St. Luke tells the story of the first martyr (protomartyr) St. Stephen in parallel to the crucifixion of Jesus. In both accounts there is commendation of the individual into the hands of God and there is a prayer of forgiveness for the executioners. Stephen says, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”; and when he said this, he fell asleep. Now Saul was consenting to his execution. The image of Saul, later St. Paul, complicit in the martyrdom, being prayed for by Stephen, reminded me of another martyrdom — this one in Algeria in 1994. A group of Trappist monks were killed by extremists and the abbot, Dom Christian de Cherge, in a letter prayed to meet his executioner, a “last minute friend,” in paradise. Inshallah.
