he die in the Lord, but also for the Lord. All stains of sin and all temporal punishment are wiped away by martyrdom, and the soul of a martyr goes at once to God in heaven, and is rewarded with an especial degree of glory— a martyr’s crown.
Comparison between the Martyrdom of Stephen and our Lords Death on the Cross. 1. Our Blessed Lord was sentenced to death on the charge of blasphemy, because He had affirmed on oath: “I am the Son of the living God, and hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God.” In the same manner Stephen was stoned on the assumption that he was a blasphemer, and because he professed his belief in the Divinity of Jesus, and said: “I see heaven open, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” 2. Both our Blessed Lord and St. Stephen were treated as outcasts, and put to death outside the city. 3. Both, when dying, prayed for their enemies: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” — “Lay not this sin to their charge.” 4. Both, before dying, commended their souls to God: “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.” — “Lord Jesus, receive my soul!”
The Feast of St. Stephen. The first Christian martyr has from the beginning of our era been highly honoured by the Church on account of his great holiness. From the earliest times the Church has kept a special feast in his honour, on the day after Christmas Day.
The power of prayer. Stephen’s dying prayer for his enemies was not offered up in vain. God granted it by giving the grace of conversion to Saul, the fiery persecutor of Christians. St. Augustine writes thus: “If a Stephen had not prayed, the Church would not have had a Paul.” We ought therefore to have great confidence in the power of prayer.
The Invocation of the Saints. If Stephen and other Saints could obtain so much from God by their prayers even while they were on earth, how much more efficacious must their prayers be now that they are in heaven and united by love to God? It is, therefore, right and reasonable to ask the Saints in heaven to intercede for us.
Sins against the Holy Ghost. How did the unbelieving Jews resist the Holy Ghost? St. Stephen, inspired by the Holy Ghost, proved to them the truth of the Christian faith, and answered all their objections, so that they had nothing more to say, and could bring forward no arguments against him. Added to this, the incontestable miracles of the apostles and of the holy deacon bore irresistible testimony to the truth of Christianity. Nevertheless, the Jews wilfully resisted the truth. They hardened their hearts against all exhortations, and remained resolutely impenitent. Thus they sinned against the Holy Ghost in three ways: they resisted the known truth, they remained obstinate in sin, and were finally impenitent.
