The Holy Innocents, Martyrs
Feast
Liturgical Cycle: A, B, C | Lectionary Cycle: I, II
Introduction
Today’s celebration shocks us into the realization that the birth of Christ was not all peace and joy. The coming of Jesus was the beginning of a struggle-to-death between the powers of evil and the kingdom of light, a struggle that would have its climax in the passion and death of Jesus. Herod stands here for the forces of evil. Even innocent children are often the victims of this enmity.
The story of the Innocents may very well be Matthew’s theological illustration of this climactic clash between good and evil that began with the birth of Jesus. Often the innocents have to suffer on account of so much evil in the world caused by people.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
today’s innocent martyrs
bore witness to you
not by proclaiming your name in words
but by laying down their lives for you,
even though they were not aware of it.
We pray to you on their feast
that we may bear witness to you
both by the words we speak
and the way we live what we believe.
May we do so in the full awareness
of what we are doing.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
First Reading
Light and Sin
We received his message and announced it to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him.
If we say we have fellowship with him while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not live in the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we are in fellowship with one another; and the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, cleanses us from all sin.
If we claim, ‘We have no sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his word is not in us.
My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the righteous one.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (7) Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Had not the LORD been with us—
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the white robed army of martyrs praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Flight into Egypt and the Massacre of the Innocents
After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said: “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon be looking for the child in order to kill him.”
Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left that night for Egypt,
where he stayed until Herod’s death. In this way, what the Lord had said through the prophet was fulfilled:
Out of Egypt I called my son.
When Herod discovered that he had been duped by the wise men, he became furious. He ordered the killing of all boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and its surrounding areas. This decision was based on what he had learned from the wise men about the approximate time when the star appeared.
In this way, what the prophet Jeremiah had said was fulfilled:
A cry is heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation:
Rachel weeps for her children.
She refuses to be comforted,
for they are no more.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That children especially may be spared from suffering, malnutrition and maltreatment, we pray to God our merciful Father:
– That children may not become the victims of unloving parents who do not want them, abandon them or desert them as they separate from each other, we pray:
– That children may have caring parents who help them to grow toward a generous and rich adulthood, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
We bring these our gifts before you, Lord God;
accept them from your faithful people,
that we may be strengthened in our faith.
May they also bring your salvation
to those whom we sometimes call anonymous Christians,
those who do not know you,
yet who seek you with a sincere heart
by trying to do what is right and good.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord, God of eternal light,
we all share in the struggle-to-death
between light and darkness.
Let the light of your love and peace
shine among people all over the world,
that our solidarity in the evil of sin
may be changed into a new solidarity
of justice, forgiveness and community
by the coming among us of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
We ask the Lord today that he may bless especially our children, that they may grow up as God's children, as good Christians and good citizens. May almighty God bless them and you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Gospel: Matthew 2:13-18
Flight into Egypt and the Massacre of the Innocents – Return from Egypt
History, legend, and theology come together again in this episode, with which Matthew concludes his presentation of Jesus. The cruelty of Herod, which affected the newborn and his family, is a historical fact of those turbulent times. The evangelist records this not as a historian but as a theologian who reads history, interprets it in the light of the Word of God, and then weaves it into a dramatic narrative.
Like Moses, Jesus is saved from imminent death; he must flee with his family. The massacre of the innocent recalls the killing of the Israelite children (cf. Ex 1:15ff) and Rachel’s mourning (cf. Jr 31:15). His return from Egypt fulfills the prophet’s prophecy: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos 11:1). In this way, the evangelist depicts Jesus as the new Moses, who, through a new Exodus, will lead his people—enduring exile and persecution—toward a new and ultimate liberation. And this liberation is not only for his people, Israel, but for all nations of the earth.
Commentary on the Gospel passage from the Bible Claret online commentary.