Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs
Lectionary: 698
Lectionary: 698
Beloved:
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.
If we say, "We have fellowship with him,"
while we continue to walk in darkness,
we lie and do not act in truth.
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
If we say, "We are without sin,"
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.
If we say, "We have not sinned," we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.
My children, I am writing this to you
so that you may not commit sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
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.
If we say, "We have fellowship with him,"
while we continue to walk in darkness,
we lie and do not act in truth.
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
If we say, "We are without sin,"
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.
If we say, "We have not sinned," we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.
My children, I am writing this to you
so that you may not commit sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 124:2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8
R. (7) Our
soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Had not the LORD been with us?
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Had not the LORD been with us?
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Gospel Mt 2:13-18
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.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.
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.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.
www.usccb.org
Meditation:"Rachel
weeping for her children"
Who can explain suffering,
especially the suffering of innocent children? Herod's massacre of children who
gave their lives for a person and a truth they did not know seemed so useless
and unjust. What a scandal and stumbling block for those who can't recognize
God's redeeming love. Why couldn't God prevent this slaughter? Suffering is
indeed a mystery. No explanation seems to satisfy our human craving to
understand. What does Paul the Apostle mean when he says: We know that in everything God
works for good with those who love him, who are called to his purpose (Romans 8:28)? These
innocent children and their parents suffered for Christ. Suffering,
persecution, and martyrdom are the lot of all who chose to follow Jesus Christ.
There is no crown without the cross. It was through Jesus' suffering,
humiliation, and death on a cross, that our salvation was won. His death won
life – eternal life for us. And his blood which was shed for our sake obtained
pardon and reconciliation with our heavenly Father.Suffering takes many forms: illness, disease, handicap, physical pain and emotional trauma, slander, abuse, poverty, and injustice. Jesus exclaimed that those who weep, who are reviled and persecuted for righteousness sake are blessed (Matthew 5:10-12). The word blessed [makarios in the Greek] literally means happiness orbeatitude. It describes a kind of joy which is serene and untouchable, self-contained and independent from chance and changing circumstances of life. There is a certain paradox for those blessed by the Lord. Mary was given the blessedness of being the mother of the Son of God. That blessedness also would become a sword which pierced her heart as her Son died upon the cross. She received both a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. But her joy was not diminished by her sorrow because it was fueled by her faith, hope, and trust in God and his promises. Jesus promised his disciples that "no one will take your joy from you" (John 16:22). The Lord gives us a supernatural joy which enables us to bear any sorrow or pain and which neither life nor death can take way. Do you know the joy of a life fully surrendered to God with faith and trust?
"Lord, you gave your life for my sake, to redeem me from slavery to sin and death. Help me to carry my cross with joy that I may willingly do your will and not shrink back out of fear or cowardice when trouble besets me."
www.dailyscripture.net
 Angel Wings |
Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs
|
Matthew 2:13-18
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, and stayed there until the death of Herod, so that what
he had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my
son.” When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became
furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its
vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time that he had
ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through the
prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children; and she would not be consoled, since they
were no more.”
Introductory Prayer: Father, I come into
your holy presence this day aware that you guide my life with love. I believe
that nothing happens to me unless you will it. I renew my faith in your
promise of heaven, where every tear will be wiped away. Thank you for getting
involved in our cruel world in order to heal it with your love.
Petition: Lord, may my presence today be a help to
those in need.
1. Angels: We want to cry with
these women who have had their children stolen from them in the most
defenseless time of their lives. Human cruelty reaches so deep that it
desires to maintain power by snuffing out the lives of others! Yet these
children silently remind us of another reality. They remind us that there is
a place where tyranny does not reign. There is a King who rules by love and
whose kingdom cannot be defeated by cruelty. These children are messengers of
that kingdom. They have been called to give a brief but powerful witness of
the fight that this King will wage for love. They have gone ahead of him, and
their mothers will find them and hold them forever one day in the presence of
their King.
2. Prophets: Thy Kingdom Come!
This is the cry of these children. One day this new King will reign, but it
will happen through a terrible fight with death and cruelty. These children
are powerful prophets of the struggle of this King. They are prophets of the
drama of human history where everything is at stake. Their cries are powerful
prayers that will be heard by the Father, and their cries begin to stir in
that special Child the desire to give his life as a ransom for souls. He will
reign by pouring out his life as a gift for these children and for many
souls.
