Persecution and Peace

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to preserve as followers of Christ even as we witness the tragedy around us that seems to support the cliche of “No good deed goes unpunished”.

On the Feast of Stephen

The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles proclaims the Accusation against Stephen prior to Stephen’s Martyrdom.

* [6:8–8:1] The summary (Acts 6:7) on the progress of the Jerusalem community, illustrated by the conversion of the priests, is followed by a lengthy narrative regarding Stephen. Stephen’s defense is not a response to the charges made against him but takes the form of a discourse that reviews the fortunes of God’s word to Israel and leads to a prophetic declaration: a plea for the hearing of that word as announced by Christ and now possessed by the Christian community. The charges that Stephen depreciated the importance of the temple and the Mosaic law and elevated Jesus to a stature above Moses (Acts 6:13–14) were in fact true. Before the Sanhedrin, no defense against them was possible. With Stephen, who thus perceived the fuller implications of the teachings of Jesus, the differences between Judaism and Christianity began to appear. Luke’s account of Stephen’s martyrdom and its aftermath shows how the major impetus behind the Christian movement passed from Jerusalem, where the temple and law prevailed, to Antioch in Syria, where these influences were less pressing. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

* [7:55] He…saw…Jesus standing at the right hand of God: Stephen affirms to the Sanhedrin that the prophecy Jesus made before them has been fulfilled (Mk 14:62).

* [7:57] Covered their ears: Stephen’s declaration, like that of Jesus, is a scandal to the court, which regards it as blasphemy.

* [7:59] Compare Lk 23:34, 46. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 31 declares the psalmist feels overwhelmed by evil people but trusts in the “God of truth”.

* [Psalm 31] A lament (Ps 31:2–19) with a strong emphasis on trust (Ps 31:4, 6, 15–16), ending with an anticipatory thanksgiving (Ps 31:20–24). As is usual in laments, the affliction is couched in general terms. The psalmist feels overwhelmed by evil people but trusts in the “God of truth” (Ps 31:6).

* [31:6] Into your hands I commend my spirit: in Lk 23:46 Jesus breathes his last with this Psalm verse. Stephen in Acts 7:59 alludes to these words as he is attacked by enemies. The verse is used as an antiphon in the Divine Office at Compline, the last prayer of the day. (Psalms, PSALM 31 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims Coming Persecutions.

* [10:17] The persecutions attendant upon the post-resurrection mission now begin to be spoken of. Here Matthew brings into the discourse sayings found in Mk 13 which deals with events preceding the parousia.

* [10:21] See Mi 7:6 which is cited in Mt 10:35, 36.

* [10:22] To the end: the original meaning was probably “until the parousia.” But it is not likely that Matthew expected no missionary disciples to suffer death before then, since he envisages the martyrdom of other Christians (Mt 10:21). For him, the end is probably that of the individual’s life (see Mt 10:28). (Matthew, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)

Candice Tucci, OSF, comments that  today, there are still martyrs of the faith. Individuals who give and gave witness to the Gospel through their lives. We live in a complex world of war, hunger, military presence in countries, cities, religious biases, racial prejudices, and people die. Love prevails! We can still celebrate Christmas in these times because we know Easter. God’s gift of everlasting LOVE and LIFE to us.

Christians are people of hope in their belief. We pray ancient psalms with words of confidence that give us comfort, for we know a history of a faithful God.

Be my rock of refuge,

A stronghold to give me safety.

You are my rock and my fortress;

For your name’s sake, you will lead and guide me…

Let your face shine upon your servant;

Save me in your kindness.

In continuing the works of Jesus and knowing that the face of Jesus shines upon us, no matter when or how the time comes, can we say with peace and great conviction, like Stephen, LIKE JESUS, “Into your hands, my God, I commend my spirit”. (Tucci, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Your Father speaks through you in every age,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"To be sure, we heard in that reading, 'But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious how or what you are to speak... for it is not you who are speaking but the Spirit of your Father who speaks through you.' And he says in another place: 'Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world' (Matthew 28:20). Does this mean that the people who heard those words of the Lord would be here until the end of the world? The Lord was referring, rather, not only to those about to depart from this life but also to the others, including us and those who would come after us in this life. He saw everyone in his single body, and the words he spoke, 'I am with you even to the end of the world,' were heard by them and by us too. And if we did not hear them then in our knowledge, we heard them in his foreknowledge. Therefore, safe as sheep among the wolves, let us keep the commandments of him who directs us. And let us be 'innocent as doves but cautious as snakes' (Matthew 10:16). Innocent as doves that we may not harm anyone; cautious as snakes that we may be careful of letting anyone harm us." (excerpt from SERMON 64A.2) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 comments on Stephen’s joy and courage in the face of death and also reveals that Jesus came to bring an end to death itself for everyone who believes. He shows how our trust in the Lord and our faith in Jesus’ promises can free us from the fear of death.

