Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 12-28-02, Feast of the Holy Innocents

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments and discussion.

Alleluia Ping!

Please notify me via Freepmail if you would like to be added to or removed from the Alleluia Ping list.

For and end to all abortions and the further slaughter of Holy Innocents,

We pray to the Lord,

Lord, hear our prayer.

Thought for the Day

Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings, O God, Thou hast perfected praise, because of Thy enemies.

-- Psalm viii. 3

The Word Among Us

Saturday, December 28, 2002

Meditation
Matthew 2:13-18

The Holy Innocents

The flight of the Holy Family into Egypt and Herod’s massacre of innocent children is a dramatic illustration of the battle between darkness and light. Yet even though Jesus’ whole life, from Bethlehem to Calvary, was lived under the sign of persecution, no powers, whether human or demonic, could undo the work he came to accomplish. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:5).

Why did Herod fear this little baby? He did not know that Jesus had come to conquer hearts and souls, not lands and thrones. To destroy one child, Herod did not hesitate to command the deaths of many. He destroyed weak and defenseless children because fear had destroyed his own heart. To prolong his own life, he tried to kill Life itself.

Even though Herod used force and cruelty to further his evil purposes, Jesus turned this tragedy into triumph for God’s kingdom. The Holy Innocents bear witness to the power of God’s grace. They died for Christ, though they did not know it. While they could not yet speak, Jesus made them fit witnesses to himself. They could not wield any weapons, yet they bore the palm of victory. Jesus freed their souls from captivity to the devil and made them adopted children of God. They share his glory and reign with him in triumph.

St. Paul reminds us that we too share in Jesus’ victory, even when we feel defeated: “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him” (Romans 8:28). Setbacks, failures, adversity—nothing we may have to face in this life need separate us from Christ. His love can triumph over all, both in our individual lives and in the world as a whole.

Today we face an evil far worse than Herod’s massacre: the slaughter of countless innocent unborn children. What can reverse this culture of death? God’s love can and will triumph, even here! Yes, a great evil is occurring. Yes, we must pray against it and seek to change the trends on our culture. But let us never do so out of a sense of frustration, desperation, or hatred of those opposed to us. Remember: Nothing can snuff out the light of Christ.

“Heavenly Father, comfort all the children lost to abortion. Bring them right up to your throne!”

With tears in my eyes:

“Heavenly Father, comfort all the children lost to abortion. Bring them right up to your throne!”

From: 1 John 1:5-2:2

God Is Light

[5] This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you,
that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

Walking in the Light. Rejecting Sin

[6] If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we
lie and do not live according to the truth; [7] but if we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and
the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. [8] If we say we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [10] If we say we have not
sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

[1] My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not
sin; but if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous; [2] and he is the expiation for our sins,
and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Commentary:

1:5-2:29. This section describes what communion with God is, and the
demands it makes on us. We can say there are two parts in the section:
the first (1:5-2:11) teaches that communion with God means walking in
the light and, therefore, rejecting sin and keeping the commandments.
The second (2:12-19) warns the readers to guard against worldly
concupiscence and not trust false teachers.

St John is writing as a pastor of souls who has lived the life of the
Lord and reflected deeply upon it. His teaching interweaves truths of
faith with moral and ascetical demands because he wants Christians to
live in a way consistent with their faith. Therefore, the text does
not really divide into a doctrinal section and a moral section.

5. "God is light": the imagery of light/darkness was much employed in
ancient times--sometimes to promote the notion that the world had two
principles, one good and the other evil. In St John the image clearly
has a different meaning, one connected with biblical teaching on light.
When God reveals himself to men, in one way or another light usually
plays a part: examples range from the burning bush (cf. Ex 3:1ff) to
the coming of the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire (cf. Acts
2:1ff). This imagery is used to show God's sublimity--as we find also
in St Paul: "the Lord of Lords,...who dwells in unapproachable light,
whom no man has ever seen or can see" (1 Tim 6:15-16).

