Saint Peter Damian thus begins his Sermon for this feast:
“We are holding in our arms the Son of the Virgin, and are honouring, with our caresses, this our Infant God. The holy Virgin has led us to the dear crib. The most beautiful of the Daughters of men has brought us to the most beautiful among the Sons of men (Psalm xliv. 3), and the Blessed among women to him that is Blessed above all. She tells us that now the veils of prophecy are drawn aside, and the counsel of God accomplished. Is there anything capable of distracting us from this sweet birth? On what else shall we fix our eyes? Lo! while Jesus is permitting us thus to caress Him, while he is overwhelming us with the greatness of these mysteries and our hearts are riveted in admiration, there comes before us Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, doing great wonders and signs among the people (Acts vi. 8). Is it right that we turn from our King, to look on Stephen, His soldier? No, unless the King Himself bid us do so. This our King, who is Son of the King, rises to assist at the glorious combat of his servant. Let us go with him, and contemplate this standard-bearer of the Martyrs.”
The Church gives us in today’s Office this opening of a Sermon of Saint Fulgentius for the Feast of Saint Stephen: “Yesterday we celebrated the temporal birth of our eternal King: today we celebrate the triumphant passion of His soldier. Yesterday our King, having put on the garb of our flesh, came from the sanctuary of His Mother’s virginal womb and mercifully visited the Earth: today, His soldier, quitting His earthly tabernacle, entered triumphantly into Heaven. Jesus, while still continuing to be the eternal God, assumed to Himself the lowly raiment of flesh and entered the battlefield of this world. Stephen, laying aside the perishable garment of the body, ascended to the palace of Heaven, there to reign forever. Jesus descended veiled in our flesh: Stephen ascended wreathed with a martyr’s laurels. Stephen ascended to Heaven amid the shower of stones because Jesus had descended on Earth amid the singing of Angels. Yesterday, the holy Angels exultingly sang, Glory be to God in the highest. Today they joyously received Stephen into their company. Yesterday was Jesus wrapped for our sakes in swaddling-clothes. Today was Stephen clothed with the robe of immortal glory. Yesterday, a narrow crib contained the Infant Jesus: today the immensity of the heavenly court received the triumphant Stephen.”
Thus does the sacred Liturgy blend the joy of our Lord’s Nativity with the gladness she feels at the triumph of the first of her Martyrs. Nor will Stephen be the only one admitted to share the honours of this glorious Octave. After him, we will have John, the Beloved Disciple; the Innocents of Bethlehem; Thomas, the Martyr of the Liberties of the Church, and Sylvester, the Pontiff of Peace. But the place of honour amid all who stand round the crib of the new-born King belongs to Stephen, the Proto-Martyr, who, as the Church sings of him, was “the first to pay back to the Saviour, the Death suffered by the Saviour.”
It was just that this honour should be shown to Martyrdom, for Martyrdom is the creature’s testimony and return to his Creator for all the favours bestowed on him: it is Man’s testifying, even by shedding his blood, to the truths which God has revealed to the world. In order to understand this, let us consider what is the plan of God in the salvation He has given to man. The Son of God is sent to instruct mankind. He sows the seed of His divine word, and his works give testimony to His divinity. But after His sacrifice on the cross, He again ascends to the right hand of His Father so that His own testimony of Himself has need of a second testimony, in order to its being received by them that have neither seen nor heard Jesus Himself. Now it is the Martyrs who are to provide this second testimony, and this they will do, not only by confessing Jesus with their lips, but by shedding their blood for Him. The Church, then, is to be founded by the Word and the Blood of Jesus, the Son of God. But she will be upheld, she will continue throughout all ages, she will triumph over all obstacles, by the blood of her Martyrs, the members of Christ: this their blood will mingle with that of their Divine Head, and their sacrifice be united to His.
The Martyrs will bear the closest resemblance to their Lord and King. They will be, as He said, like lambs among wolves (Luke x. 3). The world will be strong, and they will be weak and defenceless: so much the grander will be the victory of the Martyrs, and the greater the glory of God who gives them to conquer. The Apostle tells us that Christ crucified is the power and the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians I. 24) —the Martyr immolated, and yet conquerors of the world will prove, and with a testimony which even the world itself will understand, that the Christ whom they confessed and who gave them constancy and victory, is in very deed the power and the wisdom of God. We repeat, then — it is just that the Martyrs should share in all the triumphs of the Man-God, and that the Liturgical Cycle should glorify them as does the Church herself, who puts their sacred relics in her altar-stones: for thus the Sacrifice of their glorified Lord and Head is never celebrated without they themselves being offered together with Him in the unity of His mystical Body.