3. Children:The Church has declared these children
martyrs. The first saints of Christ are infants. Infants speak to us at
Christmas, and their witness does not go unnoticed. These children inspire
the Church and pray for her. A child speaks to us of goodness and innocence.
A child reminds us of the attitude we should have before God. Christ always
lives with a heart of a child, a heart that trusts completely in his Father.
He shows special predilection for children. He knows that often they are his
most powerful apostles, inviting others to God’s house by the simplicity and
intimacy of their love for him. How many parents have been converted or
discovered a deeper relationship with Christ through the example of their
children!
Conversation with Christ: Jesus, it saddens me
so much to see how these children were taken from their mothers and killed.
It tears my heart apart to see how today so many children are never given the
chance to know their mother’s love because of the evil of abortion. I want to
be a consolation to your heart, Lord. I want to give the very best of myself
to you today in order to offer you some of the love that these children
wanted to give. Let my life be a witness of unselfish love. Let me be like
you.
Resolution: I will find some way of encouraging a mother
of a young child
|
FRIDAY,
DECEMBER 28
FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS, MARTYRS
MATTHEW 2:13-18
(1 John 1:5 ― 2:2; Psalm 124)
KEY VERSE: "Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more" (v 18).
READING: King Herod gathered the chief priests and scribes and inquired where the "newborn king of the Jews" was to be born (Matt 2:2). Whenhe was informed that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, the ancestral home of King David, Herod feared that the child would be a threat to his throne and ordered the massacre of all infants in the vicinity. Matthew recalled the words of the prophet Jeremiah when he spoke of the lamentation of Rachel, the wife of Jacob/Israel (31:15). Jeremiah pictured the people of Jerusalem being led away into captivity in Babylon. Asthey passed Ramah, the place where Rachel was buried (1Sam.10:2), Jeremiah depicted Rachel weeping for the fate that befell the people. Just as the Hebrews found protection in Egypt under the patriarch Joseph (Gn 47:12), Mary's spouse Joseph obeyed the angel's order to take his family to safety in Egypt. In promising their safe return, Matthew quotes the prophet Hosea "out of Egypt I called my son" (Hos 11:1). Thus Matthew shows the continuity with God's people being liberated in the exodus, and Jesus coming to save all people from sin.
REFLECTING: Do I make known my views on the wrongdoings of child abuse and abortion?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, comfort the families of the innocent victims who died in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS, MARTYRS
MATTHEW 2:13-18
(1 John 1:5 ― 2:2; Psalm 124)
KEY VERSE: "Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more" (v 18).
READING: King Herod gathered the chief priests and scribes and inquired where the "newborn king of the Jews" was to be born (Matt 2:2). Whenhe was informed that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, the ancestral home of King David, Herod feared that the child would be a threat to his throne and ordered the massacre of all infants in the vicinity. Matthew recalled the words of the prophet Jeremiah when he spoke of the lamentation of Rachel, the wife of Jacob/Israel (31:15). Jeremiah pictured the people of Jerusalem being led away into captivity in Babylon. Asthey passed Ramah, the place where Rachel was buried (1Sam.10:2), Jeremiah depicted Rachel weeping for the fate that befell the people. Just as the Hebrews found protection in Egypt under the patriarch Joseph (Gn 47:12), Mary's spouse Joseph obeyed the angel's order to take his family to safety in Egypt. In promising their safe return, Matthew quotes the prophet Hosea "out of Egypt I called my son" (Hos 11:1). Thus Matthew shows the continuity with God's people being liberated in the exodus, and Jesus coming to save all people from sin.
REFLECTING: Do I make known my views on the wrongdoings of child abuse and abortion?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, comfort the families of the innocent victims who died in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
FEAST OF HOLY INNOCENTS, MARTYRS
The commemoration of the massacre of the "Holy Innocents"�considered by some Christians as the first martyrs for Christ � first appears as a feast of the western church, dating from about 485. On December 28, the Church has celebrated the memory of those children killed because of Herod's rage against Christ (Mt 2:16-17). In our own times, children suffer innumerable forms of violence which threaten their lives, dignity and rights. On this day, it is appropriate to recall the vast host of children not yet born who have been killed under the cover of laws permitting abortion. Mindful of this, popular piety in many places has inspired acts of worship as well as displays of charity which provide assistance to pregnant mothers, encourage adoption, the promotion of the education of children and protection through child labor laws.
