Today, 26th of December, we celebrate
Saint Stephen
My beloved, obedient as you have always been,
not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
For God is the one who, for his good purpose,
works in you both to desire and to work.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning,
that you may be blameless and innocent,
children of God without blemish
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life,
so that my boast for the day of Christ may be
that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
But, even if I am poured out as a libation
upon the sacrificial service of your faith,
I rejoice and share my joy with all of you.
In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.
R./ The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R./ The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the Lord;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord
and contemplate his temple.
R./ The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.
R./ The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
Today we remember Saint Pedro Poveda and other Spanish martyrs of the twentieth century, among the multitude of those who followed the Lord to the point of giving their lives. They knew how to carry the cross.
Do you know or have you met anyone whose life has not had a cross? We all carry a cross, which may always be the same or different at different times: there is no human existence without a cross. Sometimes it is so obvious that everyone can see it: illness, failure, poverty, separation, abuse, betrayal, loneliness, lack of love… There are palliatives, but only palliatives. True salvation comes only from Jesus Christ, who took upon himself all suffering, all pain, all failure, so that in his wounds we may be healed.
Some crosses are so hidden that no one sees them, not even those who carry them. I think of my mother, who, like everyone else, had good times and not so good times, or downright bad times, and we saw her suffer and enjoy, as the case may be. But she did not like to cook, and for more than sixty years she did it practically every day, twice a day. And she did it very well, without us ever hearing her complain (I only found out when she was very old). My mother was not an exceptional case of self-sacrifice. Many people could tell you this about their parents.
«Whoever does not take up his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple,» Jesus says. His demand for total detachment puzzles us. It is very difficult to «postpone» the affections of those closest to us, and even our own love. But to postpone is not to uproot, it is to put back, and besides, nothing is impossible for God. He has promised us a hundredfold.
And when He sets the conditions for its realization, He warns that no great undertaking is undertaken without calculating the cost. The undertaking is the unconditional decision to follow the way of Jesus. Something that requires us to deny ourselves and embrace the cross that saves us and gives meaning to all suffering. «Jesus, by assuming human suffering, made himself a sharer in all human suffering. And this was possible because of the infinite love of Jesus, and man, to the extent that he participates in this love, finds again the meaning that he seemed to have lost because of suffering» (Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris of John Paul II) To participate in this love is simply to be a disciple, to follow Jesus Christ.
Virginia FernandezGod our Father,
we have accepted your invitation
to follow your Son Jesus, as his disciples.
We do not know what the future has in store
yet we are willing to live in hope and joy.
without fear or discouragement.
Give us the strength of your Spirit
to take our faith seriously
and to accept our task in life
with all its consequences.
For we are certain Jesus will lead us to you,
our loving God, for ever and ever.
First Reading Introduction
The task of the disciple is double, says St. Paul: Let God do his work in you, and bear witness to the world. If they can do that, the work of Paul among them will not have been in vain.
Gospel Introduction
Jesus stresses that Christians must follow Jesus radically and consistently. They must know what they are doing. They may not stop halfway, but must look ahead. They must take their Christianity seriously.
– For all those who are seeking God with a sincere heart, that they may find him and do generously what God wants them to do, we pray:
– For those called by the Lord to special ministries of service in the community, that they may put no limits to their generosity, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may be disciples of Jesus, our Lord, and follow him resolutely, we pray:
Lord our God,
in these gifts of bread and wine,
we bring ourselves before you
and you let your Son give himself to us.
May we learn from him
to make ourselves free
for people and for you
and to seek your will in all we do.
May we follow your Son
in his trials and in his glory,
now and for ever.
Lord our God,
in this Eucharist, you have enlightened us
with the word and the wisdom of your Son
and let him give us his bread of strength
to make us follow him without hesitation.
Fill us with the wisdom and strength of your Spirit
to go with Jesus,
through the desert of pain and the cross,
for the sake of bringing life and joy
to our brothers and sisters in need
and for giving glory to you,
our God, for ever and ever.
We don’t love crosses and trials and we do not have to. But we love Jesus and he loves us. He says: if you love me, follow me, also when the road is rough, when our integrity as Christians demands sacrifices. May Almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
