Today we celebrate the feast of St.Stephen, the first martyr. Stephen, like every Christian, sought to acquire the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit is a free gift from God given to us in our baptism and is one that needs to be nourished and nurtured throughout our lives. In fact, it is a gift that needs "watering," "cultivating," and '"fertilizing" every single day to grow to the stature that St. Stephen enjoyed! How do we do all of this? The gift of the Spirit grows in proportion to the time we devote to this divine gift: taking time to spend alone with the Lord in silent prayer each day, participating in the Eucharist on a regular basis, reading the Scriptures (the Bible) every day (such as the daily readings of the liturgy in such a resource as Word Among Us (Complete Catholic Mass and Daily Meditations), frequenting the Sacrament of Reconciliation regularly, taking time for spiritual reading (reading that speaks to the deepest parts of ourselves where God reigns, reaching out in love to others, showing our love in actions, being able to ask for forgiveness when we have wronged another, making sacrifices for the good of others and of the world.
At one point Steven assumed a public role of healing and preaching and, finally, he faced death courageously, forgiving his executioners for killing him, as Jesus did upon the cross! We may not be called to die for our faith in the way Stephen was called, but yet, every day we are called to die to selfishness, to those activities that are not healthy for our spiritual well-being. The "sacrifice" in which we are called to engage may be as simple but complex and difficult as allowing a family member to watch a TV program that means I will not be able to watch what I want to watch!
How much am I willing to do to "water," "cultivate," or"fertilize" the budding plant of my faith? Or have I returned it "to the store," as what happens to many Christmas presents or has it simply been tucked away on a shelf never to be touched again! We know what would happen to a Christmas plant treated that way!
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