Feast of the Holy Innocents
Reflection
Today is the traditional Feast of the Holy Innocents, those children who according to the Gospel story were killed at the order of King Herod in order to protect his own power and domination. This abuse continues in our own time. We see children victimized by war and terrorism. Children suffer and die from disease, malnutrition, and trafficking all over the earth. This nation continues to be stigmatized by the separation of immigrant children from their parents as the result of government policy. We also see “innocents” among the many species of plants and animals that have been extinguished because of our destructive ways of living. All of these are blessed innocents who carried a beauty and potential that will never be realized because the economic and political powers of the world do not consider them a priority. We may read the gospel story with appropriate horror, but where is our horror and dismay at what is happening daily? How complicit are we through our lack of civic awareness or indifference?
Prayer
O God whose compassion embraces children and suffering families, give them the strength and consolation they need and help us to find ways to free our country from the causes of ingrained violence.
Action
Be aware of political decisions that potentially deprive children of the necessities of health and safety. Be aware of destructive policies that cause species extinction. . Hold those who support decisions that harm children and the natural world accountable for their actions. Don’t let your own hidden prejudice dull your compassion.
Suggested Reading
When Herod realized he had been deceived by the Magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem two years old and under. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah, the prophet:
“A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.”
Matthew 2:13 – 16
A population that does not take care of the elderly and of children and the young has no future, because it abuses both its memory and its promise.
Pope Francis
We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear.
Nelson Mandela
There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they grow up in peace.
Kofi Annan
You see the suffering of children all the time nowadays. Wars and famines are played out before us in our living rooms, and almost every week there are pictures of children who have been through unimaginable loss and horror.
Mary Lawson
By our readiness to allow arms to be purchased at will and fired at whim… we have created an atmosphere in which violence and hatred have become popular pastimes.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The sexual abuse and exploitation of children is one of the most vicious crimes conceivable, a violation of mankind’s most basic duty to protect the innocent.
James T. Walsh
Many of those coming to our borders are fleeing starvation, violence or death. The separation of children from their parents in these situations, whether as a means of punishment or deterrence, is inhumane and entirely unacceptable.
Arizona Conference of Catholic Bishops
Those kids inside who have been separated from their parents are already being traumatis=zed. It doesn’t matter whether the floor is swept and the bed-sheets tucked in tight.
Senator Jeff Merkley
I saw chain link cages full of unaccompanied children. They sat on metal benches and stared straight ahead silently,
Representative Peter Welch