Daily Reflections ...

Immediately after celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ as a little baby, we celebrate the feast of the first martyr. Saint Stephen, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, preached the good news of Jesus Christ and defended his faith leading to his martyrdom. His death has been the first of countless others, who have given their lives, choosing to be faithful to the Gospel and enduring to the end.

At Christmas, we celebrate the coming of Jesus, who was born to us, a saviour of the world. It’s easy to forget that the way that he became the saviour of the world was by dying for us. Even as a baby, the reality of his destiny was coming to fruition. He became the sacrifice of the New Covenant and as the years went on, he warned his disciples that they too would suffer persecution and death at the hands of the world, but that their suffering and death would merit them a place in the kingdom of God.

Blessed Fulton Sheen once said, “pain without Christ is suffering; pain with Christ is sacrifice.” We are all called to allow our pain to be transformed into sacrifice by Christ whose whole mission was to become a sacrifice for us. Saint Stephen, St. Peter, St. Paul, most of the apostles, and countless saints throughout the last 2000 years have given their lives, through martyrdom, to the mission of Jesus Christ.

You may not be called to give your life through death to Christ, but we are all called as Christians to give our life to Christ. Sometimes the small deaths in our daily lives are our sacrifice.

by David Kruse