Feast of Saint Stephen
December 26, 2020
Daily reading from the USCCB: Psalm 31:3cd-4, 6, 8ab, 16bc, 17
Today is the feast of St. Stephen, the first disciple to lay down his life for Christ. The psalm refrain expresses misery and affliction, but also confidence in God.
Luke tells us in his Gospel that Jesus made these words his own as he died on the cross. The choice of these words for today’s Responsorial Psalm implies that the Church perceives that these same sentiments were in the heart of Stephen as he was being killed. They express the gift of self to God and confidence in him.
These sentiments of Jesus and of Stephen should be part of our spiritual equipment, too. We are all called to give ourselves to the Father–to have confidence in him. “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.”
