Saint Stephen
“If Saint Stephen had not prayed, we would not have had Saint Paul!...” writes Saint Augustine.
Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, is more current than ever: filled with the Holy Spirit, he performs signs and wonders in his office of deacon, for the glory of God. Killed by Pharisee jealousy, he remained strong in the faith and courageous, practicing fraternal correction at the same time as the forgiveness of his executioners. Praising the Lord while being stoned under the approving eye of the future Saint Paul, he saw Heaven open. Pope Benedict XVI presents him as “a model for all those who want to put themselves at the service of the new evangelization.” Saint Stephen is celebrated on December 26th. He is the patron saint of deacons and of Serbia.
(Discover other saints in the Guide to Saints on Hozana)
Biography of Saint Stephen
After Pentecost, the twelve apostles decided to go all over the world to proclaim the Good News. They therefore decided to appoint deacons to help them organize the Christian community of Jerusalem. Stephen was the first called and the first to be appointed deacon (protodeacon). Full of enthusiasm and filled with an unlimited faith, Saint Stephen also began to evangelize and convert all the newcomers to Jerusalem. Many wonders and many conversions are attributed to him.
The Jews, annoyed by these conversions, accused him of blasphemy against Moses and the Lord, and managed to raise the population against him.
“So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Book of the Acts of the Apostles, according to Luke, chapter 6.
This is how Saint Stephen was accused of blasphemy and how his trial began.
Indeed, he was brought before the Sanhedrin (traditional legislative assembly of Israel).
He gave a speech in which he refuted all the false accusations and accused the Jews of not having been able to recognize Christ despite the fact that the patriarchs and prophets had announced his coming. Furious, the accusers dragged Saint Stephen before the enraged crowd, which stoned him.
Saint Stephen is considered the first martyr because he is the first to have endured atrocious suffering, and to die, for his faith, supporting the greatness of the Lord.
Pray to Saint Stephen
Prayer to Saint Stephen by Notker the Stammerer, a Benedictine monk
“With unanimous zeal, let us celebrate this Solemnity. Let us collect the example of charity that the one we celebrate gives us, when he prays for treacherous enemies. O Stephen! Supreme standard-bearer of the King of Kindness, hear us; you who were fully heard for your enemies. By your prayers, O Stephen! Paul, first of all your persecutor, has believed in Christ; and with you he warps, in the heavenly Kingdom, from which no persecutor approaches. We therefore, begging ourselves, we who cry to you, and ask you with our entreaties, that your most holy Prayer always reconcile us to our God. Peter makes you a minister of Christ; you discover to Peter himself a new foundation of faith, by showing to the right of the Sovereign Father the One whom a people has crucified. It is you who Christ has chosen, O Stephen! You by whom He strengthens His faithful; you whom He comes to console by his sight through the shock of the stones that rain on you. Today, in the midst of the purple battalions of the Martyrs, you shine crowned. So be it.”
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