FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS

TODAY'S WORD

By


Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore

Mathew: 2:16 "When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under."

TODAY'S REFLECTION

A few days after celebrating the birth of a child today’s feast recalls that passage in Matthew’s gospel that describes the death of children. There is a lot of darkness in today’s gospel reading, all of it due to the ruler of the time, Herod the Great. Because of him, innocent children are put to death and the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph become refugees, fleeing to Egypt for their safety. The story has a contemporary ring to it.

The first reading declares: ‘God is light; there is no darkness in him at all’. Jesus’ life revealed a different kind of power to the power of those in authority at the time. His life and his death revealed the power of love, a love that was self-emptying in the service of others.

We think of situations in today’s world where those in power are bringing death to others, including children. We recall the thousands of people who have been made refugees because of the cruelty of some.

The birth of Jesus brought a light into that dark world, the light of God’s love.  Our calling is to allow this love to take flesh in our own lives.

It is in this way that, in the words of the first reading, ‘we live our lives in the light, as God is in the light’.

The calling to allow Jesus, the light of God’s love, to shine in and through our lives, is a noble but challenging one.

We will often fail in our living out of this calling. We sin, but as the first reading says, ‘if we acknowledge our sins, then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins’.

There is darkness in each one of us but the darkness does not define us because the light of God’s mercy is always stronger than the darkness of our sins.

God remains faithful to us and keeps on calling us to bring the light of his Son into the darkness of our world.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What's happening in the world today?

Am I not killing people with my word and deed?

How many innocent children are aborted today?

How many innocent girl children are raped and killed?

How many children's life is at stake today?

Today’s feast reminds us that Jesus was born into a violent world, where those in power were often ruthless in their efforts to protect their own position.

RESOLUTION

Let's resolve to be people of light in spite of living in a dark world. Lets try to become voice of the voiceless to bring justice in the chaotic world.