CIUDAD to - the Catholic Kingdom!

188 CITY OF GOD
In order to confirm him more in his strong faith,
Christ.
Mary forewarned him of his coming martyrdom and
said :
"Thou, Stephen, shalt be the first-born of the
martyrs, engendered by my divine Son and Lord by the
example of his death; thou shalt follow his footsteps,
like a privileged disciple his master, and like a courageous
soldier his captain; and at the head of the army of
martyrs, thou shalt carry his banner of the Cross. Hence
it is meet thou arm thyself with fortitude under the
shield of faith, and be assured, that the strength of the
Most High shall be with thee in the conflict."
186. This warning of the Queen of the angels inflamed
the heart of saint Stephen with the desire of martyrdom.
As is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, he was filled
with grace and fortitude and wrought great wonders in
Jerusalem. Besides the Apostles
saint Peter and saint
John, no one except he dared to dispute with the Jews.
His wisdom and spirit they could not resist, because he
preached to them with an intrepid heart, refuted and
accused them oftener and more courageously than the
other disciples (Acts 6, 9). All this saint Stephen did
with burning desire of attaining the martyrdom of which
he had been assured by the great Lady. As if he were
afraid of any one gaining this crown in advance of him,
he offered himself before all others to engage in the dis
putes with the rabbis and teachers of the law of Moses,
so eager was he to defend the honor of Christ, for whom
he knew he would lay down his life. The infernal dragon,
gradually becoming observant of the ambitions of saint
Stephen, directed his malignant attention toward him and
strove to hinder his attaining public martyrdom in testi
of the faith of Christ. In order to destroy him, he
mony
incited the most incredulous of the Jews
Stephen
in secret. Lucifer
was tormented by
to kill sainl
the virtue
More Free Items at www.catholickingdom.com