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December 26, 2023Giving testimony of Christ leads to witness to others to take the treacherous yet worthwhile path of following Christ and allowing His wisdom to be channeled through us. Saul’s participation in St. Stephen’s martyrdom would lead him to an encounter with Christ, the one Saul had been persecuting. The seeds of the blood poured out as an immolation in the footsteps of the Perfect Lamb showed us the way of perfect obedience to the Father by laying out His Life on the cross. Similarly, the blood poured out by St. Stephen witnessed his surrender to God’s will. Saul who put down a cloak affirming St. Stephen’s stoning would have a new cloak placed on him becoming Paul after his baptism. Paul followed the same path as Stephen towards Christ on the cross. May Christ help us to follow this path of peace through surrender and acceptance of God’s holy will.
In contemplating Stephen’s example of immolation, I envision a garden nourished by His Precious Blood that shows us the Way to embrace our Cross with joy! It is an invitation to share in the mission to follow Christ without complaint and in perfect immolation only by allowing the Grace of God to work through us. God works through His entire garden of imperfect children where we are today. He does not count the roses and the thorns, instead He gifts the thorns that lead to the roses in full bloom. Without the thorns, we cannot hope for roses. God helps us to see the thorns as a necessary beautiful tendril that will bloom a rose. Christ wearing the crown of thorns takes on our thorns as they are nailed to the cross and His Precious Blood pours out as roses in the garden. Obedience fertilizes the ground with patience, which leads us to enjoy a Peace this world cannot give; a peace that germinates into Holy Joy. May this Christmas Season let us open our eyes to this recipe for the beautiful joyful Garden of His creation.
