Saint Stephen had so patterned his life after that of our Lord Jesus Christ — Witness, Priest and Servant — that at the hour of his death, he prayed in the same words as Jesus Crucified: “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Ps 30:5). Saint Stephen, using the same words, directs his prayer to the Lord Jesus, knowing that it will be carried by Christ to the Father in the Holy Spirit: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
In the monastic tradition, we offer ourselves to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit with similar words: Suscipe me, Domine, secundum eloquium tuum, et vivam (Ps 118:116). We offer ourselves because we have caught a glimpse, however fleeting, of "the heavens thrown open" (Ac 7:56), and we are compelled to bear witness to it. We offer ourselves because the glory of the Father shining on the Face of Christ compels us to spend a lifetime singing his praise. We offer ourselves, because we have been served by a Lord who lowers Himself to wash our feet, and we would not be greater than our Master.
When we bear witness, we rely on the Spirit of Our Father to express through us the wisdom of the Crucified Son: “the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you” (Mt 10). When we celebrate the praise of the glory of the Father, we rely on the Holy Spirit to form in us the very prayer of Christ the Eternal High Priest. When we serve, we rely on the Holy Spirit to make us servants in the image of the Suffering Servant and in the image of the Handmaid of the Lord, the Virgin of Nazareth.
His Excellency, the Bishop of the Diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma has given
Father Mark a special mandate to live in adoration before the Most
Blessed Sacrament, in a spirit of thanksgiving and intercession, that he
might make reparation before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus for all his
brothers in Holy Orders. At the same time, he is available to the
priests and deacons of the Diocese for spiritual and sacramental
support in their pursuit of holiness.
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