The image of light also helps to show what revelation involves: God
has made himself known to us, enlightening our hearts (cf. 2 Cor 4:6).
Thus, we can say that God is light, Jesus Christ has made him known to
us, and Christian revelation is the splendor of that light. In St
John's Gospel the idea of Christ as the light which enlightens the
world occurs very often (cf., e.g., Jn 1:4, 9; 8:12; 9:5). St Thomas
Aquinas explains, in this connection, that philosophers prior to
Christ had a certain light which allowed them to attain some knowledge
of God through reason; the people of Israel had much more light,
through divine revelation in the Old Testament; angels and saints,
because they have greater knowledge of God by virtue of grace have
divine light to a special degree; but only the Word of God is the true
light, because he is by his very essence the light which enlightens
(cf. "Commentary on St John", 1, 9).

The expression "God is light" has also a moral dimension: in God there
is no darkness because there is no sin; he is sovereign good and all
perfection. The light/darkness imagery, therefore, helps to underline
the gravity of sin: "the light has come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (Jn 3:19).
Those who lead a holy life are called children of light (Jn 12:36; Lk
16:8; Eph 5:8; 1 Thess 5:5); whereas those who do evil live in darkness
(1 Thess 5:4), which is the symbol of sin (Lk 22:53).

St John uses the statement that "God is light" to encourage Christians
to live in an upright way; as does St Augustine, who comments that we
must be united to God and "darkness should be cast away from us so as
to allow light to enter, because darkness is incompatible with light"
("In Epist. Joann. ad Parthos", 1, 5).

6-10. The clause "if we say" introduces three suppositions--very
probably claims made by some early heretics, especially Gnostics (who
boasted of having attained fullness of knowledge and thought they were
incapable of sinning).

St John is using the literary technique of parallelism, much employed
by Semitic writers: the first sentence states an idea which is repeated
and filled out in the later ones. Here, the first statement ("we lie")
is later extended to "we deceive ourselves" (v. 8)..., and then to "we
make him [God] a liar" (v. 10). This literary device shows that the
author of the letter was familiar with this style of writing, very
common in the Old Testament.

6-7. Walking in darkness/walking in the light--a graphic description of
sinful conduct and upright conduct. St John insists that one cannot
justify a life of sin by claiming to have communion with God: "mere
confession of faith is in no sense sufficient", St Bede declares, "if
that faith is not confirmed by good works" ("In I Epist. S. Ioannis, ad
loc.").

"Fellowship with one another": If there were an exact parallelism
between the parts of the passage, we would expect it to read
"fellowship with him", which is how some Fathers read it. If the text
reads differently, it is because mutual communion, the fellowship with
the Church to which St John is referring, is a pledge and sign of
fellowship with God: "the Church, in Christ, is in the nature of a
sacrament--a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of
unity among all men" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 1).

"The blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin": this idea is
often found in the Book of Revelation when it says that the blood of
Christ sets us free (cf. Rev 1:5), cleanses souls and makes them white
(cf. Rev 7:14), ransoms them for God (cf. Rev 5:9) and defeats the
enemies of salvation (cf. Rev 12:11). It is made quite clear that the
blood of Christ purifies all types of sin, past and present, mortal and
venial. (On the blood of Christ as atonement for all sins, see the
notes on Heb 9:12, 14.)

8. "If we say we have no sin": the Old Testament often says that all
men are sinners (cf. 7:70; Job 9:2; 14:4; 15:14; 25:4; Prov 20:9; Ps
14:1-4; 51; etc.) and this is also clear from the New Testament (cf.
especially Rom 3:10-18). The Council of Trent condemns anyone who says
"that a man once justified cannot sin again and cannot lose grace" ("De
Iustificatione", can. 23).

Loss of the sense of sin is a danger that threatens man in all epochs.
The Apostle's warning (to his contemporaries in the first instance) has
particular relevance in our own time." "Deceived by the loss of the
sense of sin," John Paul II reminds us, "and at times by an illusion of
sinlessness which is not at all Christian, the people of today also
need to listen again to St John's admonition, as addressed to each one
of them personally: 'If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us', and indeed 'the whole world is in the
power of the evil one' (1 Jn 5:19). Every individual therefore is
invited by the voice of divine truth to examine realistically his or
her conscience, and to confess that he or she has been brought forth in
iniquity, as we say in the "Miserere" Psalm (cf. Ps 51:7)"
("Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia", 22).

