Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 65 : 1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a
Shout with joy to God, all you on earth; sing to the glory of His Name; proclaim His glorious praise. Say to God, “How great are Your deeds!”
All the earth bows down to You, making music, in praise of You, singing in honour of Your Name. Come, and see God’s wonders; His deeds, awesome for humans.
He has turned the sea into dry land, and the river was crossed on foot. Let us, therefore, rejoice in Him. He rules by His might forever.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 8 : 1b-8
This was the beginning of a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem. All, except the Apostles, were scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church. He entered house after house and dragged off men and women, and had them put in jail.
At the same time, those who were scattered went about, preaching the word. Philip went down to a town of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. All the people paid close attention to what Philip said as they listened to him, and saw the miraculous signs that he did. For, in cases of possession, the unclean spirits came out shrieking loudly. Many people who were paralysed or crippled, were healed. So there was great joy in the town.
Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are called to remember the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the great first martyr of the Church, who in our first reading suffered greatly at the hands of the Sanhedrin members who opposed him and were angry that St. Stephen spoke in such a way about the truth of God that they became hostile to him and wanted to kill him, even though he really was speaking the truth. They stoned him to death for affirming what the Lord Jesus Himself had said, that He was the One sent by God and proclaimed by the prophets to be the Saviour of the whole world.
St. Stephen was only speaking the truth against the efforts of the Sanhedrin who tried very hard to silence him and accuse him, even putting forth false witnesses to implicate him with blasphemy, making false accusations and testimony that St. Stephen had blasphemed against God by his words and actions. This was exactly what they had done with the Lord Jesus as well on the night of His arrest, when they tried to blame Him with blasphemy and sentence Him to death. Thus, St. Stephen endured partly and shared in what the Lord had been suffering during His Passion and death.
St. Stephen devoted himself to the Lord, Whom in our Gospel passage today told everyone the truth about Himself, that He is the One true Bread, the Bread of Life by Whom everyone would receive life and the promise of eternal life. Those who share and partake in the Bread of Life will rejoice forever and have part in the inheritance and grace that God promised to His people, and many at that time were also skeptical or even outrightly refused to believe in the Lord.
At the start of today’s Gospel passage we heard how the Jews questioned and doubted the Lord Jesus on the authority of His teachings and miracles, and they wanted Him to show them miraculous deeds and powers even though it was likely that many among them had witnessed those miracles earlier on. They doubted and would not believe because they had hardened their hearts and minds, refusing to admit that what the Lord had done was indeed real and authentic. Instead, they rather placed their trust in their own flawed human sense and judgment.
It was this same attitude that many among the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees had adapted as they refused to listen to St. Stephen and his words of God’s wisdom and truth, and ended up killing him in cold blood. Yet, St. Stephen remained true to his faith and dedication to the very end, not worrying even about his own life and the suffering he had to face, because he put his trust in the very Christ rejected by his persecutors and all of his enemies.
As the Lord Jesus Himself said that He is truly the Bread of Life, the One Who gives life and strength to all who believe in Him, thus St. Stephen entrusted himself fully in this Bread of Life, in the promise of eternal joy and life surpassing all things that can be found in this world. The Lord has promised all of His faithful ones the new life and existence through Him, and that was why beginning with St. Stephen, so many of our holy and dedicated predecessors gave their all to the service of God, with some enduring suffering, persecution and even martyrdom for their faith.
What is the significance of this truth for us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is a reminder that to be Christians it means that we are the bearers of Christ’s truth and we are also witnesses of His resurrection. We have received the same Holy Spirit as St. Stephen had, and we have been called to faithfully live our lives so that our every actions, our every words and deeds truly proclaim the glory of God and show His truth and salvation to all the peoples around us.
But in order to do so, we need to anchor ourselves firmly in faith, in the Lord Jesus, our Bread of Life, the One Who can sustain us through our journey of faith and the One through Whom we will be saved and brought into the promised glorious existence together with Him. Many of us have not yet been truly faithful in our lives and we have often allowed our many worldly concerns and the many temptations in life to affect us and to prevent us from finding our way towards the Lord.
Are we then able to overcome these temptations and distractions in life? Are we able to put our trust firmly in the Lord from now on? Let us all not worry about our lives and how we are to live our lives but instead learn to be more faithful to God, seeking to allow God to guide us in our lives that day by day we may draw ever closer to Him and be more attuned to His truth. Let us all grow ever stronger in faith and dedication, that even though we know that sufferings and challenges may be in our path, with Christ everything is possible for us.