www.daily-word-of-life.comThe commemoration of the massacre of the "Holy Innocents"�considered by some Christians as the first martyrs for Christ � first appears as a feast of the western church, dating from about 485. On December 28, the Church has celebrated the memory of those children killed because of Herod's rage against Christ (Mt 2:16-17). In our own times, children suffer innumerable forms of violence which threaten their lives, dignity and rights. On this day, it is appropriate to recall the vast host of children not yet born who have been killed under the cover of laws permitting abortion. Mindful of this, popular piety in many places has inspired acts of worship as well as displays of charity which provide assistance to pregnant mothers, encourage adoption, the promotion of the education of children and protection through child labor laws.
Our
soul has escaped like a bird from the hunter’s nest
The picture of this family confronts us so often in the media: facing danger, travelling with a small collection of belongings, any hopes of an untroubled family life dashed. Mary is unsure of even the next night’s shelter. Joseph too is confused, but he has the Lord’s reassurance. Somehow it is all in God’s plan.
Gradually, Mary shares his optimism and strength. God only wants their trust.
As they slip away in the darkness, panic is already gripping the city as soldiers pour onto the streets. Mary clings desperately to her baby. He is all she has. He is all any of us have. And he is beginning to cry.
www.churchresources.info
Holy Innocents--Quodvultdeus
Feast of the Holy Innocents
December 28--the Fourth Day of Christmas
St. Quodvultdeus
This
excerpt from a sermon from the Early Church Father St. Quodvultdeus (Sermo 2 de
Symbolo: PL 40, 655) is used in the Roman Office of Readings for the Feast of
the Holy Innocents on December 28, the 4th of the 12 days of Christmas.
A tiny child is born, who is a great king. Wise men are led to
him from afar. They come to adore one who lies in a manger and yet reigns in
heaven and on earth. When they tell of one who is born a king, Herod is
disturbed. To save his kingdom he resolves to kill him, though if he would have
faith in the child, he himself would reign in peace in this life and for ever
in the life to come.
Why are you afraid, Herod, when you hear of the birth of a king?
He does not come to drive you out, but to conquer the devil. But because you do
not understand this you are disturbed and in a rage, and to destroy one child
whom you seek, you show your cruelty in the death of so many children.
You are not restrained by the love of weeping mothers or fathers
mourning the deaths of their sons, nor by the cries and sobs of the children.
You destroy those who are tiny in body because fear is destroying your heart.
You imagine that if you accomplish your desire you can prolong your own life,
though you are seeking to kill Life himself.
Yet your throne is threatened by the source of grace, so small,
yet so great, who is lying in the manger. He is using you, all unaware of it,
to work out his own purposes freeing souls from captivity to the devil. He has
taken up the sons of the enemy into the ranks of God’s adopted children.
The children die for Christ, though they do not know it. The
parents mourn for the death of martyrs. The child makes of those as yet unable
to speak fit witnesses to himself. See the kind of kingdom that is his, coming
as he did in order to be this kind of king. See how the deliverer is already
working deliverance, the saviour already working salvation.
But you, Herod, do not know this and are disturbed and furious.
While you vent your fury against the child, you are already paying him homage,
and do not know it.
How great a gift of grace is here! To what merits of their own
do the children owe this kind of victory? They cannot speak, yet they bear
witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already
they bear off the palm of victory.
This reading is featured in the Early
Church Fathers and the Advent & Christmas sections of The Crossroads
Initiative Library.
www.crossroadsinitiative.com
December 28
Holy Innocents
Holy Innocents
Herod “the Great,” king of Judea, was
unpopular with his people because of his connections with the Romans and his
religious indifference. Hence he was insecure and fearful of any threat to his
throne. He was a master politician and a tyrant capable of extreme brutality.
He killed his wife, his brother and his sister’s two husbands, to name only a
few.
Matthew 2:1-18
tells this story: 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 cunningly told them to report back
to him so that he could also “do him homage.” They found Jesus, offered him
their gifts and, warned by an angel, avoided Herod on their way home. Jesus
escaped to Egypt.
