A blessed name day to all those named Stephen or Stephanie – also special festal greetings to all deacons on this day! Thank you for your ministry!

“First-martyr and apostle of Christ, you fought the good fight. You convicted the tyrants of their wickedness. When you were killed by stoning at the hands of sinners, you received a crown from God’s right hand while you cried out: Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” [Troparion of the feast]

The Church gives us the feast of St. Stephen immediately after Christmas to make something clear. On Christmas we learned “the son of God became man,” and today we see the purpose—“so that we might become God” (CCC 460). The account of Stephen’s preaching and martyrdom shows us what it looks like to become like God.