9-10. "If we confess our sins": the Council of Trent quotes this text
(without intending to define its exact meaning) when it teaches that
confession of sins is of divine institution: 'The Catholic Church has
always understood that integral confession of sins was also instituted
by the Lord (Jas 5:16; 1 Jn 1:9; Lk 17:14) and is by divine law
necessary for all falls after Baptism" ("De Sacramento Paenitentia",
chap. 5).

The sacred writer puts emphasis on the interior disposition of the
Christian: he should humbly admit that he is a sinner; and St Augustine
explains: "If you confess yourself to be a sinner, the truth is in you:
the truth is light. Your life does not yet shine as brightly as it
might, because there are sins in you; but now you are beginning to be
enlightened, because you confess your iniquities" ("In Epist. Joann. Ad
Parthos", 1, 6).

"Faithful and just": a translation of two Hebrew words which literally
have to do with love and faithfulness. The Old Testament uses this
expression to stress that God's faithful love is always ready to
forgive.

1-2. In order to make sure that no one makes a wrong appeal to divine
mercy so as to justify their continuing to sin, St John exhorts all to
avoid sin. It is one thing to acknowledge that we are sinners and to be
conscious of our frailty; it is a very different matter to become
completely passive or pessimistic, as if it were not possible to avoid
offending God. "Jesus understands our weakness and draws us to himself
on an inclined plane," Monsignor Escriva explains. "He wants us to make
an effort to climb a little each day. He seeks us out, just as he did
the disciples of Emmaus, whom he went out to meet. He sought Thomas,
showed himself to him and made him touch with his fingers the open
wounds in his hands and side. Jesus Christ is always waiting for us to
return to him; he knows our weakness" ("Christ Is Passing By", 75).

"My little children": it is difficult to translate this and other
similar expressions in St John, charged as they are with tenderness and
a sense of pastoral responsibility. They express a deep, strong love,
like that of Jesus at the Last Supper (cf. Jn 13:33). This same Greek
term appears six more times in this letter (2:12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:
21); at other times he uses words equivalent to our "my little ones"
(cf. 2:14, 18) or "dearly beloved" (2:7; 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7, 11; 3 Jn 2,
5, 11). All these expressions reflect how very close St John was to the
faithful.

"We have an advocate with the Father": Jesus Christ, who is the only
Mediator (cf. 1 Tim 2:5), intercedes for us. He, who has died for our
sins (he is "the expiation"), presents his infinite merits to God the
Father, by virtue of which the Father pardons us always. The Holy
Spirit is also called Paraclete or Advocate insofar as he accompanies,
consoles and guides each Christian, and the whole Church, on its
earthly pilgrimage (cf. note on Jn 14:16-17).

"St John the Apostle exhorts us to avoid sin", St Alphonsus says, "but
because he is afraid we will lose heart when we remember our past
faults, he encourages us to hope for forgiveness provided we are firmly
resolved not to fall again; he tells us that we have to put our affairs
in order with Christ, who died not only to forgive us but also (after
dying) to become our advocate with the heavenly father" ("Reflections
on the Passion", Chap. 9, 2).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Matthew 2:13-18

The Flight Into Egypt

[13] Now when they (the Magi) had departed, behold, an angel of the
Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the Child and
His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for
Herod is about to search for the Child, to destroy Him." [14] And he
rose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed to Egypt,
[15]and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill
what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called My
Son."

The Massacre of the Innocents

[16] 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.
[17] Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
[18] "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel
weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were
no more."

Commentary:

14. St. John Chrysostom, commenting on this passage, draws a particular
attention to Joseph's faithfulness and obedience: "On hearing this,
Joseph was not scandalized, nor did he say, `This is hard to
understand. You yourself told me not long ago that He would save His
people, and not He is not able to save even Himself. Indeed, we have
to flee and undertake a journey and be away for a long time...'. But
he does not say any of these things, because Joseph is a faithful man.
Neither does he ask when they will be coming back, even though the
angel had left it open when he said `and remain there till I tell
you.' This does not hold him back: on the contrary, he obeys, believes
and endures all trials with joy" ("Hom. on St. Matthew", 8).

