Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, so to imitate what we revere, that we may learn to love even our enemies: for we celebrate the heavenly birthday of him who knew how to pray for his very persecutors to our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son: who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
This Prayer to St. Stephen is the traditional Collect of his feast, asking God for the grace to imitate the first martyr, who prayed even for those who stoned him. His own last prayers from the Acts of the Apostles follow.
St. Stephen, by Carlo Crivelli (1476). Public domain.
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.
Pray it on December 26, his feast, the day after Christmas, or whenever you need the grace to forgive. Deacons and all who serve the poor may also ask his help. If a conflict is serious, forgiveness can begin in prayer while you seek safety and wise counsel. The Collect follows the traditional Roman Missal (propers for December 26), and his words are from the Douay-Rheims Bible.
Stephen was one of the seven men chosen by the Apostles to serve the early Christian community, and he became the Church’s first martyr. Acts 6–7 tells of his preaching, his vision of Christ standing at the right hand of God, and his prayer for those who killed him. Pope Benedict XVI reflected on his feast.
His feast on December 26 follows the birth of Christ. The Church places the first martyr beside the manger to show what following the newborn Savior can cost, and how grace makes even love of enemies possible.
At his death he commended his soul to Jesus and asked forgiveness for his persecutors (Acts 7:58–59 in the Douay-Rheims; 7:59–60 in newer Bibles). We can begin with a small, honest request for the grace to forgive.
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