These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.

Saint Stephen, First Martyr, Octave of Christmas, December 26

Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122624.cfm
“This Christmas, at the beginning of the Jubilee Year, I invite every individual, and all peoples and nations, to find the courage needed to walk through that Door, to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sound of arms and overcome divisions!” (“URBI ET ORBI" MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS, CHRISTMAS 2024). Today we celebrate the heavenly birthday of the first martyr for Christ, Saint Stephen. Today I remember my uncle, +Percy Irving Torp, who was born on this day in 1936 and died on December 30, 1985. Uncle Percy was always a "pilgrim of hope" for me.