The Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs
(I John 1:5-2:2; Matthew 2:13-18)
The joy of Christmas never goes unmitigated. On December 26, Catholics celebrate the Feast
of St. Stephan, the first Christian martyr.
Stephan was stoned to death as he testified to Jesus’ glorification at
God’s right hand. The undercurrent of
sorrow is even more pronounced today -- two days later – when the Church
remembers the Holy Innocents. As the
gospel relates, these infants were slaughtered in Herod’s maniacal obsession to
eliminate rivals.
The two sobering feasts of Christmastide remind people of
the purpose of this great feast. It
hardly celebrates the glory of humanity – its capacity for virtue and
autonomy. Rather Christmas brings
rejoicing because God has sent His Son to redeem humans from folly. The Christ child is born not just to teach
humans God’s holy will, but more importantly to die in satisfaction for their
sins. It is like the American missionary
doctor in Africa who a few years ago contracted the deadly Ebola virus while
working to defeat the disease.
Yet there is no need for us to spend these days in
mourning. As St. Stephan and the Holy
Innocents shared in Christ’s redemptive death, they have also participated in
his triumph over death. We believe that
they are nearer to Christ in glory than we can be at the present time. We now join their hymn of praise to God. We also hope to stand among them sooner or
later in eternal happiness.
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