Saint Stephen, Martyr

“The Spirit of your Father will speak for you.” Matthew 10, 17-22

We begin the Octave of Christmas contemplating the consequences of following the Messiah, of that Child in the Manger who has just been born and who brings a Salvation that challenges the values ​​of his time and also those of today. The freedom that He offers makes human security uncomfortable, questions unjust structures and proposes a different way of understanding life, from love, compassion and justice. As in the days of Jesus, today there are still exclusions, persecutions and resistance, even within the religious domain. And it is precisely in these gaps where believers are called to act; to heal, to build bridges, to offer hope. What opportunities does the world offer us to be a testimony of hope? In what spaces in our environment can we witness the hope that is born as we contemplate the Manger?