During these seven weeks of Easter, the Church has been contemplating the presence of the Risen Christ. For this reason we have had the Easter Candle next to our altar, a symbol of our resurrected Lord. For this reason we have been using white vestments, a symbol of the glory of the Resurrection, the light that the darkness could not conquer. 

With the celebration of Pentecost next Sunday, we will put away the Easter Candle and the white vestments, and enter Ordinary Time. During Easter we celebrated Christ's victory. Throughout Ordinary Time we celebrate the Church's efforts to spread that victory. So it is appropriate that as Easter draws to a close we are reminded of St Stephen, the Church's first Martyr, who experienced Christ's victory by striving to spread it.

Who was St Stephen, and how did he get into this predicament, which led him to be stoned to death?

Historians tell us that Stephen was one of Christ's 72 disciples. The Twelve Apostles were Jesus' closest followers, the inner circle. The 72 disciples were the next circle, followers of Jesus during his public life and sharers in the first missionary activities. 

So Stephen had known and followed Christ. He was a natural choice when, as the Church grew after Pentecost, the Apostles ordained seven deacons to help with their ministry.

But Stephen was also a Jew. He was eager to tell his fellow Jews about Jesus, the Messiah. He did so with inspired eloquence backed up by miracles. 

Unfortunately, many of the Jews were not as eager to hear his message as Stephen was to give it. When some synagogue leaders engaged him in debate and Stephen came out on top, they resented him. They arrested him on false charges and put him on trial in front of the Sanhedrin - Jerusalem's Supreme Court. There Stephen gave a brilliant speech outlining the whole of salvation history, explaining that Jesus was the Messiah, and rebuking Jerusalem's leaders for not accepting Christ.

How did the Sanhedrin react? Their hearts were hardened, the Bible tells us. They didn't buy it.

Imagine how Stephen felt. He had: performed miracles in Christ's name, explained the scriptures, answered all their contrary arguments, and poured out his heart to the leaders of his own people. Yet, he was still unable to convince them. This great disciple had run into a brick wall. 

I would not be surprised if at that moment Stephen experienced a wave of sadness, discouragement, or desperation. He must have thought that God had brought him to the Sanhedrin precisely to convert those great men. But he had failed. It must have seemed like that to him, at least a little bit. He was a saint, but he was also human. He felt the pain of rejection, the bewildering frustration of failure. That is the background to the scene we just heard. To all appearances, St Stephen had failed.

But is that how it appeared to Christ? No. At the crucial moment, when Stephen has done all that was in his power to do, and still their hearts are closed, Jesus comes to the rescue. The Book of Acts tells us that "Stephen... looked up intently to heaven and saw... Jesus, standing at the right hand of God." The New Testament often refers to Jesus being at God's right hand, but in every other reference Jesus is sitting. Only in this passage is he standing. He has stood up in order to come to the aid of his soldier, Stephen, who is suffering under the weight of apparent failure, whose courage may be wavering, who doesn't know what else to say or do. Jesus renews Stephen's strength and rewards his fidelity. 

So Stephen announces what he sees, and the Sanhedrin bursts into a rage. They plug their ears, not wanting to hear the truth – just as they had done to Jesus. They rush at Stephen and take hold of him – just as they had done with Jesus. They throw him outside of the city walls – just as they had done with Jesus. They put him to death – just as they had done with Jesus. 

As Stephen falls to his knees, his life bleeding out of him, he concludes his long speech by praying to Jesus, which shows clearly Christ's divinity. Just as Jesus, dying on the cross, had entrusted his soul into his Father's hands, so Stephen entrusts his own soul into Christ's hands: "Lord Jesus," he prays, "receive my spirit." Then, still following Christ's example, he too prays for his murderers: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." With that, he dies. 

St Stephen's life imitated the pattern of Christ's life: both announced the Good News, suffered for it, and loved their enemies. This sets the pattern for the Church, which will spend all of history announcing the Good News, suffering to spread it, and loving sinners. Each Christian is the Church in miniature, another Christ, and this same pattern also is our path to fulfillment. 

If we spend our lives: announcing the Good News of Christ in word and deed, suffering for it through fidelity to God's will and Church teaching, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Then we, like St Stephen, will be given the vision of Christ in glory. We too will win the crown of victory falling asleep in the Lord, ready to wake up again in the Father's house, where the everlasting adventure will really begin.