Cycle A - Year I:  

28 December 2022: The Holy Innocents 

(Liturgical Color: Red)

Readings:

First Reading:        1 John 1:5--2:2

Gospel:  Please Read  Matthew 2:13-18 

The First Christian Martyrs!

During the Octave of Christmas the Church marks a day dedicated to the memory of children known in the Bible as "Holy Innocents".  The Western Churches observe this Feast on December 28, while the Easter Churches observe it on December 29.

The Feast of the Holy Innocents, also called Childermas or Innocents' Day, commemorates the 20 or so babies slaughtered by the barbaric King Herod whose goal was to kill the Child Jesus and preserve his own power.  The Holy Innocents died in Christ's stead so that He could die in ours.

The Catholic Church regards these Holy Innocents as the first Christian martyrs. There is evil and sadness in every martyrdom, but eternal glory awaits the martyrs. We are disturbed and saddened by the shock and horror of it all, the anguish of these little ones and their parents. 

The Holy Innocents died because of the Child Jesus and for Him. They gave their precious young lives so that God's plan could be fulfilled in our Lord Jesus. There are no "small" souls, and these pristine souls made a way for Jesus.      

Biblical Reference: Matthew 2:13-18

The Gospel proclamation is about the flight to Egypt by the Holy Family to escape the evil plan of King Herod, and then the event of the massacre of the Holy Innocents.

"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; Rachael weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.' "    

King Herod:

Herod was the king of Judea. He was unpopular with his people because of his connection 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 brothers and his sister's two husbands.

St. Matthew wrote that 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.

Reflection:

While our Christmas joy is tinged with sadness on this particular day, we celebrate their glorious place in heaven and their incredible gift to us all.

As we honor and remember the Feast of the Holy Innocents, let us pray for the victims of genocide and abortion in our own generation. The Holy Innocents are few in comparison to man's cruelty to innocents of our own kind killed mercilessly in the crimes of genocide and abortion.

Let us also pray for all the "innocents" who suffer: children who are abused, those in vulnerable situations in families, children born to poverty and destitution, and children who are refugees.

Dear Infant Jesus, be merciful and forgive the cruelty of humanity to all the innocents in our time. Amen.

A blessed Feast of the Holy Innocents. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!