angel's book may be full, and the Devil's empty."   
   --The Cure' of Ars   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some   
   have   
   unknowingly entertained angels.  (Hebrews 13:1-2)   
      
      
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