B
BarbaraTherese
Guest
The Meditation points out to us that very often and most often the dynamics of dramatic change in our lives are not a conversio experience like St. Paul on the road to Damascus…there seems to us nothing miraculous at all about our eventual change and that God seems to prefer a slow but consistent change over time and with our continuing perseverence in prayer and good works, until one day we can look back and see that indeed we are changed - we have been dramatically changed. And this is indeed a miracle!
For those who may want a deeper look into today’s Gospel go to Daily Prayer and Liturgy thread and scroll down to today’s Lectio Divina Entry:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=3119916#post3119916
Readings
usccb.org/nab/122607.shtml
Meditations
wau.org/meditations/meditations.asp?month=12&day=26&year=2007&x=13&y=6
St. Stephen
Why would the church place the feast of Saint Stephen the day after Christmas? We’ve just finished Advent, and are celebrating the birth of Baby Jesus—and the very next day we read of the violent stoning of a member of the early church! Don’t we get a chance to bask in the glow of Christmas? Couldn’t we wait at least a little while before we have to think about martyrdom?
The truth is, the baby in the manger really is God. Jesus, born humbly in a stable, is the very one who transformed Stephen’s life and empowered him by the Holy Spirit. He is also the same one who has the power to transform us today! Stephen was so in love with Jesus that he could never turn his back on him, even when faced with the threat of death. How did he get to be this committed? We have no record of a “lightning bolt” experience—like St. Paul’s conversion—in Stephen’s life. Rather, Stephen most probably lived as other believers did in the early church, devoting himself to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking bread and prayer (Acts 2:42).
As Stephen remained faithful to these basics, Jesus changed him. Humbly and without fanfare, Stephen’s life of prayer and service opened him up to the Holy Spirit’s power. Just as Jesus “advanced in wisdom and age and favor” as he grew up in Nazareth (Luke 2:52), Stephen became passionate in his love for Christ over time. In the end, Stephen was so focused on Jesus that he didn’t care about—or fear—whatever might happen to him.
It can be the same for us! Christmas is such a dramatic, climactic season that we can begin to expect everything in our lives to change at once—and then feel disappointed when we find ourselves pretty much the same on December 26 as we were on December 24. Just remember that Jesus loves to use the “routine” activities of prayer, Scripture, and the sacraments to penetrate and transform us. Day after day, year after year, we can become more like Stephen—and more like Jesus—to the point where we are willing to give up even our lives for the sake of the gospel. “Lord Jesus, transform me! Use my commitment to spiritual growth to permeate my life with your grace. Make me passionate in my love for you so that I would fearlessly approach whatever comes my way!”
For those who may want a deeper look into today’s Gospel go to Daily Prayer and Liturgy thread and scroll down to today’s Lectio Divina Entry:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=3119916#post3119916
Readings
usccb.org/nab/122607.shtml
Meditations
wau.org/meditations/meditations.asp?month=12&day=26&year=2007&x=13&y=6
St. Stephen
Why would the church place the feast of Saint Stephen the day after Christmas? We’ve just finished Advent, and are celebrating the birth of Baby Jesus—and the very next day we read of the violent stoning of a member of the early church! Don’t we get a chance to bask in the glow of Christmas? Couldn’t we wait at least a little while before we have to think about martyrdom?
The truth is, the baby in the manger really is God. Jesus, born humbly in a stable, is the very one who transformed Stephen’s life and empowered him by the Holy Spirit. He is also the same one who has the power to transform us today! Stephen was so in love with Jesus that he could never turn his back on him, even when faced with the threat of death. How did he get to be this committed? We have no record of a “lightning bolt” experience—like St. Paul’s conversion—in Stephen’s life. Rather, Stephen most probably lived as other believers did in the early church, devoting himself to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking bread and prayer (Acts 2:42).
As Stephen remained faithful to these basics, Jesus changed him. Humbly and without fanfare, Stephen’s life of prayer and service opened him up to the Holy Spirit’s power. Just as Jesus “advanced in wisdom and age and favor” as he grew up in Nazareth (Luke 2:52), Stephen became passionate in his love for Christ over time. In the end, Stephen was so focused on Jesus that he didn’t care about—or fear—whatever might happen to him.
It can be the same for us! Christmas is such a dramatic, climactic season that we can begin to expect everything in our lives to change at once—and then feel disappointed when we find ourselves pretty much the same on December 26 as we were on December 24. Just remember that Jesus loves to use the “routine” activities of prayer, Scripture, and the sacraments to penetrate and transform us. Day after day, year after year, we can become more like Stephen—and more like Jesus—to the point where we are willing to give up even our lives for the sake of the gospel. “Lord Jesus, transform me! Use my commitment to spiritual growth to permeate my life with your grace. Make me passionate in my love for you so that I would fearlessly approach whatever comes my way!”