Scottish Catholic Observer

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today we celebrate the Feast of St Stephen (below.) The memory of the first martyr follows immediately the solemnity of Christmas.Yesterday we contemplated the merciful love of God who became flesh for us; Today we see the consistent response of the disciple of Jesus, who gives life. Yesterday was born on earth, the Savior; now born to heaven his faithful witness. Yesterday as today, they appear the darkness of denial of life, but still shines stronger the light of love that overcomes hatred and inaugurates a new world.

There is a particular aspect, in today’s story of the Acts of the Apostles, who approached St. Stephen to the Lord. It is hisforgiveness before he died stoned. Nailed to the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” ( Luke23:34); similarly Stefano “bent his knees and cried out:” Lord, do not charge them with this sin ‘”( Acts 7:60). Stefano is thereforea martyr, which means witness, because as Jesus does ; It is in fact true witness who behave like him: those who pray, those who love, those who give, but especially those who forgive because forgiveness, as the name implies, is the highest expression of the gift.

But – we might ask – what is the use forgive? It’s just a good deed or door of the results? We find an answer right in the martyrdom of Stephen. Among those for which he begged forgiveness was a young man named Saul; he persecuted the Church and tried to destroy (cf. Acts 8.3). Saul became Paul shortly after, the great saint, the apostle of the Gentiles. He had been forgiven by Stefano. We can say that Paul was born by God’s grace and forgiveness of Stephen.

We too are born from God’s forgiveness . Not only in baptism, but every time we are forgiven our heart is reborn, is regenerated .Each step forward in the life of faith is impressed with the early sign of divine mercy. Because only when we are loved we can love ourselves. Remember, we will do well if we want to move forward in faith, first of all we must receive God’s forgiveness; meet the Father, who is ready to forgive everything and always, and that just forgiving heals the heart and revives the love. We must never tire of asking God’s forgiveness, because only when we are forgiven when we feel forgiven, we learn to forgive.

Forgive, however, is not easy, it is always very difficult. How can we imitate Jesus? Where to begin to excuse small or large wrongs we suffer every day? First of all by prayer, as did Stephen . It starts from your heart: we can deal with prayer resentment we feel, by giving those who have done evil to the mercy of God : “Lord, I ask for it, I ask for her.” Then it turns out that this inner struggle to forgive purifies from evil and that prayer and love set us free from the chains of the inner resentment. It ‘so bad to live in resentment! Every day we have the opportunity to train to forgive, to live this gesture so high that brings man closer to God. As our Heavenly Father, we too become merciful, through forgiveness overcome evil with good , we transform the ‘ I hate into love and so we make the world cleaner.

The Virgin Mary, whom we entrust those – and unfortunately many – that as St. Stephen suffer persecution in the name of faith, our many martyrs today, directs our prayer to receive and give forgiveness. Receive and give forgiveness.
After the Angelus:

Dear brothers and sisters,

I greet you all pilgrims, from Italy and from different countries. I renew to you all the hope that the contemplation of the Child Jesus, standing next to Mary and Joseph, may inspire an attitude of mercy and love for one another in families, parish and religious communities, movements and associations, and to all the faithful in people of good will.

In recent weeks I have received many greetings from Rome and elsewhere. I can not answer each one. Therefore, today I express to you and to all my heartfelt thanks, especially for the gift of prayer.

Happy feast of St. Stephen, and please do not forget to pray for me. Good lunch and goodbye!