Homily Hope and Dignity Mass Tuesday Week 3 of Easter 2026 – Most Rev. Stephen A. Hero OLPH

I wonder how much the faith and witness of Saint Stephen impacted the life of Saint Paul. Saint Paul’s conversion or turning from persecutor to believer is described in two places in the New Testament: The Acts of the Apostles and his own letter to the Galatians. When Saint Paul writes about his conversion in Galatians, he doesn’t mention the impact that the execution of Stephen had on him.

In our first reading, Luke gives us almost casually the detail that the angry and self-righteous crowds of people ready to execute Stephen “laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.” This is the first mention of Saul who becomes Paul on the road to Damascus which will happen later in Acts in Chapter 9. Luke apparently thinks Saul’s presence and silent consent to the execution is significant.

What sort of long-term effect or echo did Saint Stephen’s martyrdom have on Saint Paul? As Luke describes, Stephen, this first recorded Christian disciple to die for faith in the Risen Lord Jesus, is not some religious fanatic or murderous suicide-bomber of a later age. He does not seek his own death or casually throw away his life.

As that young man named Saul must have seen (yet not understood) Stephen was willing to be executed for faith in Christ because life in this world is important as it is the beginning of a much greater eternity. The minds, hearts, bodies, and lives of his brothers and sisters in Christ, the lives of his fellow human beings in this world, are important. Saint Stephen was aware that what he said about Jesus and the decisions he made could make a good or bad impact on the people around him. Stephen did not seek martyrdom as such, yet – when required – he chose to lay down his life for the sake of the Many as his Master Jesus Christ had done.

Luke describes Stephen’s martyrdom in details that evoke Christ himself on the Cross: Stephen entrusts his spirit to God before he is killed and he cries out “in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’” When the Lord Jesus is dying on the Cross in Luke’s Gospel, he prays, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” He cries out in a loud voice before he dies and gives his spirit to God. The disciple – Stephen – is following the call and the loving surrender of his Master – Jesus – for the life of the world.

In his speech before the Council, Stephen certainly uses some strong words which he hopes will help his fellow Jews accept Jesus as the Messiah by appealing to the Scriptures they knew so well and were used to debating. This is not hate-speech. He does not hate or hold a grudge. Out of love for them, he is willing to share what he believes is true and to live out the Gospel to the end. Stephen’s witness and example a sign of what Jesus himself lived and taught. He dies so that they might see Christ’s act of love and mercy and be moved to faith and a real change of heart.

Stephen shares his faith and hopes that the council and crowd of executioners might see what he sees. He looks into the sky, sees, and describes for the bystanders a vision of the Risen Lord standing at the right hand of God. Sadly, Saul and the others cannot see this yet, though in chapter 9 Saul himself will encounter the Risen Lord in this way powerfully in a vision on the road to Damascus that will change the whole direction of his life. Jesus the Word finally breaks through Saul’s heart with a searching question: “Why are you persecuting me?”

I think this experience of Saul at the stoning of Stephen must have been a powerful example of Christian faith and the loving word of forgiveness from Christ’s Cross that was also prayed for him personally by the martyr of Christ. Stephen’s witness prepared the way for the entrance of the Risen Lord himself into Saul’s heart. If Saul first experienced Jesus as a threat to his autonomy and his own world view, through the witness of the very people he persecuted, Saul would be led to meet and embrace Jesus as the loving Saviour, the Word of truth and path to Life.

The story of Saint Stephen’s lived witness to Jesus Christ, both in word and action, is inspiring for us disciples of Jesus today. When I was a seminarian back in 1995, I remember when St. John Paul II issued his magnificent Encyclical Letter Evangelium vitae, (The Gospel of Life) which, if you recall, he also published through a secular publisher. It was available from the Vatican in the usual way, but it was also flying off the shelves in bookstores in Edmonton and around the world. He wanted the teaching of Christ in the Catholic Church to be made as available as possible to every person. I admired the courage and clarity of our pope who laid out magisterially the Church’s consistent ethic of life on a whole host of related topics that are still tearing at the fabric of the human community and threatening the most vulnerable in our society. I know it made me want to be a clearer witness of Jesus Christ and his Gospel of life which is always aimed at the true good of humanity, our life, happiness, and salvation.

In that wonderful Encyclical letter, the Saintly pope reminded us of the special dignity of human beings as image of God in this world and the great responsibility we have as stewards of God’s plan for humans and all creation. He writes: “with regard to things, but even more with regard to life, man is not the absolute master and final judge, but rather – and this is where [the human being’s] incomparable greatness lies – he is the minister of God’s plan. Life is entrusted to man as a treasure which must not be squandered, as a talent which must be used well. Man must render an account to his Master,” he writes, alluding to familiar parables of Jesus which point out our responsibility to God for our life and talents. (25)

Regarding euthanasia or assisted suicide, the Pope already at that time expressed great concern for trends toward decriminalizing or legalizing euthanasia where again the most vulnerable are put at the greatest risk. He gives a helpful definition of euthanasia: “to take control of death and bring it about before its time, ‘gently,’ ending one’s own life or the life of others.” “In reality,” he writes, “what might seem logical and humane, when looked at more closely is seen to be senseless and inhumane.”  He calls it “a false mercy, and indeed a disturbing perversion of mercy.” True compassion “leads to sharing another’s pain; it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear.”

Dear sisters and brothers, as you know we are celebrating what we are calling Activation Week here in the Archdiocese of Edmonton as an effort to educate people about the Church’s response to Canada’s decriminalization of physician assisted suicide or euthanasia. Our hope is to continue to help our people to understand this great evil that many in our country are actively promoting and instead to become active witnesses of the Gospel of life in our communities and families. The media doesn’t give good news stories of people who choose palliative care and why. We are doing that in our Catholic media outlets, but you and I can be a Good News story our self, a witness to the Gospel of life by our choices and the way we cherish, visit, and advocate for the sick, the elderly, and those in special need.

As I said, St. John Paul II’s Encyclical had a deep impression on me. I have to say that his example did too. No pope lived out his aging and physical struggles as much as in his loving surrender. Like St. John Paul II, like St. Stephen, you and I can be ministers of God’s plan for life.