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Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr
Acts of the Apostles 6:8-10; 7;54-59
Psalm 31:3CD-4, 6 & 8AB, 16BC & 17
Matthew 10:17-22
Summary
In the first reading we learn about St. Stephen and how he was filled with grace,
power and was working great wonders and signs among the people. Many ad-
versaries came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand
the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.
Jesus also tells us in the Gospel to 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.
Reflection
The interwoven nature of the Bible never ceases to amaze me.Many books writ-
ten by many different authors spanning thousands of years and yet the message,
theWord, is utterly consistent from Genesis through Revelation. In today’s Gos-
pel from Mathew Jesus tells his disciples:
“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.”
And then we see God
deliver on His promise
through Saint Stephen
in the Book of Acts:
“Stephen, filled with
grace and power, was
working great wonders
and signs among the
people.”Many adver-
saries “came forward
and debated with Ste-
phen, but they could
not withstand the wis-
dom and the spirit with
which he spoke.”