Wednesday, December 26, 2012
MEMORIAL, ST. STEPHEN
DECEMBER 26, 2012
MEMORIAL, ST. STEPHEN
OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS
Acts 6:8-10; 7:54- 59 / Mt 10:17-22
ACTS 6:8-10; 7:54- 59
Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia. They argued with Stephen but they could not match the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. When they heard this reproach, they were enraged and they gnashed their teeth against Stephen. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God's right hand, so he declared: "I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of God." But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him. They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
MATTHEW 10:17-22
Be on your guard with people, for they will hand you over to their courts, and they will flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings because of me, so you may witness to them and the pagans. But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say, or how you are to say it; when the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. For it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father in you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved.
REFLECTION
Christianity today is so different from what it was in the times of the early Christians. Like St. Stephen, the early Christians so bravely preached the Good News to very hostile environments. We can only imagine how St. Stephen endured and courageously suffered because of his belief in and love for Jesus.
Nowadays, we take our religion for granted. We are more caught up with the material side of the Christmas season. Many times we've been reminded to make the Lord's birthday more meaningful, and yet year after year we're stuck with our exchange gift-giving tradition rather than truly giving. We made this season so commercialized that we end up tired and feeling meaningless.
Perhaps as a change, let us give to those who can't give us anything in return. Let us give without expecting anything back or a favor in return. Let us give to the ones who cannot even utter a word of thanks back. Let us give to those whom we do not like; let us give to those who do not know who gave to them. Give silently and sincerely to make Christmas truly memorable for others.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the personal intentions of Andrew G
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Mac Daveth Limbo Dimaculangan
- Birthday: Dionisio R. Opelanio
- Birthday: Celso F. Bate
- Wedding Anniversary: Mr. & Mrs. Mark Pocholo Soriano
- In Memoriam (+): Teotimo Tio Tiam
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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© 2012 Daily-Homily
MEMORIAL, ST. STEPHEN
OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS
Acts 6:8-10; 7:54- 59 / Mt 10:17-22
ACTS 6:8-10; 7:54- 59
Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia. They argued with Stephen but they could not match the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. When they heard this reproach, they were enraged and they gnashed their teeth against Stephen. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God's right hand, so he declared: "I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of God." But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him. They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
MATTHEW 10:17-22
Be on your guard with people, for they will hand you over to their courts, and they will flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings because of me, so you may witness to them and the pagans. But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say, or how you are to say it; when the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. For it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father in you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved.
REFLECTION
Christianity today is so different from what it was in the times of the early Christians. Like St. Stephen, the early Christians so bravely preached the Good News to very hostile environments. We can only imagine how St. Stephen endured and courageously suffered because of his belief in and love for Jesus.
Nowadays, we take our religion for granted. We are more caught up with the material side of the Christmas season. Many times we've been reminded to make the Lord's birthday more meaningful, and yet year after year we're stuck with our exchange gift-giving tradition rather than truly giving. We made this season so commercialized that we end up tired and feeling meaningless.
Perhaps as a change, let us give to those who can't give us anything in return. Let us give without expecting anything back or a favor in return. Let us give to the ones who cannot even utter a word of thanks back. Let us give to those whom we do not like; let us give to those who do not know who gave to them. Give silently and sincerely to make Christmas truly memorable for others.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the personal intentions of Andrew G
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Mac Daveth Limbo Dimaculangan
- Birthday: Dionisio R. Opelanio
- Birthday: Celso F. Bate
- Wedding Anniversary: Mr. & Mrs. Mark Pocholo Soriano
- In Memoriam (+): Teotimo Tio Tiam
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoogleGroup Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
© 2012 Daily-Homily
# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 6:19 AM 
