Vatican City, Dec 26, 2013: “The Church sees in the sacrifice of the martyrs their
‘birth into heaven.’ So today we celebrate the ‘birth’ of Stephen, which springs from
the depths Nativity of Christ.” Said Pope Francis on Thursday, addressing a large
gathering of faithful in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square for the catechesis and recitation
of the Angelus, traditionally held on the 26th of December, feast of St.
Stephen, the first Martyr in the History of the Church.
Appealing for Christians
who suffer violence, discrimination and all manner of injustice because of their faithfulness
to Christ and His Gospel, Pope Francis called for prayerful solidarity with persecuted
faithful. “We are close to those brothers and sisters who, like St. Stephen, are unjustly
accused and subjected to violence of various kinds,” said Pope Francis. He went on
to say, “This happens especially where religious freedom is still not guaranteed or
not fully realized.”
The Holy Father explained that, even in countries that
have protections for freedom and human rights “on paper,” believers in general, “and
especially Christians, encounter a lack of liberty and discrimination.”
Pope
Francis departed from his prepared remarks to note that there are indeed a great many
Christians who suffer in these ways – more even than in the time of the first Christians
– and paused for a prayerful silence with the people and then to lead the faithful
in praying the Ave, Maria! on behalf of the persecuted Christians. He went on to say
that Christians ought not be surprised by such mistreatment, since Jesus said such
things would happen and that they offer good occasion for profound witness. “Nevertheless,”
he said, “Injustice in the civil [sphere] must be denounced and eliminated.”
“In
the joyful atmosphere of Christmas, this commemoration may seem out of place. In fact,
Christmas is the celebration of life and gives us feelings of serenity and peace,
why disturb the charm with the memory such a terrible violence? In fact, in the perspective
of faith, the Feast of St. Stephen is in full harmony with the deeper meaning of Christmas.
In martyrdom, in fact, violence is overcome by love, life over death.”
“The
martyrdom of Stephen reproduces the same interplay between good and evil, between
hatred and forgiveness, between gentleness and violence, which culminated in the Cross
of Christ. The memory of the first martyr comes thus, immediately, to dissolve a false
picture of Christmas fairytale and sugar coated image that does not exist in the Gospel!
The liturgy brings us back to the true meaning of the Incarnation, connecting Bethlehem
to Calvary and reminding us that the divine salvation involves the fight against sin,
it passes through the narrow gate of the Cross.” The Pope said.