26 December 2016
Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr
Holy Night
It really should come as no surprise that the words holy and health come from a common word which embraces the meanings we give to both words today. Being close to God was health because it meant that you were moving towards what would be in your best intention and bring you to what you were meant to be. That first Christmas day certainly was holy for those gathered around the child Jesus since they were close to God. Yet, no doubt, they could not imagine that the Creator of the Universe had to have his diaper’s changed with some frequency. Vicinity to God comes when we don’t expect it and today’s feast of the first martyr of the Church reminds us that the call to holiness and health frequently comes with challenge and suffering as it did for Jesus and his first martyr, Stephen.