The Feast of St. Stephen (December 26, 2022)

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be alway acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

These are the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:8. They are a promise that those who are pure in heart will see God. This is the Beatific Vision, what the human creature was created for: to see our Creator face-to-face. “Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

Of course, our Lord reminds us that in order for us to experience this vision that makes us perfectly happy, we have to be pure in heart. This is why God tells Moses that “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” The presence of God is a fire. For those who are in Christ and pure in heart, it is experienced as love. For those who are in Christ but not complete, this fire is experienced as a refiner’s fire, molding and shaping us into what we should be. For those who are not in Christ, the fire of God’s presence and love is torment. This truly is hell.

St. Stephen is the first saint we celebrate these three post-Nativity days. He was one of the first Deacons chosen by the Apostles to serve the church. Stephen’s faith was living and active; we’re told he was “full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people” (Acts 6:8). Because of his righteousness, he was arrested by the Jews who brought him to the council who gave him a trial in a kangaroo court. The scenario should certainly make us think of the passion of Christ. When they found him guilty, they sentenced him to death by stoning. As they were about to stone him, Stephen “full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55). Stephen, in seeing the glory of God, was given a glimpse at the beatific vision prior to his death.

It is no doubt for this reason that the Church has long taught that martyrdom is a kind of baptism by blood whereby the martyr is translated directly into heaven at their death, bypassing any postmortem purgation.

But for us who will probably not be martyred in a literal sense, the life and death of St. Stephen presents a model that we have to transpose into our own context. No, we will not be stoned, shot, hung, or otherwise tortured for the faith; however, we are called to give up all things in pursuit of holiness. The reason that martyrdom is such a significant testimony is because it testifies to the singleminded pursuit of God. By going to death for the Gospel, the Christian is saying that they don’t value anything in life more than God. How easily we get distracted by wealth, power, politics, and pleasure. St. Stephen, along with all the martyrs we celebrate in the Church Kalendar and whose memory we keep in our minds and hearts, are reminders to us that there is one thing that matters: our love for God. If we love him, we will keep his commandments and pursue purity of heart above all else.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.