December 26, 2025, Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr
Lectionary: #696, Matthew 10: 17-22
Scripture
Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
Reflection
It would be easy to become fearful and discouraged the moment one realizes the truth of what Jesus says, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.” For Jesus, the word “world” indicates a center of resistance, the place of sin and death. But by his coming as a human, he tells us, he has “overcome the world.”
In this one phrase, we can understand the meaning of new life through the incarnation of the Son of God. What seemed impossible, and what is “impossible for man,” is not “impossible for God.” St. Stephen stands out as the first witness to this new possibility when he says, “I can see heaven thrown open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Joined to Jesus, being one with him by believing in him, each of us has hope for that salvation which is beyond any human power. It springs forth from God as a supernatural virtue through the power of the Holy Spirit as one of his principal gifts. Anyone who endures in hope, relying upon God’s grace to the end, will be saved.
To Maximin and Melanie, Our Lady brings the hope of what seemed impossible, great news indeed. In her presence, the children immediately become aware of heaven. The possibility transforms their hearts, and they wish that Mary would take them back with her to heaven.
La Salette Invocation
Our Lady of La Salette, reconciler of sinners,
pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you.
