O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth shall proclaim Your praise.

O God, come to my assistance, O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end.

Amen.

"First Martyr"

The deacon Stephen, stoned in Jerusalem two years after the death of Christ, has always been the object of very special veneration by the faithful. He is the first martyr. The account in the Acts of the Apostles relating to his arrest and the accusations brought against him emphasises the parallel with our Saviour's trial; he was stoned outside the city walls and died, like his Master, praying for his executioners. The first to win the martyr's palm, he drew strength from his vision of the risen Lord (Acts 7: 56), awaiting him in glory at the right hand of the Father.

Stephen belongs to the group of seven deacons whom the Apostles associated with their work in order to lighten the load. He was responsible for organising meals where the poor were fed in common. He was "filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit", "full of grace and strength" he showed himself as a man of God, radiating divine grace and apostolic zeal. He worked such great wonders and signs among the people that the authorities from five different synagogues became alarmed and summoned him before the Sanhedrin (Jewish Court). As the first witness to Christ he confronted his opponents with quiet courage and the promise made by Jesus (Mark 13: 11) was fulfilled: "…..Disputing with Stephen they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit that spoke". (Acts 6: 8—10).

In St. Stephen, the first martyr, the liturgy (in the prayer of the Church) emphasises the imitation of Christ even to the extent of the complete gift of self, to the extent of that great charity which made him pray in his suffering for his executioners. By establishing the feast on the day after Christmas the Church draws an even closer comparison between the disciple and the Master and thus extends his witness to the whole mission of the redeeming Messias.

Acclamations For Reflection:—

• His will was in the Law of the Lord, day and night.

• Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of one of His Saints. Alleluia.

• Perpetual Light shall shine upon Your Saints, O Lord, and an eternity of ages.