Saint Stephen

“ At length the whole country of Antioch was filled with weeping and lamentation, a man mourning for his wife, and a wife for her husband, a father mourning for his son or a son for his father, or brother for brother and friend for friend. At length the whole earth was filled with the blood of the saints, and their bodies were cast out into the streets of the city, and there was none to bury them except the watchmen of the city, to whom bribes had to be given secretly to bury them. And this Saint Stephen continued in prayer to God by day and by night that He would give him a crown of martyrdom. ”

“ And she sold all she had with her, both her silver ornaments and her apparel, and she built a church in the name of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr. And she and certain of the principal virgins and nuns all lived in that church, and this holy woman fought a great spiritual fight. She ate nothing else except herbs. She slept upon the bare ground and had no mattress, and she lived in this way, and carried on her good fight, and the working of righteousness for a period of more than eight years. ”

“ Whilst uttering these words, he died without having received the saving Viaticum, and his body was buried in the farthest parts of the monastery, nor did any one dare either to say Masses or sing psalms, or even to pray for him.850 Oh how far asunder hath God put light from darkness! The blessed Stephen, the first martyr, being about to suffer death for the truth, saw the heavens opened, and the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God;851 and where he was to be after death, there he fixed the eyes of his mind, that he might die the more joyfully. ”

“ Now thou seest that though I am old--and as thou hast said, given to over-much foreboding--there is a deadly mischief on foot."
"The Lord will smite them if they lay but a finger on Stephen," exclaimed the young man indignantly. "'Tis such as he that the Lord's flock hath need of; daily doth he work great miracles of healing, and his voice is heard in every synagogue persuading men to believe on Jesus the Christ. Men listen gladly; and to listen is to be convinced of the truth." ”

“ A BELIEVER IN THE NAZARENE.
"If only I had been there, perchance upon even me might a little of the blessing have fallen. And yet, was it not by the mercy of the all-seeing One that I was chained to the side of him who slew Jesus? We are one flesh, as it is written in the law; if he is accursed, I also am accursed."
"Knowest thou our Lord so little that thou dost believe what thou hast said?" said Stephen, a smile dawning in his dark eyes.
The wife of Caiaphas wiped away one or two slow tears. "How can I know him?" she asked bitterly. ”

“ Whereupon going out immediately to see what it might be, they beheld a great light coming down from heaven, [pg 153] which bore that holy soul, set loose from the bonds of the flesh, to the eternal joys of the celestial country. They also tell of other miracles that were wrought that night in the same monastery by the power of God; but as we must proceed to other matters, we leave them to be related by those whose concern they are. The body of this venerable virgin and bride of Christ was buried in the church of the blessed protomartyr, Stephen. ”

“ These seven men they brought before the apostles; and the apostles laid their hands on their heads, setting them apart for their work of caring for the poor.
But Stephen did more than to look after the needy ones. He began to preach the gospel of Christ, and to preach with such power as made every one who heard him feel the truth. Stephen saw before any other man in the church saw, that the gospel of Christ was not for Jews only, but was for all men; that all men might be saved if they would believe in Jesus; and this great truth Stephen began to preach with all his power. ”

“ As he hung upon the cross in agony, the Lord spake to him and said, 'This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.'"
"Who is this Stephen?" said Caiaphas, in a low, terrible voice. "And whom dost thou call Lord?"
Anna trembled with terror, she tried to speak, but the words died upon her lips.
"Speak, woman!"
"Stephen is--the son of the Greek who took our child. The man hath been punished for his sin. He also perished with the Lord." ”

“ The world cannot give peace in the midst of sorrow, but he can, and he hath given it unto thee, beloved. And thou dost rejoice, and thy joy shall no one take from thee."
"But my husband?" said Anna eagerly.
"Ask the Lord that it may be granted unto him to see the truth. I will also ask, then shall it be done for us according to his promise which cannot fail."
"And he will again love me?"
"Love is the fulfilling of the law," said Stephen, smiling. "He will again love thee, and the love that he hath had is as nothing to that God will give him, for God is love, and he is also the all-giver. ”

“ The high priest asked Stephen, “Are these men telling the truth about you?” Stephen began to say many things in order to answer the high priest. He said that God had done many wonderful things for the people of Israel from the time when Abraham lived to the time of Jesus. But the people had always disobeyed God. Stephen said, “You people are stubborn and rebellious against God. You always reject the Holy Spirit, just as our ancestors always rejected God and always killed his prophets. ”

“ His answer was this, 'He is with me alway even unto the end; until my appointed time there is nothing that shall be able to hurt me; neither shall I fear what man can do to me.'"
"Wonderful! I have confessed that Jesus is the Christ, but I fear me my faith in him is but a poor thing compared with that of Stephen; had the like happened to me I should have fled the city."
"'Twas what I urged upon him. Go away from Jerusalem, I said. There be Jews in every city of Greece who would gladly hear thee of the Christ; in the land of thy fathers shalt thou dwell in safety. ”

“ —You suspect, Stephen retorted with a sort of a half laugh, that I may be important because I belong to the faubourg Saint Patrice called Ireland for short.
—I would go a step farther, Mr Bloom insinuated.
—But I suspect, Stephen interrupted, that Ireland must be important because it belongs to me. ”

“ Surely critics must have been sorely in want of objections to the historical truth of the narrative when they raised the point that Stephen could not have looked up to heaven because he was in a covered chamber and could not have seen through the roof! This is simply a carping objection, and the expression used about St. Stephen is quite in keeping with the usus loquendi of Scripture. In the seventeenth of St. John, and at the first verse, we read of our Lord that "lifting up His eyes to heaven" He prayed His great eucharistic prayer on behalf of His Apostles. ”

