Acts 6 : 8 – 15/ Ps. 118 : 23 – 24, 26 – 30 / Jn. 6 : 22 – 29

St. Stephen, one of the first seven holy Deacons of the Church, appointed to assist in the works and mission of the Church, was confronted by those who opposed the Lord and His teachings. They argued with St. Stephen about the things which he had been proclaiming and teaching the people, regarding the truth and the Good News of the Lord, as well as His Resurrection from the dead. He spoke with great wisdom, courage and strength despite all the orchestrations of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, etc against him.

In fact, the opponents of St. Stephen even bribed people to give false testimonies and accusations against him, twisting the truth and the words that the Lord Himself had spoken, accusing him of spreading the teachings of the Lord Jesus among the people.

They tried very hard to drive the sentiments of the assembly and the members of the Sanhedrin to go against St. Stephen with efforts and attempts to discredit the servant of God and to persecute him.

Nevertheless, Stephen empowered, strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit and full of the Wisdom of God, broke through all of their arguments and wicked falsehoods, and he refuted all of their nonsense arguments and lies.

Brethren, you may be a victim of lies, deceit, gossip, hatred, betrayal, but if you have a pure heart, trust me you are going to win in the end. As mentioned, this is one proof of how the Lord never abandoned His faithful ones in their hour of need.

From the Gospel Reading, on the other hand, Jesus calls on us to search for him for who He is rather than for what he can give us. For the crowd had come to look for him because they wanted more of the bread that Jesus provided in the wilderness.

Dear friends sometimes the temptation for us is relating to people for what they might be able to give us rather than relating to them for who they are. We are called to love others for who they are rather than the benefits we gain from them. Our true relationship with others is to a greater extent our relationship with Jesus. Let us continue to ask the Holy Spirit to shape our longing, our desires, so that they correspond more to the Lord’s desire for us.

Rosary Prayer: Joyful Mysteries