You're listening to I Pray with the Gospel on the St. Jose Maria Institute podcast.

In the name of the Father and of the, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me.

I adore you with profound reverence.

I ask your pardon for my sins and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful.

My miraculous mother, St. Joseph, my Father and Lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

The Feast of St. Stephen Martyr.

A reading from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 10.

Jesus said to his disciples, beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and

flag you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake

to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles. They will deliver you up. Do not be anxious

how you are to speak, for what you are to say say for what you are to say will be given to you

in that hour for it'll not be you who speak but the spirit of your father speaking through you

brother will deliver up brother to death and the father his child and children will rise up against

parents and have them put to death,

and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

A day after the celebration of our Lord's birth, we celebrate the death of the first martyr, St. Stephen. He became the first

Christian to be killed for his faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus warned his disciples of this persecution.

In fact, that is a clear sign that you are on the right path. If you follow in Jesus' footsteps,

you will get what he got, and you'll end up where he ended up. St. Stephen gave witness to Jesus, but they didn't accept his testimony. The acts of the

apostles tell that they stopped their ears and rushed upon him. They couldn't refute anything. They just stopped their ears. But Stephen

didn't compromise the truth. And for that reason, he was killed fulfilling the prophecy that we read

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