Now, the glorious Martyr-band of Christ is headed by Saint Stephen. His name signifies the Crowned. A conqueror like him could not be better named. He marshals, in the name of Christ, the white-robed army, as the Church calls the Martyrs, for he was the first, even before the Apostles themselves, to receive the summons, and right nobly did he answer it. Stephen courageously bore witness, in the presence of the Jewish Synagogue, to the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth. By thus proclaiming the Truth, he offended the ears of the unbelievers. The enemies of God became the enemies of Stephen and, rushing upon him, they stoned him to death. Amid the pelting of the blood-drawing missives, he, like a true soldier flinches not, but stands (as Saint Gregory of Nyssa so beautifully describes it) as though snowflakes were falling on him, or roses were covering him with the shower of their kisses. Through the cloud of stones he sees the glory of God: Jesus, for whom he was laying down his life, showed Himself to His Martyr, and the Martyr again rendered testimony to the divinity of our Emmanuel, but with all the energy of a last act of love. Then, to make his sacrifice complete, he imitates his divine Master and prays for his executioners: falling on his knees, he begs that this sin be not laid to their charge. Thus, all is consummated — the glorious type of Martyrdom is created and shown to the world — that it may be imitated by every generation to the end of time until the number of the Martyrs of Christ will be filled up. Stephen sleeps in the Lord, and is buried in peace — in pace — until his sacred tomb will be discovered and his glory be celebrated a second time in the whole Church by that anticipated Resurrection of the miraculous Invention of his Relics.
Stephen, then, deserves to stand near the crib of his King, as leader of those brave champions, the Martyrs who died for the Divinity of that babe whom we adore. Let us join the Church in praying to our Saint that he help us to come to our Sovereign Lord, now lying on His humble throne in Bethlehem. Let us ask him to initiate us into the mystery of that divine Infancy, which we are all bound to know and imitate. It was from the simplicity he had learned from that Mystery that he heeded not the number of the enemies he had to fight against, nor trembled at their angry passion, nor winced under their blows, nor hid from them the Truth and their crimes, nor forgot to pardon them and pray for them. What a faithful imitator of the Babe of Bethlehem! Our Jesus did not send his Angels to chastise those unhappy Bethlehemites who refused a shelter to the Virgin-Mother, who in a few hours was to give birth to Him, the Son of David. He stays not the fury of Herod who plots his death, but meekly flees into Egypt like some helpless bondsman escaping the threats of a tyrant lordling. But, it is under such apparent weakness as this that He will show His Divmity to men, and He the Infant-God prove Himself the Strong God. Herod will pass away, so will his tyranny. Jesus will live, greater in His crib, where He makes a King tremble, than is, under his borrowed majesty, this prince-tributary of Rome. nay, than Caesar Augustus himself, whose world-wide empire has no other destiny than this — to serve as handmaid to the Church which is to be founded by this babe, whose name stands humbly written in the official registry of Bethlehem.Epistle – Acts vi. And vii.
In those days Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and signs among the people. Now there arose some of that which is called the Synagogue of the Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them that were of Cilicia. and Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit that spoke. Now hearing these things, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed with their teeth at him. But Stephen being full of the Holy Ghost, looking up steadfastly to Heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And he said: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” And they crying out with a loud voice stopped their ears, and with one accord ran violently upon him. And casting him forth without the city, they stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, invoking and saying “Lord Jesus! Receive my spirit.” And falling on his knees, he cried with a loud voice, saying: “Lord I lay not this sin to their charge.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep in the Lord.Thanks be to God.
Dom Prosper Guéranger:
Thus, O glorious Prince of Martyrs, you were led outside the gates of the City for your sacrifice, and your punishment was that of blasphemers. The Disciple was to be like His Master in all things. But neither the ignominy of such a death, nor its cruelty, could daunt your great soul: you carried Jesus in your heart, and with Him you were stronger than all your enemies. And what was your joy when you saw the heavens open, and this same Jesus in His glorified Humanity standing at the right hand of God, and looking upon you with love! A God looking complacently on the creature that is going to die for Him, and the creature permitted to behold the God for whom He is dying — truly, this was more than enough to encourage you! Let your enemies cast their stones against you and bruise and tear your flesh as they please —nothing can distract you from this sight of the Eternal King who raised Himself from His throne to applaud you, and deck you with the crown which He had prepared for you from eternity! Now that you are reigning in the kingdom of Heaven pray for us, that we also may be faithful, and faithful even unto death, to this same Jesus, who not only left His throne, but even came down among us as a little child.Gospel – Matthew xxiii.
At that time Jesus said to the Scribes and Pharisees: “Behold, I send to you Prophets, and wise men, and scribes. And some of them you will put to death, and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: that upon you may come all the just blood that has been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, even to the blood of Zacharias, the son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. Amen, I say to you, all these things will come on this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that killed the Prophets and stoned them that are sent to you, how often would I have gathered together your children, as the hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house will be left to you desolate. For I say to you, you will not see me, henceforth, till you say: Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.”Praise be to you, O Christ.
