A journey of personal conversion! It rejects violence as our way of life and declares the mercy of an Incarnate God to be the truest mode of being. Deceived by the magi, Herod decided to massacre children under two years old. The Lament of Rachel. The Choice – A Reflection on the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Faithfulness in this world of violence is not a life miraculously devoid of physical, emotional and spiritual anguish. Matthew tells us in his gospel that even the very first Christmas was quickly shrouded with the brutal reality of untimely death. Sobbing and lamentation have certainly also been heard in our strife-ridden world when young children … Homilies, reflections, and photos from a Roman Catholic priest serving in the Diocese of Jackson in the state of Mississippi. Our alumni, students, and families reflect on how Holy Innocents has had an impact on their lives. There are two ways to remove sin from people’s lives. Today on the fourth day of the Octave of … The brutality of being human has not yet been fully removed. December 28—Feast Third Day in the Octave of Christmas Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saints of babies. This is the day that we can say that Christmas does not answer all our hopes and our fears, but brings an entirely new set of hopes and fears. This is the day that we remember honest celebrations do not tell lies of avoidance and denials of pain. Today’s Gospel reveals both the protection and the persecution of innocence, protection by God and persecution from the world, protection by the wise providence of God and persecution from the wisdom of man at the instigation of Satan. Uncategorized. Currently, I am the pastor of St Jude Catholic Church in Pearl in Rankin County, just outside the city of Jackson. The senseless death of children has dampened many Christmas celebrations this year. More Reflections; My Catholic Life! Herod the Great was not great. (R. v. 7); Matt 2:13-18. Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Reflection: The Feast of the Holy Innocents 28 December, 2016 By Celestina Onyia, SHCJ On this feast the Church invites us to reflect on the painful story in Matthew’s gospel of Herod ordering the execution of all young male children, two years old or under in Bethlehem. Youth in Christian Leadership Certificate. 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. JULIANA BERNAUDO . On coming to know of the birth of Jesus, King Herod ordered that males under the age of two should be executed. (Silent Reflection) Ponder Jesus, safely on His way to Egypt during this horrific event. On this, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, we remember the young boys aged two and under who were slaughtered at the order of Herod the Great to make sure a rival ruler would not live. We celebrate today the first martyrs baptized in blood at the need of Herod to keep his power but through the power of Jesus they glorify God in heaven. Yesterday marked the Day of Holy Innocents – the day when we recognize Rachel’s weeping for her children alongside the story of King Herod ruthlessly, “ordering the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under.” It is an awful story. Herod the Sociopath, or Herod the Devil, would be more accurate titles. 4:36 . This is the day that we put down our red cheer and don a grieving purple. 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