Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
St. Stephen of the Abyssinians
Knights of Columbus
January 11, 2024
Introduction
We find ourselves today in an ancient structure, a surviving portion of the old St. Peter’s most of which was taken down in 1505 to make way for the present Basilica, in my world view, the “new” St. Peter’s! As we know, the church where we find ourselves is named for St. Stephen, the protomartyr and the patron saint of St. Stephen of Feiler!
It is also the place where the body of George Cardinal Pell lay in state, after his terrible ordeals and his untimely death. What’s more, this place calls to mind the travails of those who live in Abyssinia and Ethiopia, lands which have often been subject to conquest, famine, and natural disasters.
Second Samuel 4:1-11
I don’t think there could be a better place in which to take to heart our reading from the 1st Book of Samuel. Not to put too fine a point on it, things did not go well for the Israelites in their struggle against the fierce Philistines. Not only did they lose the battle; they also lost the Ark of the Covenant. It was not unlike losing their heart! To all appearances they had lost; yet God did not forsake them. They hoped against hope and God was with them.
To all appearances, Stephen the protomartyr lost his struggle. Even though his opponents were no match for his wisdom, in the end, they picked up stones, brought him to his knees, and killed him. In the eyes of his opponents, including a young man named Saul, Stephen had lost and they had won! But Stephen’s face appeared like that of angel, for it was aglow with the glory than shone on the face of Christ!
And what of George Cardinal Pell? If ever a churchman had opponents, it was he. Some seemed to rejoice when he lost his position here at the Holy See, and applauded when he was subjected to humiliating legal proceedings, and subjected to imprisonment. His opponents may have felt they succeeded in bringing him down, yet there emerged from the mind, heart, and soul of that great churchman, a courage and depth of spirituality that no one and nothing could conquer.
And what of the Abyssinians and Ethiopians? The Copts and the Ge’ez are among the most ancient of the Christian communities. They have survived more trials and tribulations than one could describe were he to preach for hours on end, and thankfully, I won’t do that!
What of Us?
And what of us? Like the beggar in the Gospel, let us approach Jesus with confident faith, believing with every fiber of our being that in his love we are unconquerable. This is not pride but humility; not bravado but clear-eyed realism. Within every human defeat are the seeds of victory, if only we can see these things that befall us with the eyes of faith, if only we can “x-ray” them with them with a vision of faith that goes to the heart of things.
How easily Blessed Michael could have been defeated, and many were the people who thought he would be. Yet, he prevailed, surely because of his natural endowments, but more surely because he was a man of holiness and faith who tapped deeply into the power of that love which conquers all things. May we, who follow in his footsteps, do the same. Vivat Jesus!