Dom Prosper Guéranger:
The Martyrs are given to the world that they may continue the ministry of Christ on the Earth by bearing testimony to His word, and by confirming this testimony by their blood. The world has despised them. Like their divine Master, they have shone in the darkness and darkness has not understood their light. Nevertheless, many have received their testimony and the seed of the Martyrs’ blood has brought forth in them the rich fruit of Faith. The Synagogue was cast off by God for its having shed the blood of Stephen after having imbrued its hands in that of Jesus. Unhappy, they who cannot appreciate the Martyrs! Let us who are Christians take in the sublime lessons taught us by their generous sacrifice, and let our respect and love for them testify that we are grateful for the noble ministry they have fulfilled in the Church, and are still fulfilling. The Church is never without Martyrs, just as she is never without Miracles: it is the twofold testimony that she will give to the end of time, and by which she evidences the divine life she has received from her almighty Founder.
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Holy Martyr, help us by your prayers to enter into the spirit of the mystery of the Word made Flesh, now that we are celebrating the birth of our Saviour. You are the faithful guardsman of His crib: who could better lead us to the Divine Babe that lies there? You bore testimony to His Divinity and Humanity; you preached this Man-God before the blaspheming Synagogue. In vain did the Jews stop their ears. They could not stifle your voice which charged them with deicide, in that they had put to death Him, who is at once the Son of Mary and the Son of God. Show this Redeemer to us also, not, indeed, standing in glory at the right hand of His Father, but the sweet and humble babe, as He now manifests Himself to the world into which He has just been born, wrapped in swaddling-clothes and laid in a manger. We, too, wish to bear witness to Him, and to tell how His birth is one of love and mercy. We wish to show, by our lives, that He has been born in our hearts. Obtain for us that devotedness to the Divine Infant which gave you such courage in the day of trial: we will have devotedness if, like you, we are simple-hearted and fearless in our love of Jesus, for love is stronger than death. May we never forget that every Christian ought to be ready for martyrdom simply because he is a Christian. May the life of Christ which has again begun within us so grow within us, by our fidelity and our conduct, that we may come, as the Apostle expresses it, to the fullness of Christ (Ephesians iv. 18).
But, be mindful, O glorious Martyr, be mindful of the Holy Church in those countries where it is the will of God that she resist even unto blood. May the number of your fellow-martyrs be thus filled up, and let not one of the combatants grow faint-hearted. May every age and sex be staunch so that the testimony may be perfect, and the Church, even in her old age, win immortal laurels and crowns, as in the freshness of her infancy when she had such a champion as yourself. But, pray, too, that the blood of these Martyrs may be fruitful as it was in times past. Pray that it be not wasted, but become the seed of abundant harvests. May infidelity lose ground and heresy cease to canker those noble hearts who, once in the Truth, would be the glory and consolation of the Church.
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We must not end this second day of the Christmas Octave without visiting the stable of Bethlehem and adoring the divine Son of Mary. Two days have scarcely elapsed since His Blessed Mother placed Him in His humble crib. But these two days are of more value for the salvation of the world than the four thousand years which preceded the birth of this babe. The work of our Redemption has made a great step. The cries and tears of the new-born child have begun the atonement of our sins. On this the Feast of the First Martyr let us consider how the cheeks of the Infant Jesus are moistened with tears, and how these tears are the first expression of His sufferings. “Jesus weeps,” says Saint Bernard, “but not like other children, certainly not for the same cause as other children. They weep from passion . He, from compassion. They weep because they are galled by the yoke that sits heavy on all the children of Adam. Jesus weeps because He sees the sins of the children of Adam” (3rd Sermon for the Nativity).
O how dear to us ought to be these tears of a God who has made Himself our brother! Had we not sinned, God would not have wept. Ought not we, too, to weep over sin, which thus saddens, by the sufferings it causes to our sweet Infant Jesus, the heavenly joy of His birth among us? Mary also sees these tears, and her maternal heart is pained. She feels that her child is to be the Man of Sorrows and, before many days are over, the same awful truth will be told her in prophecy. With the consolation she offers to her babe, let us unite ours by giving Him our love. It is the one thing He seeks by all the humiliations He has taken upon himself. It is to gain our love that He has come down from Heaven and been born among us in the midst of the mysteries we are now celebrating. Let us love Him, therefore, with all our love, and ask our Lady to present Him our humble offering. The Psalmist has said: “The Lord is great, and exceedingly to be praised.” Let us add, with Saint Bernard: “The Lord is a little babe, and exceedingly to be loved.”Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:
At Rome, St. Marinus, senator. In the time of the emperor Numerian and the prefect Marcian, he was arrested for the Christian religion, racked and torn with iron hooks like a slave, then thrown into a burning pan. But being delivered because the fire became like dew, he was exposed to the beasts without being injured by them, and finally being led again to the altar, the idols of which toppled over at his prayer, he was struck with the sword, and thus obtained the triumph of martyrs.
Also at Rome, on the Via Appia, the decease of Pope St. Denis, who sustained many labours for the Church and was renowned for his doctrinal writings.
In the same city, St. Zosirmus, pope and confessor.
In Mesopotamia, St. Archelaus, a bishop celebrated for learning and sanctity.
At Majuma, St. Zeno, bishop.
At Rome, St. Theodore, sacristan of St. Peter’s Basilica, who was mentioned by Pope St. Gregory.
And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.
Thanks be to God.
