Quote of the day, 26 December: St. Titus Brandsma

This cold, naked cell needed a little decoration, so I have made myself a tiny altar, if you can call it that. I found a checkerboard with frame in the cell, and since I had no desire to play checkers, I wrapped it in a piece of paper and with a pin—I am not permitted to have a pocket knife or scissors—I made some tiny slits and inserted three holy cards from my breviary in them: “Christ on the Cross” by Fra Angelico in the middle; St. Teresa of Avila with her motto “To suffer or to die” on one side; and on the other St. John of the Cross with his motto “Lord, to suffer and be despised for You.”

Saint Titus Brandsma
“Diary of a Prisoner—My Cell”
Scheveningen Prison, 23 January 1942

Titus Brandsma, martyr, that is, one who has witnessed with his blood, in other words with his life, to his faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God and savior of mankind. Thus does Paul speak of the first martyr, Stephen: “While the blood of your witness, Stephen, was being spilled, I stood by” (Acts 22:20).

The suffering and death of Titus Brandsma have been recognized by the Church as a witness to his faith. He has been given us by the Church as a model of faith, as an intercessor for us, for the people of our time whose faith suffers violence.

Thus we honor him in the liturgy, in the worship of the Church, as a witness for Jesus Christ. The witness of his death was the completion and crown of the witness the whole life of Father Titus lived. He strove to be wholly filled with Jesus Christ. His person was a witness for Christ….

At the beginning of this sermon I referred to Stephen, the first martyr. In the account in the Acts of the Apostles of the death of Stephen, there are various traits which recall the account of Christ’s passion.

Stephen’s last prayer was, “Lord, do not account this a sin for them” (Ac 7:60). Christ on the cross heard the prayer of the good thief. “This day you will be with me in paradise” (Lk 23:43).

Saint Titus in his suffering and death was the image of reconciliation. To the one who gave him the mortal injection, he gave the only thing he had been able to keep: his rosary. The peace and joy of his countenance witnessed to reconciliation and love. This expression of union with God, and of reconciliation and union with men issuing from it, was not lost even on those who killed him.

The martyrs, witnesses to faith in and love for Jesus Christ—Titus in particular for our time—are the sign and foundation of reconciliation in the midst of the mystery of evil. Defunctus adhuc loquitur. In death, he speaks to us yet.

Cardinal Johannes Willebrands

Homily, First Mass of Thanksgiving (excerpts)
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, 4 November 1985

Arribas O.Carm., M 2021, The Price of Truth: Titus Brandsma, Carmelite, Carmelite Media, Darien, Illinois.

#martyr #prison #reconciliation #StStephenMartyr #StTitusBrandsma

Quote of the day, 26 December: Blessed Francis Palau

In order that God might give His grace to those who do not or cannot ask it, or who do not wish to ask it, He enjoined us to pray for one another, so that we might be saved (Jas 5:16). If God gave the grace of conversion to St. Augustine, it was due to the prayers of St. Monica; nor would the church have St. Paul, according to one of the fathers, were it not for the prayers of St. Stephen [Acts 7:60].

Blessed Francis Palau y Quer

From his spiritual writings

Catholic Church 1993, Proper of the Liturgy of the Hours of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and the Order of Discalced Carmelites (Rev. and augm.), Institutum Carmelitanum, Rome.

Featured image: The Stoning of St. Stephen in the Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Prague. This mosaic by S. G. Rudl was executed in 1896. Image credit: Renáta Sedmáková / Adobe Stock (Stock photo)

#BlessedFrancisPalauYQuer #grace #prayer #salvation #StPaul #StStephenMartyr

***Becoming a Better Man: Inspiration Drawn from St. Stephen Martyr***

Today, there's a lot of discussion in our culture about the lack of solid male role models for men and boys. From observing our modern culture, representing fathers in family law cases, and having represented some men at the endpoint of at least one cultural spectrum–those men who were serving time in prison for criminal offenses–I have seen the grave harm that lack of fathers and other positive male role models have had on men in today's world.

To put it simply, we need more of those male role models, and we need to pay a lot more attention to the importance of the ones we already have.

Indeed, I continue to seek such models for myself. I have been blessed with a number of them in my life, including my grandfathers, my dad, my uncle, my brother, male bosses and other leaders, and the solid friends who have helped me become the man I am today.

As much as I admire all those men, my search for exemplary men does not end with my contemporaries. Looking back in history about two millennia provides yet another strong example of a good male role model whose life I wish to imitate.

Today, December 26, is the feast of Stephen the Martyr. This day is a traditional observance in the Christian church, celebrated one day after we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. Stephen was the first martyr for the Christian faith. An account of Stephen's service to the early church, his powerful preaching, and his martyrdom appears in Acts, chapters 6 and 7.

This day is always a special one for me because I'm named for St. Stephen. My parents (may they rest in peace) specifically chose Stephen Martyr as my name-saint because of the numerous virtues that he displayed during his life. I consider it a great honor to be named after him.

Each year, on December 26, I spend part of the day reading the account of his work, preaching, and death. On the surface, and without Christian belief, Stephen's story ends sadly. Nevertheless, his story inspires me. I am enlivened by recalling that man's great faith and seeing how strongly he lived it. He was willing to take it even to the point of death by stoning.

That's a serious commitment. I find that inspiring, and a challenge to my own life to fully live honestly those things that I believe in, trust in, and fully experience in many meaningful ways. So on this day, I am honoring my patron saint, thanking him for his sacrifice and martyrdom, and for having the courage and conviction to stand up to those individuals who wanted to harm him and wanted to harm the nascent Christian faith.

Even more, I honor and praise the God who made both St. Stephen and me, and who came into the world as the Son of God and the Son of Man. I thank that Son, Jesus Christ, for providing this man, this human model of courage, belief, a vibrantly alive faith, and selflessness. Those are some powerful qualities that we can learn from today, and use to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.

Therefore, I wish you all a very happy Saint Stephen's Day. I also invite you to explore this great saint's life more and find out what qualities of his you would like to emulate in your own life. I think it's worth taking a further step: identifying a few concrete steps you can use to implement those qualities.

I continue working on many of the virtues that Saint Stephen displayed. Of course, my improvement of those virtues is really the work of a lifetime. I have a long distance to travel and huge room for improvement in all of those attributes. That work of growth is not something that I can accomplish in one year, one decade, or even one quarter century.

I will need a considerable amount of work and the steady assistance of the Holy Spirit to progress in those virtues. The effort will be worthwhile. Cultivating those virtues will make me a stronger and better man.

They will also help me be a man much more ready to serve his family, friends, other loved ones, and humanity and creation at large. I am honored to face those challenges, and I embrace them with a lot of enthusiasm. God bless you all.

#men #boys #rolemodels #christianity #ststephenmartyr #virtue #example