Today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. The Gospel of Matthew (2:16) tells us, “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men.”
The Church recognizes these children as saints and venerates them because, as St. Thomas Aquinas said, they “suffered as martyrs and confessed Christ non loquendo, sed moriendo, not by speaking, but by dying.” Com. on Mt., in Loc.
So here are some things to consider:
- If you were to ask the Holy Innocents for their intercession before God, what would you ask them?
- They died as a result of the most hideous form of selfish jealousy. Can you be inspired to be less selfish of jealous after reflecting on the passage?
- Imagine the victories achieved by The Innocents; their distraction to Herod, their role in protecting the Lord, keeping Herod from achieving his evil goal, their happiness forever with God in heaven.
Oh dear, Holy Innocents, pray for us,
Peace,
Deacon Tom Gotschall, The Deacon Dad at:
http://tomgotschall.wordpress.com/
https://doctorsofthechurch.wordpress.com/
Deacon Tom Gotschall on YouTube.
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