“ Could he not yet choose, being set down at the right hand of God?"
"And dost thou think to question the doings of God's elect?" said John, a ring of authority in his mild tones.
"Nay, my son, chide not the lad," said Mary. "I myself doubted whether indeed the casting of lots be pleasing to God. God hath permitted men many things in the past because of their blindness."
"It is a practice of wicked men," cried Stephen. "I have seen thieves do the like to apportion their booty. And did not the Roman soldiers also at the foot of his cross cast lots for the garments of the crucified one?" ”

“ Is there not some smaller god who cares for common things? 'Not a sparrow falleth to the ground without your Father.'" Where had he heard those words? It was John who had spoken them after the scourging before the council. "That means his father, not mine;" he went on meditatively, "I am not a Jew. Yet are there sparrows in Egypt also; if I pray to this God, he will not I suppose strike me dead; I will try and see what comes of it. God of this land--Jesus--if that be thy name! I am as thou seest an Egyptian, and I know not what offering is pleasing unto thee ”

“ Stephen appears but for a moment in the course of the divine history; but it is to fill a very eminent and distinguished place. The occasion on which he is seen, and on which he acts, is full of meaning. Jewish enmity was again doing its dark deeds, and the God of glory was again disclosing His brighter purposes.
Stephen is another witness of the Lord passing from earth to heaven, leaving the earth for a season in its unbelief and apostasy, and calling out a people for heavenly places. ”

“ We know how laudatory are the terms in which the Holy Scripture speaks of Stephen: "A man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost;" and again: " Full of grace and fortitude." He it was whom even his enemies looked on as an incarnate angel, on account of the innocence and sanctity that shone in his countenance and in all his behavior: "And all that sat in the council looking on him saw his face as if it had been the face of an angel." ”

“ It is not granted to every one to behold the angel of deliverance."
"Thou hast spoken wisely, who art wise," said John gently. "The young man Stephen doth without ceasing make study of that which hath been written aforetime concerning the Christ. Yea, the spirit also hath revealed to him many things which have been hid from the eyes of the wise; and this to our profit who are sorely beset with the duties of our ministry. Read, I beseech thee, my brother, from the scroll which thou hast prepared." ”

“ I thought that thou wast asleep."
"Time hasteneth with rapid foot when a lady entertains so comely a young man," said the High Priest with a terrible gentleness. "Once more I ask of thee, who is thy guest?"
Stephen had risen to his feet and was looking with troubled eyes into the face of her whom he had learned to love almost as a mother. He waited for her to speak. Her lips moved, but no sound came from them. He turned and fixed his eyes upon the man. "I know not who thou art," he said in a clear voice, "nor why thou dost question this beloved lady so harshly, but I can answer for myself. ”

“ Stephen, calm and steadfast in the midst of their terrible violence, is seen with his face towards heaven, imploring the pardon of the Eternal Father for those who thus attack him, with the utmost piety and fervour. ”

“ At school, my boy, as elsewhere, it is a safe rule, whenever one is in doubt, to avoid everything, no matter who may be the tempter, of which one cannot fearlessly speak to one’s father or mother, and above all to our Heavenly Father. Don’t be afraid of Him—He will always be ready to help you and to guide you with His Holy Spirit. Have another cup of tea?”
This little talk, much as he missed at the time its deeper meaning, saved Stephen from becoming a dunce. ”

“ The golden glories of the dying day served to bring to their minds, each recurring evening, that place beyond the toils and sorrows of earth which their Lord had gone to prepare, and toward which each day's journey was swiftly hurrying them. Here the mother of Jesus sat enshrined in saintly peace; here also were John and Peter with the other apostles; Anna, the wife of Caiaphas, Stephen, and of late the black-eyed Egyptian maiden, together with many others who came to them for help, instruction, or healing. The number of such homes was daily increasing in Jerusalem ”

“ God looks down from heaven upon all our bitter conflicts; and He weighs, as a just Judge, all the events that happen on earth. From the servant to whom He has given but one talent, He does not demand the same service as from him who has ten talents. Stephen's heavenly Father knew exactly how much understanding and strength he possessed, for He Himself had given those good gifts to the boy, and He knew in what measure He had bestowed them. ”

“ We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us!"
Then all who were sitting in the council fixed their eyes on Stephen and saw that his face shone like the face of an angel. But the high priest said, "Are these charges true?" Stephen answered, "Brothers and fathers, listen. The Most High God does not live in houses made by men.
"You stubborn and evil-minded people! you always resist the Holy Spirit, as did your fathers before you. Which of the prophets did they not persecute? ”

“ The face of Annas hardened. "Thou speakest in riddles, friend," he said coldly. "Whom dost thou accuse of lying and deceit?"
"It hath come to my ears that certain ones have been hired to speak evil of the man Stephen; that these have stirred up the people against him so that they are ready to lay hands upon him. It is true that the man hath spoken freely and openly in every synagogue, alleging that the carpenter of Galilee was the Christ foretold by the Prophets, and that he hath risen from the dead and is become the first-fruits of them that sleep." ”

“ First among the "seven men of honest report" who were set apart under the hands of the apostles to administer the common store of the Church community, was Stephen, a man eminent in faith and good works, through whom the Lord wrought many miracles. He was zealous in service, aggressive in doctrine, and fearless as a minister of Christ. Some of the foreign Jews, who maintained a synagog in Jerusalem, engaged Stephen in disputation, and being unable "to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake," conspired to have him charged with heresy and blasphemy. ”