Today we also celebrate the feast of two great saints whose lives may be great inspiration for us on how we should continue living our lives from now on. First of all, St. Peter Chanel was a renowned priest and also a martyr of the Church who was remembered for his piety and his hard work as a missionary for many years in serving the people of God and proclaiming the faith in far-off lands. St. Peter Chanel joined the priesthood and was credited for a successful rejuvenation of a parish that his bishop had entrusted to him as parish priest for three years long.
When St. Peter Chanel was finally allowed to embark on his missionary journey, he travelled to the most distant parts of the world, travelling to the islands in the Southern Pacific Ocean, spreading the Good News to the people there, until he finally arrived at Futuna where he was eventually martyred after a brief opportunity of evangelisation to the point that he was even successful in persuading the son of the local king to be baptised. This made the king angry and ordered the execution of the missionaries including that of St. Peter Chanel.
St. Peter Chanel’s courage allowed him to persevere through and he entrusted himself in the Lord so completely that he did what he could to spread the truth and salvation of God to many people even when he had to suffer and endure rejection. This is similar to what St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, commonly known as St. Louis de Monfort, had experienced throughout his ministry to the people of God.
Although St. Louis de Montfort did not endure martyrdom unlike St. Stephen and St. Peter Chanel, but he also had to endure difficulties and challenges from some people who disliked him, as it was told that his courageous and fiery sermons while appreciated by many, but it enraged some of the community who refused to listen to him and became angry at his words, much like how St. Stephen was hated, and St. Louis de Montfort was even poisoned because of this before, though he survived through that.
Through St. Louis de Montfort’s effort and his dedication, his many years of service, many people also came to know God and sought to be reconciled with the Lord and the Church. He was also instrumental in the establishment of several congregations, inspiring quite a lot of people who wanted to follow his examples in serving the Lord. He was also influential in the improvement of Christian education and the formation of the people of God.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us reflect on all these, and think of how we can be better Christians by devoting more of our time and effort, to proclaim God’s truth and love through our own lives, by our own actions and deeds. Let us all love one another, and let us spend our lives to glorify God and to be inspirations to each other that we may be ever more willing to walk in the path that God has shown us.
May the Lord, our Bread of Life, be with us always and guide us, that we may be courageous like St. Stephen, be missionary like St. Peter Chanel and be loving and dedicated like St. Louis de Montfort. May God bless our efforts and our many good endeavours, and may He be with us throughout this journey of faith. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
John 6 : 30-35
At that time, the Jews said to Jesus, “Show us miraculous signs, that we may see and believe You. What sign do You perform? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert; as Scripture says : They were given bread from heaven to eat.”
Jesus then said to them, “Truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true Bread from heaven. The Bread God gives is the One Who comes from heaven and gives life to the world.” And they said to Him, “Give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me shall never be thirsty.”
Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 30 : 3cd-4, 6ab and 7b and 8a, 17 and 21ab
Be a Rock of refuge for me, a Fortress for my safety. For You are my Rock and my Stronghold, lead me for Your Name’s sake.
Into Your hands I commend my spirit; but I put all my trust in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in Your love, for You have seen my affliction.
Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me in Your love. In the shelter of Your presence You hide them from human wiles; You keep them in Your dwelling.
Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Acts 7 : 51 – Acts 8 : 1a
Stephen said to the Council, “But you are a stubborn people, you hardened your hearts and closed your ears. You have always resisted the Holy Spirit just as your fathers did. Was there a prophet whom your ancestors did not persecute? They killed those who announced the coming of the Just One Whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the Law through the Angels but did not fulfil it.”
When the Council heard the reproach Stephen made against them, they were enraged and they gnashed their teeth against him. 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.”
Then he knelt down and said in a loud voice : “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he died. Saul was there, approving his murder. This was the beginning of a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard of the courageous testimony of one of the early Church saints and martyrs, namely St. Stephen, who was one of the original seven holy deacons appointed to serve the Church and was also the first of those who were martyred for their faith. St. Stephen spoke openly and courageously of the Lord’s truth and salvation, and he stood alone before the entire assembly of the Sanhedrin defending the truth he has been called to proclaim.
St. Stephen spoke the truth of God’s salvation and all of His plans for us mankind, as he presented before all gathered, with great wisdom and clarity, what God had spoken and repeated so many times through His prophets and messengers. Many of these prophets and messengers had been put to great suffering themselves as the people they were sent to refused to believe in the truth, and that was then that St. Stephen had his turn to suffer for the Lord’s sake, for speaking the truth and defending that truth.
