ST. STEPHEN, THE FIRST MARTYR
Yesterday,
we finished the Octave of the Birth of Jesus; today, we shall finish the Octave
of St. Stephen; but this, without losing sight, one moment, of the Divine Babe,
whose Court is formed by Stephen, John the Beloved Disciple, the Holy
Innocents, and St. Thomas of Canterbury. In five days, we shall see the Magi
prostrate before the Crib of the new born King; they are already on the way,
and the Star is advancing towards Bethlehem. Let us spend the interval in
reconsidering how great is the glory of our Emmanuel, in his having lavished
such extra ordinary favors on these Saints, whom he has chosen to be near him
at his first coming into the world. Let us begin with Stephen, for this is the
last day of the Octave dedicated to him by the Church. We must take leave of
him now till the month of August, when we shall again meet him on the Feast of
The Finding of his Relics (August 3).
In a Sermon, which was for a long time
thought to have been written by St. Augustine, we find it mentioned, that St.
Stephen was in the flower of his youth, when he was called, by the Apostles, to
receive the sacred character of Deaconship. Six others were ordained Deacons
with him; and these Seven, whose office was to minister at the Altar here
below, represented the Seven Angels, whom St. John saw standing near the Altar
in heaven. Stephen was appointed as the head of the Seven, and St. Irenaeus,
who lived in the second century, calls him the Archdeacon.
The
characteristic virtue of a Deacon is fidelity. Hence, he is entrusted with the
care of the treasures of the Church, treasures, which consist not merely in the
alms destined for the poor, but in that which is the most precious thing in heaven
‘and earth the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, of which the Deacon is the
minister, in virtue of his Order. For this reason, the Apostle St. Paul, in his
first Epistle to Timothy, bids the Deacons hold the Mystery of Faith in a pure
conscience,
It was, therefore, more than an
appropriate coincidence, that the First of all the Martyrs was a Deacon, for
Martyrdom is the great proof of fidelity, and fidelity is the official virtue
of the Deaconate. This same truth is still more strongly impressed upon us by
the fact, that the three, who stand preeminent amongst the Martyrs of Christ,
are vested in the holy Dalmatic the three glorious Deacons: Stephen, the glory
of Jerusalem; Laurence, the pride of Rome; and Vincent, of whom Spain so justly
boasts. The present holy season gives us Stephen, who has been gladdening us
with his festal presence ever since Christmas Day, and Vincent, whose Feast
falls on January 22nd. Laurence will come to us, with his rich waving Palm, in
the sunny month of August; and Stephen, in the same month, will visit us, a
second time, in the Feast of the Finding of his Relics.
With the intention of paying respect to
the Holy Order of Deaconship in the person of its first representative, it is a
custom in a great many Churches, on the Feast of St. Stephen, that Deacons
should fulfil every office, which is not beyond their Order. For example, the
Chanter yields his staff of office to a Deacon; the Choristers, who assist the
Chanter, are also Deacons, vested in Dalmatics; and the Epistle of the Mass is
sung by a Deacon, because it is the passage from the Acts of the Apostles,
which relates the history of the holy Martyr’s death.
The institution of St. Stephen’s Feast,
and its being fixed on the day immediately following that of our Lord’s Birth,
are so ancient, that it is impossible to assign their date. The Apostolic
Constitutions, which were compiled, at the latest, towards the close of the 3rd
century, mention this Feast as already established, and that, too, on the
morrow of Christmas Day. St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Asterius of Amasea, both
of them earlier than the miraculous discovery of the Holy Deacon’s Relics, have
left us Homilies for the Feast of St. Stephen, in which they lay stress on the
circumstance of its having the honor to be kept the very day after the
solemnity of Christmas. With regard to its Octave, the institution is less
ancient, though the date cannot be defined. Amalarius, who wrote in the 9th
century, speaks of this Octave as already established, and Notker’s
Martyrology, compiled in the 10th century, makes express mention of it.
But, how comes it, that the Feast of a
mere Deacon has been thus honored, whilst almost all those of the Apostles have
no Octave? The rule followed by the Church, in her Liturgy, is to give more or
less solemnity to the Feasts of the Saints, according to the importance of the
services they rendered to mankind. Thus it is, that the honor she pays to St.
