Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - December 26, 2024
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from You.”
None of us, filled with the spirits, good food and music of Christmas, would ever have thought to place the feast of the martyr Saint Stephen so close to Christmas. Celebrating a man who was stoned to death for his belief in Christ is about as unsentimental and grating as you can get. The almost brutal realism of celebrating Saint Stephen is genuinely meaningful. It tells us in the midst of good fellowship, fun and family reunions that all this can be a bit unreal.
Even though we are made for ultimate delight and joy, pain and suffering are never far away from our happiness in this life. Aunt Jenny is not here because she is getting chemotherapy and is too tired; Larry and Jill split up just a month ago; Marilyn's husband is not here because he's on a peacekeeping mission with the military; Bill was afraid to come because of his alcoholism. The feast of Stephen, following so immediately on the joy of Christ's birth, reminds us that following Christ brings the cross.
Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”