God has done all of His wonderful deeds through Christ, His Son, and He has blessed us through the suffering and Passion of His Son, as He laid dying on the Cross, bearing the full burden of our combined sins, and by suffering for us, Christ has given us this path to freedom and reconciliation with His heavenly Father. It is this same Jesus Christ Whom we have heard in our Gospel passage, performing His work and ministry among the people in Galilee, preaching the truth of God and showing the love of God to them.
And He told the people gathered there of the simple instruction and desire in His heart, that all of them ought to believe in the One Whom God had sent into the world, that is in Him and in His truth, in all that He has spoken and revealed to them, the revelation of God’s love and the desire He has to save us all mankind, liberating us from our many sins and reconciling us to Himself. It is this same truth that St. Stephen has also been preaching so courageously about, dedicating his life to serve the Lord’s will to the best of his abilities.
Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard from our Scripture passages today, we have been reminded of our calling as Christians to follow the good examples and inspiration set by St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church. It does not mean that we have to be martyred or to suffer like St. Stephen had gone through, but rather, we are called to have the same courage and dedication that this saint and martyr had shown in fulfilling his calling and in living up to his ministry.
Each and every one of us as Christians have been given our respective calling, mission and we have been blessed by God with various gifts, talents and abilities to contribute to the greater good and work of the Church. We have been blessed with various opportunities and graces, to reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters, to be witnesses for Christ, to proclaim His truth and love through our lives and through we live our lives and our daily actions, our words and deeds.
It is indeed not going to be easy for us to be obedient to Christ and to follow faithfully the path that God has laid before us. The sufferings of St. Stephen, his martyrdom and also what the prophets before him had encountered, coupled with what the Lord Jesus Himself had to face throughout His ministry, all the suffering He had to endure during His Passion and crucifixion, all of these show us that to be a faithful Christian, it requires us to really put our effort and commitment that we truly become the followers of Christ not just in name but also in the spirit and in truth.
Are we able and willing to become the witnesses of Christ’s truth and resurrection? This is our challenge, brothers and sisters in Christ, the challenge that we have been given as part of our common baptismal mission and calling. We are called to be the beacons of Christ’s light, to bear His hope and salvation to the world, especially important during this most challenging time and these moments when we are struggling and having difficulties because of all the troubles our world and our various communities are facing these days.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, can we bring more hope into this world and help others to get out of their despair and suffering, their darkness and their hopelessness, by showing them that in Christ alone there is hope for our redemption and eternal life? Let us show that hope to our fellow men, and let us all unite our sufferings and troubles to the sufferings of Christ on the Cross, bearing in mind that Christ has suffered for us, the ultimate suffering that we may live and have hope again.
And let us also not forget the suffering that St. Stephen and the many other holy martyrs of the Lord had to suffer in the midst of their ministry and throughout their lives. All these sufferings ultimately remind us that even though we may suffer for now in the world, but as long as we stay faithful to the Lord, remain committed to Him and dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to Him, we will receive the assurance of eternal life and salvation in God.
May the Lord be with us always in our journey, and may He help us to remain faithful despite all the challenges and difficulties we may have to endure throughout our journey of faith. Let us all commit ourselves from now on with a renewed spirit and strength, to serve God in all of our daily actions and in our daily lives, doing our best to glorify Him through our words, actions and deeds, now and forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 6 : 22-29
At that time, the next day after Jesus fed the five thousand men, the people, who had stayed on the other side, realised that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with His disciples; but rather, the disciples had gone away alone.
Bigger boats from Tiberias came near the place where all these people had eaten the bread. When they saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, “Master, when did You come here?”
Jesus answered, “Truly, I say to you, you look for Me, not because of the signs which you have seen, but because you ate bread and were satisfied. Work then, not for perishable food, but for the lasting food which gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give it to you, for He is the One on Whom the Father has put His mark.”
Then the Jews asked Him, “What shall we do? What are the works that God wants us to do?” And Jesus answered them, “The work God wants is this : that you believe in the One Whom God has sent.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 118 : 23-24, 26-27, 29-30
Although princes conspire against me, Your servant will observe Your decrees. Your laws are my delight, my counsellors who uphold me.
When I explained my ways, You responded; instruct me then in Your precepts. Explain to me all Your ordinances, and I will meditate on Your wondrous deeds.
Keep me away from deceitful paths; be gracious and teach me Your law. I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart upon Your laws.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 6 : 8-15
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.
As they were unable to face the truth, they bribed some men to say, ‘We heard him speak against Moses and against God.’ So they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the Law; they took him by surprise, seized him and brought him before the Council.
Then they produced false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against our Holy Place and the Law. We even heard him say that Jesus the Nazarean will destroy our Holy Place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.” And all who sat in the Council fixed their eyes on him, and his face appeared to them like the face of an Angel.
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