So today, follow the example of our first martyr, who “looked up intently to heaven” and saw the risen Lord (Acts 7:55). Don’t fix your eyes only on the child in the manger; gaze also at “the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (7:55). Let that vision fill your heart with joy and confidence.

“St. Stephen, pray that my heart might be transformed by a vision of the risen Lord!” (Meditation on Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler shares a reflection on the texts today. The Acts of the Apostles identifies Stephen as one of the seven deacons commissioned to care for the widows and orphans. He was a Greek speaker and possibly annoyed the Temple authorities. They decide to kill him in a kangaroo court without the permission of the Roman Authorities. The Gospel of Matthew reminds us that the “Son of Man” was a title used by Jesus and Stephen asked for forgiveness for his persecutors in a portion of the chapter not cited today. Jesus is with those suffering. Being a Christian means paying a price. Friar Jude notes that the Gospel reminds us that the Spirit will give us support in what to say when we are called to give witness even in dying to the daily annoyances in our life.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Franciscan sister and scientist Ilia Delio focuses on the theology of the incarnation and the universal nature of the Christ mystery.

So does everyone have to become Christian to know the Christ? Absolutely not. Christ is more than Jesus. Christ is the communion of divine personal love expressed in every created form of reality—every star, leaf, bird, fish, tree, rabbit, and human person. Everything is christified because everything expresses divine love incarnate. However, Jesus Christ is the “thisness” of God, so what Jesus is by nature everything else is by grace (divine love). We are not God, but every single person is born out of the love of God, expresses this love in [their] unique personal form, and has the capacity to be united with God…. Because Jesus is the Christ, every human is already reconciled with every other human in the mystery of the divine, so that Christ is more than Jesus alone. Christ is the whole reality bound in a union of love. (Rohr, n.d.)

As we look out on the “Feast of Stephen” today, the snow truly is “round about crisp and bright and even” and we ponder the paradox of persecution of the people bringing care and compassion to people by those in power threatened by lives defined by love.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/6?8 

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/7?55#52007055 

Matthew, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10? 

Meditation on Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/12/26/1459409/ 

Psalms, PSALM 31 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/31?3 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-universal-christ/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). The One Who Endures to the End Will Be Saved. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Tucci, C. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-december-26-2025 

Love and Joy

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with the joy of love and commitment to serve the needs of family and friends. 

Family Love and Joy

The reading from the Prophet Zephaniah is a Song of Joy.

The reading from the Song of Songs is a Springtime Rhapsody.

* [2:8–13] In this sudden change of scene, the woman describes a rendezvous and pictures her lover hastening toward her dwelling until his voice is heard calling her to him.

* [2:9] Gazelle: a frequent motif in ancient poems from Mesopotamia.

* [2:14] The woman is addressed as though she were a dove in a mountain cleft out of sight and reach. (Song of Songs, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 33 praises the Greatness and Goodness of God.

* [Psalm 33] A hymn in which the just are invited (Ps 33:1–3) to praise God, who by a mere word (Ps 33:4–5) created the three-tiered universe of the heavens, the cosmic waters, and the earth (Ps 33:6–9). Human words, in contrast, effect nothing (Ps 33:10–11). The greatness of human beings consists in God’s choosing them as a special people and their faithful response (Ps 33:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 33 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, Mary Visits Elizabeth.

* [1:45] Blessed are you who believed: Luke portrays Mary as a believer whose faith stands in contrast to the disbelief of Zechariah (Lk 1:20). Mary’s role as believer in the infancy narrative should be seen in connection with the explicit mention of her presence among “those who believed” after the resurrection at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:14). (Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Scott McClure, (from 2017) comments that the Christian life is one of waiting. In fact, among all that faith requires waiting is, perhaps, comparatively underrated in its difficulty.

