Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs
(I John 1:5-2:2; Matthew 2:13-18)
From the beginning of the war in Gaza the carnage of
children has evoked the greatest outrage.
Israelis remember their babies being beheaded by invading
terrorists. Palestinians lament the
bombings of hospitals where children - both sick and well - have been harbored. Parallels are readily drawn between the
present outrage and today’s gospel. As
Palestinian and Israeli militia commit atrocities against their enemies‘ children,
King Herod targets for execution all Jewish boys of a certain age span.
Children are preferred victims of the dishonorable. They cannot give resistance, and their deaths
inflict the greatest anguish upon the enemy.
If a despot wants to attack a people where they are most vulnerable, he
will aim at children. There is no other
historical evidence verifying the outrage committed by King Herod. But there is significant testimony that he
was ruthless and quite capable of having slaughtered thousands of children.
The gospel cites Jeremiah the prophet speaking of with the
loss of a multitude of children during the Babylonian invasion. He says that Jewish mothers would not be
consoled. That was before Christ. With our Lord’s resurrection from the dead, many
mothers weeping for their dead children can accept at least some consolation. They now hope that their children, redeemed
by Christ, will experience eternal life.
