Holy Innocents

Father, the Holy Innocents offered you praise by the death they suffered for Christ the opening prayer says for today. How can the Church glorify the slaughter of innocent children, children torn from their mother’s arms and slain right in front of them? Jeremiah did not try to “pretty” up the death of these children, as he writes: A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, because they were no more. Does not a Feast in honor of these cruelly slain children in some respects condone the crime?

But this is the difference between how the Church thinks and how the world perceives. By glorifying the death of these children, the Church is demonstrating one of it’s most ancient truths…we suffer from the hands of our fellow human beings; but God can bring good out of any harm or crime done against us. Think of St. Therese, who says that God does not want to see us suffer, indeed, He suffers when we do. Then why does He allow it? Because, He has given each one of us the gift of free will. If we are truly free (and we are), then our choices are simply that, ours. And these choices do affect others. Frederick Faber preached, Jesus did not bring suffering into the world, it was already here. What Jesus did was to take on our suffering and make it redemptive.

And so today celebrates the glory brought to children who were cruelly slain. They are crowned because He Who Is reached down with His Almighty hand and snatched them from those slaying them, bringing them up to Himself in Light and Love. He can do the same for us.