Jerome, for example, who was only a Priest, is more marked than that she gives
to a great number of holy Popes. It is her gratitude, which guides her in
assigning to the Saints their respective rank in her Calendar, and the devotion
of the Faithful to the saintly benefactors, whom she now venerates as members
of the Church Triumphant, is thus regulated by a safe standard. St. Stephen led
the way to Martyrdom; his example inaugurated that sub lime witnessing by the
shedding one’s own blood, which is the very strength of the Church, ratifies
the truths she teaches to the world, and confirms the hopes of eternal reward
promised by those truths. Glory, then, and honor to the Prince of Martyrs! As
long as time shall last, so long shall the Church, on earth, celebrate the name
of Stephen, who was the first to shed his blood for the God who died on
Calvary!
We have already noticed St. Stephen’s
imitating Jesus, by praying for and forgiving his enemies; it is the
circumstance, which the Church continually alludes to in her Office of his
Feast. But there is another very important incident in the martyrdom of our
Saint, which we must, for a moment, dwell upon.
One
of the accomplices in the murder, which was being committed under the walls of
Jerusalem, was a young man of the name of Saul. He made himself exceedingly
active, for he was of an ardent temperament, and, as the Fathers observe, he
helped every man who stoned the holy Deacon, because he took care of the
murderers’ garments whilst they committed the crime. Not long after, this same
Saul, whilst travelling to Damascus, was converted into an Apostle of that
Jesus, whom he had heard Stephen confess as the Son of God. He was the fruit of
Stephen’s dying prayer. The blood of Stephen cried to heaven for mercy and
heaven sent to the Gentiles the Apostle, who would bring them to the knowledge
and love of Jesus, ” What an admirable scene” cries out St. Augustine. “Here
is” Stephen being stoned, and Saul taking care of the “garments of them that
stone him. But this Saul is now Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, and Stephen
is the servant of Jesus Christ. Saul! Thou hast been prostrated, and raised up
again: prostrated a Persecutor, raised up a Preacher. Everywhere are thy
Epistles read; everywhere art thou bringing to Christ them that are his
enemies; everywhere art thou the good Shepherd, surrounded by a numerous flock.
Thou art now reigning with Christ, in company with him thou didst once stone.
Both of you are looking upon us; both of you now hear what I am saying; do both
of you pray, also, for us. He who crowned you both, will hear both. Stephen was
a lamb; Saul was a wolf; now, both are lambs, and both will acknowledge us as
of the flock of Christ, and will pray for us, that the Church of their Master
may be blessed with a peaceful and tranquil life. Stephen and Paul, both visit
us during this grand season of Christmas; for we shall keep the Feast of the
Conversion of St. Paul on the 25th of January; and thus, Stephen leads his
spiritual conquest to the Crib of their common Lord and Master.
Catholic piety has chosen St. Stephen as
one of the Patrons of a Happy Death. This choice was suggested by the death of
the holy Martyr a death so tranquil that the Scripture calls it a Sleep, in
spite of the cruel torture to which his executioners put him. Let us,
therefore, beg the intercession of St. Stephen for that awful hour of our
death, when we must return to our Creator these Souls of ours nay, let us ask
him to pray, that we may be habitually in such a disposition of mind, as to be
ever ready to make the total sacrifice of the life which God has given to us:
it was a sacred deposit he entrusted to our keeping, and which we were to hold
in readiness for him, whensoever he might demand it at our hands.
The Gothic Liturgy of Spain
gives us, in its Mozarabic Missal, the following admirable Prayer to St.
Stephen.
CAPITULUM
Most
blessed Protomartyr Stephen! Thou shalt be called by a new name, which the
mouth of the Lord hath named: for that thou, who didst suffer death for him,
didst, by him, receive a Crown for thy name, and a Grown for thy virtue. Thou
wast the first in Martyrdom, and first in its reward: first Martyr in the
world, and the first in the courts of heaven. Here, stoned for Christ; there,
exulting in the Crown he gave thee. Here, thou didst suffer, for his sake, the
most cruel torments; there, thou didst receive the most precious Grown. Thou,
therefore, that wast the first flower of the Church, be now her untiring
patron; that so, by thy prayers, that Jesus, for whose sake thou wast a
glorious Martyr, may be merciful unto us.
