December 26, 2024

Dear John,

This week, we invite you to join our friars in five video meditations on the holiness of Advent and the joyous birth of Christ!

We hope your Christmas has been one of joy and love with friends and family! In today's meditation, Murray Bodo, OFM, explains how God's love for us is eternal. Click here to watch it.

If you are encouraged by our daily messages, consider donating here. God's peace to you!

Saint of the Day for December 26:
Stephen

(d. c. 36)

Listen to Saint Stephen’s Story Here

“As the number of disciples continued to grow, the Greek-speaking Christians complained against the Hebrew-speaking Christians, saying that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.’ The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 6:1-5).

Acts of the Apostles says that Stephen was a man filled with grace and power, who worked great wonders among the people. Certain Jews, members of the Synagogue of Roman Freedmen, debated with Stephen, but proved no match for the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke. They persuaded others to make the charge of blasphemy against him. He was seized and carried before the Sanhedrin.

In his speech, Stephen recalled God’s guidance through Israel’s history, as well as Israel’s idolatry and disobedience. He then claimed that his persecutors were showing this same spirit. “…you always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors” (Acts 7:51b).

Stephen’s speech brought anger from the crowd. “But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ …They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. …As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ …‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’” (Acts 7:55-56, 58a, 59, 60b).

Reflection

Stephen died as Jesus did: falsely accused, brought to unjust condemnation because he spoke the truth fearlessly. He died with his eyes trustfully fixed on God, and with a prayer of forgiveness on his lips. A “happy” death is one that finds us in the same spirit, whether our dying is as quiet as Joseph’s or as violent as Stephen’s: dying with courage, total trust and forgiving love.

Saint Stephen is a Patron Saint of:

Deacons

Rediscover the spirit of Christmas with this classic by New York Times best-selling author Thomas Moore

who uses passages from the Gospels, archetypal stories and ancient myths to explore the idea that Christmas can only be fully understood as belonging to everyone—as a plan for the entire human race.

The Soul of Christmas

‘Not Me, but God’

And the miracles, all of them, move forward, as miracles do, and this new one, a boy who believed, who chronicled miracles about holy bread. Just a kid! Just a kid, a child who gave all he had to God until the very end. It was Blessed Carlo Acutis, perhaps soon-to-be a saint, who said, “Non io ma Dio” (which means, “Not me, but God”). And perhaps one day there will be statues of him in the back of the basilicas, but Blessed Carlo is already guiding us with the straps of his school backpack and his pair of black Nikes.

—from St. Anthony Messenger‘s “Miracles, Holy Bread, and a Teen Saint in the Making“ by Maureen O’Brien

Take a Breath

Reflect

Breathing is the most basic thing we do in life, but it is likely also the thing we most overlook. Let these moments of prayer serve as an acknowledgement of the miracle that is being alive.

Pray

O Breath of Heaven,
slow me down to notice my own breathing.
Help me listen to the sound of air
and feel my body relax and awaken.
I praise you for the life pulsing through my body,
and the way that attending to my breath
can regulate my nervous system.
I inhale your peace.
I exhale my anxieties.
And I find rest in your breath flowing through me.
Amen.

Act

Try this exercise for breath work. Sit with your back straight and your feet flat on the floor. Inhale for four seconds, hold the breath for seven seconds, and exhale for eight seconds. Repeat for one minute.

Today's Pause+Pray was written by Shannon K. Evans. Learn more here!

This newsletter is not free to produce! Please consider making a donation to help us in our efforts to share God's love in the spirit of St. Francis.

Donate | Shop | About | St. Anthony Messenger Magazine

Franciscan Spirit | Saint of the Day | Minute Meditations | Pause and Pray