A prayer to St Stephen by Ann Wood
St. First Martyr and Archdeacon StephenPrayers
Saint Archdeacon Stephen, first martyr and first in the path of salvation after the supreme apostles, today our spiritual gaze is directed to you. We know about you how you zealously embraced the Holy Gospel and diligently preached it with words and deeds. Your love for the Lord was known to all Christians, and your charity knew no bounds. That is why the holy apostles chose you as their first helper in tending the tables for the poor, the sick and the unfortunate. There has never been a case of someone coming to you and leaving empty-handed and disconsolate. God chose you as a granite stone in the construction of the first Christian community, and you fulfilled God's plans worthily. However, the false Pharisaic zeal and envy of God's adversaries put you on the dock to answer for your faith. You were not ashamed here either, you denounced the murderers of Christ and after the fiery defense of your speech, you saw the Lord Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father and offering you a crown. The scribes and Pharisees stoned you and killed you. In your dying agonies, inspired by the Holy Spirit, you could pray for your tormentors like the Lord on the Cross: "God, do not impute this sin to them!"
Behold, today we kneel before your image and ask for your intercession before God. Protect the orphans and widows, support the infirm and the elderly, heal our physical and mental infirmities. Look mercifully also on your servants (names), who seek your protection and intercession before God. Keep us from all evil and protect us from visible and invisible enemies. May your God-given martyr's crown serve as an all-powerful covering over us, so that with your prayers we may pass this life peacefully in peace, unity and glorification of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen!
Poetry by Ann Wood
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Written on 2022-12-27 at 16:33
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