In Wisdom is a spiritintelligent, holy, unique,Manifold, subtle, agile,clear, unstained, certain,Not baneful, loving the good, keen,unhampered, beneficent, kindly,Firm, secure, tranquil,all-powerful, all-seeing,And pervading all spirits,though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle.For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion,and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity.For she is an aura of the might of Godand a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty;therefore nought that is sullied enters into her.

Why does the Church place the martyrdom of Saint Stephen immediately after Christmas Day? Father Mark Baron, MIC explains that the tenderness of Bethlehem and the violence of Stephen’s death belong to the same mystery: salvation. Christmas is not only the birth of a child; it is the coming of divine light into a darkened world — a light that saves, but also confronts.

In today’s Gospel (Luke 12:39–48), Jesus calls us to vigilance—to be faithful stewards who live every moment ready for the coming of the Lord. “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,” He says. That same spirit of responsibility and readiness defined one of the greatest saints of our time: St. John Paul II.