The following Hymn, remarkable
for its unction and simplicity of style, is to be found in most of the ancient
Roman-French Breviaries.
O holy Protomartyr Stephen, most dear to
God! In the virtue of charity, wherewith thou wast armed on every side, thou
didst beseech the Lord to have mercy on thine enemies. Thou art the Standard-
bearer of heaven’s martyr host; the herald of truth; the first witness of
Christian grace; the living foundation-stone, and groundwork of martyrdom.
Stones were the instrument of thy martyrdom, not the sword. The sharp-edged
stones, like knives of a second circumcision, tore thine innocent flesh; but,
tinged in thy blood, they were made rubies for thy Crown. Thou wast the first
to tread the stony rugged path that leads to heaven; thou wast the first to
breast that sword, which had slain our Lord and lost its keen edge by piercing
Him; thou wast the earliest winnowed wheat that graced the granaries of Christ.
To thee were heaven’s gates first opened, showing thee Jesus in his power, for
whom thou didst so bravely fight: He, standing at the right hand of his
Father’s majesty, is with thee incessantly. Pray now for this thy devout
people, that our Lord, through thy prayers, may mercifully forgive us our sins,
and grant us fellowship with the citizens of heaven. Glory and honour to the
God who gave thee thy Crown of roses and thy throne above the stars. May he
free us from the sting of death, and save us sinners. Amen.
We will close our selection
with a Sequence, composed by Notker; we find it in the collection of
Saint-Gall.
Let
us solemnize this Feast in the union of fraternal charity, Instructed by the
sweet example of its Saint, Who prayed for his guilty persecutors. Hear us, O
Stephen, thou standard-bearer of the infinitely merciful King, Who heard the
prayers thou didst offer him for thine enemies. By thy prayers, O Stephen, that
very Paul, who once persecuted thee, was converted to believe in Jesus, Who
prayed for his guilty persecutors. Hear us, O Stephen, thou standard-bearer of
the infinitely merciful King, Who heard the prayers thou didst offer him for
thine enemies. By thy prayers, O Stephen, that very Paul, who once persecuted
thee, was converted to believe in Jesus, and now exults with thee in that
Kingdom, nigh which no persecutors come. Then, we who humbly cry to thee for
pity, and besiege thee with our prayers, we, surely, shall be reconciled to our
God by thy most holy prayers. Peter ordained thee as a minister of Christ: and
thou to the faithful Peter didst affirm and show this truth, that He, whom the mad
populace crucified, is at the right hand of the Father. Christ chose thee, O
Stephen! As the example whereby he would give courage to his faithful ones, for
he showed himself to thee amidst the shower of stones, and sweetly consoled
thee. Now amidst the red-robed army of the Martyrs thou shinest as The Crowned
Prince. We return thee our grateful thanks, O glorious Stephen! For the help
thou hast given us in this great Feast of Christmas. It is thy yearly office to
initiate us into the sublime mystery of the Birth of Jesus. Thy Feast ever
brings us into the company of this Divine Child, and the Church trusts to thy
revealing him to the hearts of her children, as thou heretofore didst to the
Jews. Thou hast done thy work, dear Saint! And here is our faith: we adore this
Babe of Bethlehem as the Word of God; we hail him as our King; we offer
ourselves to him, to serve him as thou didst; we acknowledge his absolute right
over us, and our obligation of serving him even to the last drop of our blood,
should he put our loyalty to that great test. Stephen, the Faithful Deacon!
Pray for us, that we may have the grace to give our whole heart to Jesus, from
this time for ward; that we may use our best efforts to please him; and that we
may conform our lives and affections to his blessed will. Doing this, we shall
have the grace to fight his Fight, if not before tyrants and persecutors, at
least before the base passions of our own hearts. We are the descendants of the
Martyrs, and the Martyrs conquered the world; for Jesus, the Babe of Bethlehem,
had conquered it before them: shall we, then, be cowards, and re-enslave
ourselves to our eternal enemy? Obtain for us, also, that fraternal charity,
which pardons every injury, and prays for them that hate us, and converts sinners
and heretics when all means else have failed. O valiant Martyr of Jesus! Watch
over us at the hour of our death; assist us in our agony; show us that Jesus,
whom thou hast shown us so often as the dear Babe of Bethlehem; show us him
then as the glorified, the triumphant, but, above all, as the merciful Jesus,
holding in his divine hands the Crown he has pre pared for us; and may our last
words be those which thou didst utter when going to thy God: Lord Jesus!