In this season of Advent, we wait with Mary for the coming of her Son.  But let us not wait passively.  Rather, let us prepare our hearts to receive Jesus anew this Christmas.  How can I create more room in my heart to receive Jesus this Christmas?  What opportunities present themselves for me to help those I love do the same?  Indeed, this preparation is done with faith in God’s promise.  Throughout the remainder of this Advent season and beyond, let us hold fast to this promise with Mary as our model and, with her, proclaim the greatness of the Lord (Luke 1:46). (McClure, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “John prophecies from the womb,” by Maximus of Turin (died between 408-423 AD).

"Not yet born, already John prophesies and, while still in the enclosure of his mother's womb, confesses the coming of Christ with movements of joy - since he could not do so with his voice. As Elizabeth says to holy Mary, 'As soon as you greeted me, the child in my womb exulted for joy.' John exults, then, before he is born. Before his eyes can see what the world looks like, he can recognize the Lord of the world with his spirit. In this regard, I think that the prophetic phrase is appropriate: 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you' (Jeremiah 1:5). Thus we ought not to marvel that after Herod put him in prison, he continued to announce Christ to his disciples from his confinement, when even confined in the womb he preached the same Lord by his movements." (excerpt from SERMON 5.4) (Schwager, 2019)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 1:39-45 comments that it is hard to contemplate just how many questions Mary must have had as she faced an uncertain future both with Joseph and within her community. It would have been easy to panic or try to get out of this situation. But Mary didn’t give in to these thoughts. Instead, she trusted that God would somehow take care of her and the child now growing in her womb. And so she was able to turn her attention away from her own problems and focus on Elizabeth’s needs instead.

Mary’s decision to visit Elizabeth reveals her to be a decisive woman, filled with determination, courage, and trust in God. It also shows that submitting to God’s will is anything but boring or passive. It requires radical trust and Spirit-inspired bravery. It moves us to take risks that may seem foolish to the world. But it also opens our hearts to new and unexpected blessings from the Lord!

“Holy Mary, pray that I will be as brave as you in seeking and following God’s will for my life.” (Meditation on Luke 1:39-45, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes the passage from the Song of Songs was likely written for a matrimonial celebration but was applied to the relationship between Israel and God. In the Scripture, the dove is a symbol of love. Friar Jude notes how Elizabet praises Mary in Ein Karem as one who gave her whole self to what God said would be fulfilled in her.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Franciscan sister Ilia Delio who focuses on the theology of the incarnation and the universal nature of the Christ mystery. Christ is the communion of divine personal love expressed in every created form of reality—every star, leaf, bird, fish, tree, rabbit, and human person.

We cannot know this mystery of Christ as a doctrine or an idea; it is the root reality of all existence. Hence, we must travel inward, into the interior depth of the soul where the field of divine love is expressed in the “thisness” of our own, particular life. Each of us is a little word of the Word of God, a mini-incarnation of divine love. The journey inward requires surrender to this mystery in our lives, and this means letting go of our “control buttons.” It means dying to the untethered selves that occupy us daily; it means embracing the sufferings of our lives, from the little sufferings to the big ones; it means allowing God’s grace to heal us, hold us, and empower us for life; it means entering into darkness, the unknowns of our lives, and learning to trust the darkness, for the tenderness of divine love is already there; it means being willing to surrender all that we have for all that we can become in God’s love; and finally, it means to let God’s love heal us of the opposing tensions within us. When we can say with full voice, “You are the God of my heart, my God and my portion forever” [Psalm 73:26], then we can open our eyes to see that the God I seek is already in me … and in you. We are already One. [2] (Rohr, 2023)

We approach the Feast of the Incarnation anticipating warm reunions and joy and we seek the enlightenment of the Spirit to attend to the needs of the people we encounter.

References

Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 21, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/1?39 

McClure, S. (2023, December 21). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 21, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/122123.html 

Meditation on Luke 1:39-45. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 21, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/12/21/853577/ 

Psalms, PSALM 33 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 21, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/33?2 

Rohr, R. (2023, December 21). Mini Incarnations of Christ — Center for Action and Contemplation. Richard Rohr. Retrieved December 21, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/mini-incarnations-of-christ/ 

Schwager, D. (2019, June 24). Joyful Anticipation of the Messiah. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved December 21, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=dec21 

Song of Songs, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 21, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/songofsongs/2?8