The Holy Innocents

12/28/24

Beloved, now this is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ and proclaim to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

Jesus came to us in Goodness and Light as a vulnerable little baby born in a stable in Bethlehem. Amid the joy of Christmas, there is great sadness today as we remember the Feast Day of the Holy Innocents, the male children under the age of two who were put to death by Herod. His hatred for these little children made them the first martyrs for Jesus. 

Herod was “greatly troubled” when astrologers from the east came asking the whereabouts of “the Newborn King of the Jews,” whose star they had seen. They were told that the Jewish Scriptures named Bethlehem as the place where the Messiah would be born. Herod told them to report back to him so that he could also “do him homage.” They found Jesus, prostrated before Him and offered him their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Magi were warned by an angel not to return to Herod.

When Herod realized that the Magi did not return to him after they followed the star to see the Newborn King of the Jews, he became furious and ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under. His heart was filled with the sins of hatred, anger, greed and desire for power, The horror of the massacre and the devastation of the mothers and fathers led Matthew, in his Gospel, quote Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children...”Rachel was the wife of Jacob. She is pictured as weeping at the place where the Israelites were herded together by the conquering Assyrians for their march into captivity.

When the Magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and His Mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him." Joseph rose and took the Child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, "Out of Egypt I called my son." Matthew 2:12-15 

Ponder what it was like for Joseph when the angel appeared to him in a dream. Imagine how concerned he must have been for Mary and the Child Jesus. Joseph did not doubt or question the angel. He rose from the dream and left for Egypt immediately. Joseph trusted and obeyed God. Pray to Joseph and ask him to help you trust in God and obey Him as Joseph did.

Today we remember the horror of the loss of the Holy Innocents and the devastation to their families. In our time, we pray for all the babies lost to the horror of abortion. We pray for their families and for all souls wounded by abortion. www.kissofmercy.org

A baby is a precious gift from God. We pray that all life will be protected through the powerful intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Unborn.