Receive my Spirit.
The Liturgical Year - Ven. Dom Prosper Guéranger
OCTAVE OF ST.
STEPHEN
MASS PROPERS
St. Stephen
Deacon and Protomartyr
Simple – Red Vestments
Missa ‘Sederunt principes’
INTROIT -
Psalm 118: 23, 86, 1
Sederunt
principes, et adversum me loquebantur: et iniqui persecuti sunt me: adjuva me,
Domine Deus meus, quia servus tuus exercebatur in tuis justificationibus. Ps.
Beati immaculati in via, qui ambulant in lege Domini. Gloria Patri.
Princes
sat, and spoke against me: and the wicked persecuted me: help me, O Lord my
God, for Thy servant was employed in Thy justifications. Ps. Blessed are the
undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Glory be to the Father.
Princes sat, and spoke against me…
COLLECT
Grant
us, we beseech You, O Lord, to imitate what we celebrate, so that we may learn
to love even our enemies; because we keep the anniversary of the death of Him
Who knew how to plead even for His persecutors with Thy son our Lord Jesus
Christ. Who with Thee.
EPISTLE - Acts 6: 8-10; 7: 54-59
Lesson from the Acts of the
Apostles
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, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell
asleep in the Lord.
GRADUAL - Psalm 118: 23, 86, 117
Princes
sat, and spoke against me: and the wicked persecuted me. Help me, O Lord my
God: save me for Thy mercy's sake.
ALLELUIA - Acts 7: 56
Alleluia,
alleluia. I see the heavens opened, and Jesus standing on the right hand of the
power of God. Alleluia.
GOSPEL - Matthew 23: 34-39
Continuation of the holy
Gospel according to St. Matthew
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 hath been shed upon the
earth, from the blood of Abel the just even unto the blood of Zacharias the son
of Bacharias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. Amen I say to
you, all these things shall come upon this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how
often would I have gathered together thy children as the hen doth gather her
chickens under her wings, and thou wouldst not? Behold your house shall be left
to you desolate. For I say to you, you shall not see me henceforth, till you
say: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.
OFFERTORY Acts 6: 5; 7: 58
The
Apostles chose Stephen to be a Levite, a man full of faith and of the Holy
Ghost: whom the Jews stoned, invoking and saying: Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit. Alleluia.
SECRET
United
by Holy Communion to her divine Spouse, the Church, too, sees the heavens
opened, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. She sends up to this
Incarnate Word the yearnings of her intense love, and derives from the heavenly
Food she has received that meekness, which makes her bear with the injuries and
insults put upon her by her enemies, in order that she may win them all to the
faith and love of Jesus Christ. It was by partaking of this same heavenly Food,
that Stephen got the superhuman strength, whereby he won his victory and Crown.
CHRISTMAS PREFACE
It
is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation that we should at all
times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty and
everlasting God. Because by the mystery
of the Word made flesh the light of Thy glory hath shone anew upon the eyes of
our mind: that while we acknowledge Him to be God seen by men, we may be drawn
by Him to the love of things unseen. And therefore with angels and archangels,
with thrones and dominions, and with all the heavenly hosts, we sing a hymn to
Thy glory, saying without ceasing:
Sanctus,
Sanctus, Sanctus, Dóminus Deus Sábaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra glória tua.
Hosánna in excélsis. Benedíctus qui venit in nómine Dómini. Hosánna in
excélsis.
COMMUNION - Acts 7: 55, 58, 59
I
see the heavens opened, and Jesus standing on the right hand of the power of
God: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, and lay not this sin to their charge.
POSTCOMMUNION
May
the mysteries we have received, O Lord, help us, and through the intercession
of blessed Stephen, Thy Martyr, establish us by Thine everlasting protection.
Through our Lord.
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