Jesus said, ‘When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you’.

These words are from our Gospel reading for today. They have certainly sustained all those who have been persecuted for the faith right up till our own day. It was true for Stephen, the first martyr, as he stood before the Sanhedrin: it is recorded that ^‘they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke’.

In our own time, faith is often perceived as something irrelevant to modern life and we may be called upon at any time to ‘give an account for the hope that is in us’. May we indeed be ready to do so, trusting in the Holy Spirit, who will not fail us. May God bless you this day.