PROTECTING THE LITTLE CHILDREN - 12/28/22 (Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs)

Matthew 2:13

When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” 

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122822.cfm

Blessed Feast of the Holy Innocents! At first, King Herod told the magi that he wanted to know where our Lord was born to adore Him. And yet, there was a hidden intention behind it. Herod wanted to kill Jesus because he was jealous that a new King would replace him. When the magi did not come back to him, he ordered the slaughter of the children who were 2 years old and below. The holy innocents were the little children who died because of this horrific plan of Herod. Jesus is telling us the importance of being faithful to Him, not just in our words, but also in our deeds. It's not enough for us to say that we want to adore and worship Christ. We should also express it through our deeds by loving our neighbors, especially children. Though the actions of Herod seem to be difficult to understand, let's remember that even in our society today, many people are promoting the idea that it's ok to kill little children in the womb of mothers. The dignity of human beings, from conception to death, is no longer respected. If we are truly consistent in our faith in Christ, we should be firm in not supporting laws and ideologies that are contrary to our dignity and right to life of everyone. 

St. Joseph is also a model we should imitate when it comes to protecting the rights of people, especially the unborn children. He went to a different place in order to stay away from the influence of Herod. In the same way, we should flee from social media, people and from other resources which promote abortion and other beliefs that are contrary to the teachings of Christ. We should be firm in not allowing ourselves to be influenced by them. At the same time, God desires for us to promote and share the truth about the right to life of all human beings. We may be discriminated against for telling the truth. But, let's be reminded of the sacrifices of the holy innocents. They did not have the voice to preach about Christ, but their sacrifices taught us more. God is always on our side, and our sufferings for defending the right to life will not be in vain. May we protect such little children and may our lives bear witness to the faith we profess in our words. 

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic

Holy Innocents, Martyrs—Feast:

https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/the_holy_innocents.html

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth