On this second day of Christmas, the Church presents to us St. Stephen, the first martyr. The festive red color of Christmas is mixed with the blood-red of the martyr. The Church proclaims that Christmas is not just a custom, diversion, or triviality. Christmas is glorious – and serious. Christmas is the proclamation of Jesus' lordship. It is the Word confronting the world (see Wis 18:15).
The Church's Christmas characters are not Santa, Rudolph, or Frosty. Our Christmas saints are the fearless martyr Stephen, the massacred babies of Bethlehem, the bloodied Thomas Becket, joyful and sorrowful mother Mary, and Joseph the impoverished refugee. The Church proclaims that Christmas is not primarily for the consumers and shoppers but for the witnesses, the persecuted, and the poor.
You may have had the world's Christmas for years. Why don't you try something different and celebrate the Word's Christmas? Repent, obey, witness, and begin Christ's Christmas.
| PRAYER: | Father, give me a good, old-fashioned, Bethlehem-Calvary Christmas. |
| PROMISE: | "As Stephen was being stoned he could be heard praying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' " –Acts 7:59 |
| PRAISE: | St. Stephen was so focused on his beloved Jesus that he saw the heavens open as he was killed (Acts 7:56). |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College