Monday, August 19: “Identical Request

Acts 7: 60: “Then falling on His knees, [Stephen] cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!’ Having said this, he fell asleep.”

The mercy which the Father allotted to Jesus on the cross was monumental: He both forgave His executioners and received His Spirit. And now Stephen, under the same death sentence, receives the same mercy, as His own spirit is received and those stoning him are forgiven. Confident of God’s mercy, St. Stephen can now enter His rest.