The prayer of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was the theme of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI’s catechesis during the General Audience held this morning in Saint Peter’s Square.
According to the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles, Stephen was taken before the Sanhedrin accused of having declared that Jesus would destroy the Temple and change the customs handed down by Moses. In his address before the council Stephen explained that, in saying these things, Jesus had been referring to His body, which was the new temple. In this way, Christ "inaugurated the new worship and, with the offer of Himself on the cross, replaced the ancient sacrifices", our Holy Father said.
Stephen's explanations and his life were interrupted by his stoning, yet "martyrdom was the culmination of his life and message, because he became one with Christ. Thus his meditation upon the action of God in history, on the divine Word which was entirely fulfilled in Jesus, became a form of participation in Christ's prayer on the cross".
The moment of Stephen's martyrdom "again revealed the fruitful relationship between the Word of God and prayer", the Pope said. Yet "where did this first Christian martyr find the strength to face his persecutors and to make the ultimate gift of self? The answer is simple: in his relationship with God, in his communion with Christ, in meditating upon the history of salvation, in witnessing the action of God which reached its apex in Jesus Christ”….
“Our prayer must, then, be contemplation of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God, of Jesus as Lord of our daily life. In Him, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we too can address God ... with the trust and abandonment of children who turn to a Father Who loves them with an infinite love".
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