Today’s homily: The Finding of the body of St Stephen, Protomartyr (2026)

The Finding of Saint Stephen teaches that truth may be buried, but it cannot be destroyed. The discovery of his relics in 415, together with the tradition linking his burial to Gamaliel, places Stephen and Saul within the same learned religious world: one recognised the Law fulfilled in Christ, while the other initially persecuted that fulfilment. The Propers reveal the heart of the feast in the Collect’s petition “to imitate what we worship.” Stephen’s courage came from grace, his vision of Christ standing disclosed Heaven’s welcome, and his prayer for his persecutors helped prepare Saul’s conversion into Saint Paul. Christians must therefore defend truth without hatred, suffer without bitterness, and forgive without weakening justice. https://nuntiatoria.org/2026/08/03/todays-homily-the-finding-of-st-stephen/