For someone with such a common name as Michael, I seem to have a life filled with Steve/Steven/Stephens: my best friend for many years, Steve Yarbrough; my roommate at MSU, Steve Wagner; my great friend in the Carmelites, Steve Payne; a dear friend from my time in Maryland, Steve Comeau; and countless others. I might mention that the ones named have all had quite successful lives in academia or business, and I am honored to count them among my friends.
When the Church was arranging the liturgical calendar in the days when historical niceties like accuracy and details were not a concern, Stephen's feast was placed immediately after the celebration of the birth of Jesus for a couple of reasons. One was because Stephen was considered the first witness (the meaning of the Greek word we translate as martyr) of who Jesus was. Therefore to celebrate his memory right after the joys of Christmas was a reminder of the possible cost of bearing witness and a promise of reward for those who endured in faith until the end, even when persecuted.
I will leave it to others to point out why his example of prayer for his persecutors is important today.
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