Tuesday of the 3rd week of Eastertide
First reading Acts 7:51-8:1
In the account of St. Stephen’s martyrdom, proclaimed on this Tuesday of the third week of Eastertide, we are confronted with the stark contrast between resistance to the Holy Spirit and surrender to divine grace. Stephen, “filled with the Holy Spirit,” speaks with courage and clarity, even as his words are met with fury and violence. Yet it is not anger or fear that marks his final moments, but forgiveness, peace, and trust. “Lord, do not hold this sin against them,” he prays, echoing the very words of Jesus on the Cross. His death is not described in terms of agony or finality, but as a sleep—a quiet falling into the hands of the Lord. This Easter season, we are reminded that the Resurrection does not only concern life after death; it transforms the meaning of death itself. For those who live in the Spirit, even suffering becomes a seed of glory. Stephen’s peace in the face of brutality shows us what it means to be truly conformed to Christ: to be so united with the Risen One that even in the most violent rejection, we answer with mercy, and even in death, we fall asleep in hope. Let us, then, ask for the grace to welcome the Holy Spirit daily, that we might, like Stephen, become witnesses of the Resurrection not only in word, but in the radical love and forgiveness that mark our lives. Let’s reflect: Easter is the triumph of Christ’s mercy and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, by which even death becomes a peaceful falling asleep for those who live in Him.
Don Giorgio