Holy Innocence & Martyrs

No sooner had the angels returned to heaven, and the shepherds returned to their flocks and fields, Joseph and Mary plan to return home from Bethlehem. Their plans are altered. An angel warns Joseph to take the mother and child and flee to Egypt. Hard on Joseph’s heels come Herod’s soldiers, killing every male child two years and under, both in Bethlehem, and in all the territory surrounding it.

This is not a good way to introduce an infant into the realities of a new world. But this is the kind of world our Savior would enter. The circumstances of His birth will indicate His death.

Those baby boys who were slaughtered in and around Bethlehem 2,000 years ago have a hope for the future. They shall come back to their own country. In the company of the Savior. For whose sake they were killed.

The Holy Innocents have a sure hope in Christ. Far exceeding their loss. And their hope is also yours.

Almighty God, the martyred innocents of Bethlehem showed forth Your praise not by speaking but by dying. Put to death in us all that is in conflict with your will that our lives may bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Holy Innocence & Martyrs

Almighty God, the martyred innocents of Bethlehem showed forth Your praise not be speaking but by dying. Put to death in us all that is in conflict with Your will that our lives may bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Woodcuts by Baron Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld © WELS

The Feast of the Holy Innocent

     The Feast of the Holy Innocent

O God, whom the Holy Innocents confessed and proclaimed on this day, not by speaking but by dying, grant, we pray, that the faith in you which we confess with our lips, may also speak through our manner of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

Since the sixth century, on December 28, the Church has celebrated the memory of those children killed because of Herod's rage against Christ (cf. Mt 2:16-17). Liturgical tradition refers to them as the "Holy Innocents" and regards them as martyrs. Throughout the centuries Christian art, poetry and popular piety have enfolded the memory of the "tender flock of lambs" with sentiments of tenderness and sympathy. These sentiments are also accompanied by a note of indignation against the violence with which they were taken from their mothers' arms and killed.

In our own times, children suffer innumerable forms of violence which threaten their lives, dignity and right to education. On this day, it is appropriate to recall the vast host of children not yet born who have been killed under the cover of laws permitting abortion, which is an abominable crime. Mindful of these specific problems, popular piety in many places has inspired acts of worship as well as displays of charity which provide assistance to pregnant mothers, encourage adoption and the promotion of the education of children.

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