Herod became
furious and “ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under.” The horror of the massacre and the devastation of the
mothers and fathers led Matthew to quote Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children...” (Matthew
2:18). Rachel was the wife of Jacob/Israel. She is pictured as weeping at the
place where the Israelites were herded together by the conquering Assyrians for
their march into captivity.
Comment:
The Holy Innocents are few, in comparison to the genocide and abortion of our day. But even if there had been only one, we recognize the greatest treasure God put on the earth—a human person, destined for eternity and graced by Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The Holy Innocents are few, in comparison to the genocide and abortion of our day. But even if there had been only one, we recognize the greatest treasure God put on the earth—a human person, destined for eternity and graced by Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Quote:
"Lord, you give us life even before we understand" (Prayer Over the Gifts, Feast of the Holy Innocents).
"Lord, you give us life even before we understand" (Prayer Over the Gifts, Feast of the Holy Innocents).
Patron Saint of:
Babies
Babies
www.americancatholic.org
LECTIO: THE HOLY
INNOCENTS - MT 2:13-18
Lectio:
Friday,
December 28, 2012
Christmas
Time
Reading: Mt
2:13-18
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.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.
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.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.
Lectio
Through the departure of the Magi this text is
connected to four passages that have preceded it - that is to the story of
their visit. The following context covers a period of many years following the
death of Herod and also telling of the return of Joseph, Mary and Jesus to
Palestine and their settling down in Nazareth.
The text of the Gospel of the infancy
according to Matthew, is contrasted with that which appears in the account of
the slavery in Egypt and the Exodus. This is a combination of different
elements: the name of Joseph which recalls the son of Jacob who went down to
Egypt, the massacre of the children, and the return from Egypt.
It is an angel of the Lord that comes to Joseph, who finds himself in danger, and suggests the flight into a land that at that time, was one of the outlets for Hebrew emigration. This warning came in a dream and it points to some sort of particular revelation, perhaps more hidden and perhaps requiring deeper consideration. This would again testify to the characteristic wisdom of Mary's spouse. The flight of Joseph, the child and the mother has a temporal characteristic connotation: it happens at night. We find two Old Testament citations, which throw light upon the events being recounted. Hosea and Jeremiah are cited. After the first citation, short and to the point, the scene moves to Herod who orders the systematic killing of the children of Bethlehem and its surrounds; this agrees with other historical sources that describe him as a ruler without scruples, ready to kill even his own children to keep in power. The final Old Testament citation, which is much longer, closes the section. It takes up the lament of the prophet Jeremiah regarding the Assyrian deportation; the Evangelist locates the slaughter that takes place at the very heart of the suffering people of God.
Meditatio
Recalling the experience of exile and slavery of the people of Egypt and their return to their homeland recalls for us the Passover of the Hebrews, thus opening the passage to its greater meaning.
Furthermore, the perspective given by the text underlines the accomplishment of the Word of God within human experience, even in those people who are the most crewel.
From this emerges the readiness of God to protect the gift given to humankind throughout history: his own Son. But the Son of God is not preserved from pain, another reason for us to grasp the future characteristic of the Easter event. Jesus is saved at this moment so that he can in the future announce the Word in order to give life when the time comes.
And the protector is Joseph, a wise man, who knows how to listen (see Mt 1,20 & 2,19) and act accordingly.
Herod accomplishes his slaughter, driven by his fear of loosing his power and infuriated by failed success of his attempted deception of the Magi. The text expresses it as if it was he who was deceived, and thus it shows the evil reasoning of power, its arrogance that believes that the one who opposes is always wrong.
So we are drawn to ask ourselves why God allows all this. But perhaps this question may conceal our responsibility: our greed and thirst for power, our roots of cruelty that history experiences in every age. And so God answers the question regarding "the why of evil", and he does it not with words but through incarnation in this our history. Thus establishing a history of salvation.
That is why Easter, with its light, is on the horizon at Christmas.
Oratio
So that we might learn from and listen to the Word and put into practice.
For all those who are forced to flee their homeland.
So that we might be aware of the struggles brought about by every form of greed and power seeking, and thus be protected from it.
For all the wounded children of today, the hungry, child-soldiers, the sexually exploited, the sexually abused.
Contemplatio
The text invites us to look into history with the eyes of faith, a history God has chosen to be present to be present in, even beyond all our imaginings. At the same time, God is inviting us to take responsibility for those who, for different reasons, suffer persecution and displacement.
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