Friday 28th December
(Feast) The Holy Innocents • Matthew 2:13-18
The cross was close to the crib. The day after Jesus’ birth the liturgy does not hesitate to bring us directly into contact with the bitter reality that some experience as a result of following Christ. It highlights the martyrdom of St Stephen and St Thomas Becket and today the slaughtering of the Holy Innocents.
Jesus’ holy birth ushered in a time of brutality and bloodshed. The mothers who wept for their sons struck down at Herod’s command suffered an inconsolable anguish and grief, which the prophet Jeremiah had prophesied: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not’ (Jer. 31:15). We commemorate the sacrifice of these holy innocent martyrs and the testimony of their parents.
Who are the holy innocents of our world? They are the most innocent of all: the children in the womb. Every year millions upon millions of children’s lives are extinguished long before they know the joy of life. We pray and support all women who have undergone an abortion.
We do not judge them. We ask God for his healing and mercy, and we dedicate ourselves to helping provide an alternative as abortion is no remedy. We strive and pray for a society which respects and protects human life from the moment of conception until its very last breath.
The scriptures shed light on the sacredness and sanctity of this life: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you’ (Jer. 1:5), and ‘my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth’ (Ps. 139:15). One of the earliest Christian writings, the Didache, said; ‘You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.’ The bishops at the Second Vatican Council in 1962 echoed this teaching, unpacking it by saying: ‘God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to humankind the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception.’
‘Lord, we pray for the innocent in the womb; and work for a society which values human life from the cradle to the grave.’
1 John 1:5-2:2 • Psalm 123(124) • Matthew 2:13-18
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