[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, December 26, St. Stephen MATTHEW 10:17-22 Remember that there will be persecutions. Prayerthoughts a. The English translation of “beware of people” is interesting. Who are the people in my life that I should trust more? b. There will be people who do not agree with me because of my Christian and/or personal beliefs. I must learn to respect everyone no matter how they are treating me. Are there some people that I do not respect as much as I should? c. I must watch what I say and how I say it. Do I find myself being too quick in my response to some situations? d. Do I call on the Holy Spirit enough as I am seeking guidance for what to do in my life? e. In the early persecutions which Matthew is remembering here, families were torn apart.   In my family right now, are there some people that I should reach out to? f. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will study what I said yesterday to determine if I could have been more charitable. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  THE CHRISTIAN VIRTUE OF COURAGE  + Both readings are chosen with Stephen in mind as we celebrate the first martyr of the Church           – the reading from Acts is, of course, the account of Stephen’s martyrdom                      – incidentally we ought to read the complete account of Stephen sometime today—Acts 6 and 7—because it is a very good synopsis of the early Church’s belief in Jesus and what it meant           – the Gospel shows the power of the Spirit at work                      – coming in that section of Matthew’s Gospel that speaks of what a belief system can do and will do                                – Matthew writing those words as he was very much aware of the persecution that what was happening in his own community around 80AD when he was writing  + One of the traditional gifts of the Holy Spirit, coming from a reading from Isaiah is what we call “courage”           – an obvious characteristic of Stephen in Acts           – I think that the virtue of courage is necessary for a good spiritual life  + Courage is both an exterior virtue and an interior one           – most of the time we think in terms of the exterior part of courage, as we do with Stephen today                      – the spoken word, the ability to preach the message of Jesus no matter what, allowing the Spirit to direct           – we must have that ability in some way                      – we are not going to preach Jesus’ Gospel to a hostile crowd that will stone us                                – but there may be people who simply do not like the way we live or what we believe as Christians, but we continue to live our Christian life quietly  + But the element of courage that may be more difficult is the idea of interior courage           – that is, the ability to look carefully at ourselves, studying our behavior and asking why we do the things that we do                      – the people who stoned Stephen would not allow that to happen                                – as Acts reports, they “covered their ears” as they killed him           – Christian inner courage leads us to question ourselves about the way we are going about living and thinking  + Courage is a Christian virtue that should be a true desire of ours. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Sully” — final session THE BEST THAT WE CAN The Gospel MARK 14:40-41 [At the cross of Jesus,] there were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome. These women had followed him when he was in Galilee and ministered to him. There were also many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

Gospelthink: At my crucifixion, there were many who could not do anything except be present to me. Do I show that I care to the people who need me?

The struggle that Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger had besides the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder caused by the panic at the possibility of crashing his plane and thus losing people was only the initial struggle he had. The other struggle was with his peers on the National Transportation Board who felt that he could have flown back to the airport and therefore, saved the plane along with the lives of the passengers. Sully felt strongly that he acted according to the best of his ability during the emergency, and he told the Board exactly that. His main point was that the “human factor” was not considered by the Board. The “human factor” was the reaction time that it took for the human being to sense what the problem was, consider the possible outcome, and then make a decision as to what to do. He pointed out correctly to the Board that severe pressure will cause precious reaction time to be wasted. He felt that he did the best he could under the circumstances. The Board finally agreed.

Mary Magdalene has a revered place in the Gospels. She comes up often because of her repentance from a life of sin, but especially because of her dedication to the Lord after her life of sin. She was one of the few people who stayed around for Jesus’ execution, braving the ridicule of others, no doubt desiring to do more than she was able to help her friend Jesus whom she loved so dearly. She could not do anything, of course, but she decided to do the best that she could, and at least be there at the height of the Lord’s suffering. When people are powerless because of the circumstances that they are in, many people might give up or give in to the circumstances. It is a Christian principle that we follow our consciences, and determine to do the best that we can. United Airlines pilot Chesley Sullenberger was a person dedicated to such a principle. As he dealt with circumstances that could easily have taken the lives of 160 people, he determined that he had to abandon the plane that he was flying, and do something that no one had ever done before. He “landed” the plane in a river. He explained that he did it because it was the best that he could do at the moment. Such a principle is a fundamental basis for good living. There are many times in our lives that we are just not sure of what will happen. In fact, the case can be made that each of us begin our day with that in mind. We are not sure of the circumstances that will accompany our living. Christians will determine that they will follow their consciences with the guideline of always doing what they think is the best possible thing that they can do any given moment. Mary Madelene was not able to do very much to help Jesus when he was hanging on the cross, but she did what she could. “Sully” Sullenberger did not know what he could do for the plane and people in it that day of January 15, 2009, but he did what he could. They are examples that we should follow as we live from day to day.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, Your Son has taught us that we should follow him as we determine what we should do. Give us the grace to determine the best that we can do in any circumstance and then to carry it out. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: We must do the best that we can in every circumstance even under severe pressure.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 45 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. In the Gospel, why do you think that only women were at the crucifixion of Jesus? 3. How would you define the “human factor” in decisions? 4. Why was Mary Magdalene’s action of “being with Jesus” important for him? 5. What are some examples of others who have done the best that they could do at an instant of time? 6. Christians are told to use the guide of Jesus as they live their lives from day to day. What is the meaning of the phrase? So most Christians follow it? Yes or no and why? 7. Most of all, what must a Christian do in order to do the best that could be done? 8. What does the movie “Sully” teach young people?