Homily, The Feast of St. Stephen, 2025
Martyrdom is not something that we consider very often in America. Persecution for us is that someone said something unkind to us on our way to church. Yet real suffering for Christ has been part of the Christian experience from the very beginning. Jesus deserve all of our loyalty. Are we willing to suffer for His sake? Are we will to allow our families to suffer for Jesus’ sake? These are difficult questions, and yet the answer is that we must give everything for Christ. May we prepare in times of comfort and property for the persecution that we may one day face. Like Stephen who followed the example set…
Homily, the Feast of St. Stephen, 2023
St. Stephen, as the first Christian martyr, shows all the followers of God what godly dedication should be. First, he is not afraid to speak the truth boldly, and yet he does not do so out of malice or hate for those who are murdering him. St. Stephen, with his dying breathe, follows the example of Christ by praying for His persecutors even as they killed him. And yet one of these persecutors would become St. Paul by whom the gospel was spread throughout the Roman Empire. The Church, the Body of Christ, grows through our suffering. Let us therefore welcome the suffering that God brings to us. May we…