Friends of the Rosary:
Professing the Christian faith demands the heroism of the martyrs.
On the day after the solemnity of Christmas, we celebrated today the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr who was stoned in Jerusalem during the first persecution against the nascent Church.
St. Stephen was the first to follow in the steps of Christ with martyrdom. Like the divine Master, he died forgiving and praying for his executioners (cf. Acts 7:60). During the first four centuries of Christianity all the saints venerated by the Church were martyrs.
There is "the white army of martyrs" (martyrum candidatus exercitus) whose death was not a reason for fear and sadness, but of spiritual enthusiasm.
For believers, the day of death, and even more so, the day of martyrdom, is the "passage" to immortal life, it is the day of the final birth.
If Jesus had not been born on earth, men would not have been able to be born for heaven. Because Christ was born, we can be "reborn."
And if we analyze in depth the mystery of Christmas, we see how the Child Jesus would save humanity by dying on the cross.
Ave Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You!Holy Innocents, Pray for Us!
To Jesus through Mary!
+ Mikel A. | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

• ⁠December 29, 2023, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET