Stephen the Martyr
Today we had Mass! While we can go to mass in a physical building, we watched mass at The Sunday Mass.
It is on when other people are in mass, but Sunday Mass is more about attending mass at home or in places where you don’t have access to a regular Catholic church. Don’t I have access to a regular Catholic Church? Well, I do; although, I cannot receive communion.
Why? You ask.
Well, by law I am married, but I am not married in the church. Yes, God has the final say of marriage. It is because marriage is a blessing, and having a child is a blessing. So the marriage should also be blessed.
Nevertheless, I’m not here to preach about that. I’m here to share with you what happened during mass.
They read from the book of the Acts of the Apostles 7:55–60.
The story is about how Stephen fell asleep. When they say sleep, this means the person died peacefully. In this story, Stephen acted as a martyr.
Acts 7:55–60 New International Version (NIV)
55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Did Stephen become a saint?
Yes, he did. Stephen became the first saint in the Church’s history.
The verses say Stephen was stoned until he fell asleep.
I tried to keep up with mass using the Sunday Missal booklet, but mass went too fast. The video from the Sunday Mass cuts out additional pieces such as the waiting, walking, and other gestures. Usually, a regular mass is about an hour long, but this video only takes about 30 minutes. That is what I like about the video.
The second reading is about how God will come to earth and judge each one of us. This is the reason why we should repent.
This reading came from the book of Revelation.
Honestly, I would get bored at church if I did not understand the meaning of what they’re saying.
This Sunday Missal I use is so helpful. It is particularly useful for people who don’t know the faith backward and forwards. (Actually, I don’t know anybody who does. That’s why we have our priests, deacons, Bishop, etc). If you’d like to get it, you can find it here on Amazon. You can also click on the picture below to get it :).
When you click on this link, Medium will give you a warning that you’re going to leave the website. This link will take you to Amazon so there’s nothing to worry about.
Also, the above link/picture is an affiliate link. This means that at no cost to you, we will receive compensation when you buy the same Sunday Missal using that link above. This donation is used for Internet expenses. Otherwise, we would not be able to share and publish posts like these online to spread the word of God.
I promise, going to mass will be a lot easier. Understanding what they’re talking about will also be easier.
By the way, today is Mother’s Day; Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!
I hope you go to mass next week for Pentecost.
Pentecost established the church because the Spirit of God descended on all the apostles, and they went out spreading the word of God.
