Saturday, December 26, 2026 — Feast of Saint Stephen, First Martyr
Stephen, the first martyr
Matthew 10:17-22
Readings of the day: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59; Psalm 31:3cd-4, 6 and 8ab, 16bc and 17; Matthew 10:17-22.
The Gospel
Jesus warns his disciples: “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake, as a witness before them and the pagans.” When they hand you over, do not worry about what to say: it will be given to you at that moment, for it will not be you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and children will rise against parents. “You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
Reflection
The day after Christmas, the Church shows us the cost of the gift: Stephen, full of grace and power, is stoned for the same Name. Jesus does not hide the price; he names it before it comes, so that his disciples will not be amazed when it arrives. “It is a much greater and a more wonderful power that can change their hearts than that can kill them,” says St. Chrysostom. And he adds the promise that steadies every martyr: do not worry about your words, for the Spirit of your Father will speak in you. “For virtue is not to begin but to complete,” says St. Jerome. The crown is not for those who begin, but for those who endure to the end.
From the Fathers
“It is a much greater and a more wonderful power that can change their hearts than that can kill them.”
— St. John Chrysostom, Homily 33 on Matthew, in the Catena Aurea on Matthew 10:16–18
“For virtue is not to begin but to complete.”
— St. Jerome, in the Catena Aurea on Matthew 10:21–22
Saint of the day
Saint Stephen, Deacon and First Martyr. Filled with grace and power, he worked great wonders among the people and spoke with a wisdom no one could withstand. Dragged outside the city and stoned, he prayed as he died: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” and, kneeling, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” The witnesses laid their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul, who would become St. Paul.
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Sources: the day’s readings follow the daily lectionary (USCCB, Lectionary 696). The Gospel text is not reproduced here; read it at the link above. Patristic quotes: Catena Aurea on Matthew 10:17–22, compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by John Henry Newman (1841, public domain).