It is worth noting also how God's way of dealing with His chosen ones
contains light and shade: they have to put up with intense sufferings
side by side with great joy: "It can be clearly seen that God, who is
full of love for man, mixes pleasant things with unpleasant ones, as He
did with all the Saints. He gives us neither dangers nor consolations
in a continual way, but rather He makes the lives of the just a mixture
of both. This was what He did with Joseph" ("ibid".).

15. The text of Hosea 11:1 speaks of a child who comes out of Egypt and
is a son of God. This refers in the first place to the people of
Israel whom God brought out of Egypt under Moses' leadership. But this
event was a symbol or prefiguration of Jesus, the Head of the Church,
the New People of God. It is in Him that this prophecy is principally
fulfilled. The sacred text gives a quotation from the Old Testament in
the light of its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament
achieves its full meaning in Christ, and, in the words of St. Paul, to
read it without keeping in mind Jesus is to have one's face covered by
a veil (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:12-18).

22. History tells us that Archelaus was ambitious and cruel like his
father. By the time Joseph returned from Egypt, the new king was quite
notorious.

"In the different circumstances of his life, St. Joseph never refuses
to think, never neglects his responsibilities. On the contrary, he
puts his human experience at the service of faith. When he returns
from Egypt, learning `that Archelaus reigned over Judea in place of his
father Herod, he was afraid to go there.' In other words, he had
learned to work within the Divine Plan. And to confirm that he was
doing the right thing, Joseph received an instruction to return to
Galilee" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 42).

23. Nazareth, where the Anunciation had taken place (Luke 1:26), was a
tiny and insignificant Palestinian village. It was located in Galilee,
the most northerly part of the country. The term "Nazarene" refers to
Jesus' geographic origin, but His critics used it as term of abuse when
He began His mission (John 1:46). Even in the time of St. Paul the
Jews tried to humiliate the Christians by calling them Nazarenes (Acts
24:5). Many prophets predicted that the Messiah would suffer poverty
and contempt (Isaiah 52:2ff.; Jeremiah 11:19; Psalm 22), but the words
"He shall be called a Nazarene" are not to be found as such in any
prophetic text. They are, as St. Jerome points out, a summary of the
prophets' teaching in a short and expressive phrase.

However, St. Jerome himself (cf. "Comm. on Isaiah", 11:1) says that the
name "Nazarene" fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 11:1: Christ is the
"shoot" ("nezer", in Hebrew) of the entire race of Abraham and David.

18. Ramah was the city in which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
concentrated the Israelites he had taken prisoner. Since Ramah was in
the land of Benjamin, Jeremiah puts this lament for the children of
Israel in the mouth of Rachel, the mother of Benjamin and Joseph. So
great was the misfortune of those exiled to Babylon that Jeremiah says
poetically that Rachel's sorrow is too great to allow for consolation.

"Rachel was buried in the racecourse near Bethlehem. Since her grave
was nearby and the property belonged to her son, Benjamin (Rachel was of
the tribe of Benjamin), the children beheaded in Bethlehem could
reasonably be called Rachel's children" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on
St Matthew", 9).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

**It is worth noting also how God's way of dealing with His chosen ones
contains light and shade: they have to put up with intense sufferings
side by side with great joy: "It can be clearly seen that God, who is
full of love for man, mixes pleasant things with unpleasant ones, as He
did with all the Saints. He gives us neither dangers nor consolations
in a continual way, but rather He makes the lives of the just a mixture
of both. This was what He did with Joseph" ("ibid".).**

We can give thanks for the difficult times in our lives, becuase we know they are accompanied by times of great goodness being visited upon us.

Catholic Caucus: Where, when, and how did the Advent season originate?

Advent Calendar for Adults

Advent Calendar for Families

December 28
Feast of the Holy Innocents. Pray for greater respect for all human life, from conception to natural death.

Advent Calendar for Adults

December 28
On the Feast of the Holy Innocents, read the brochure A People of Life. In the coming year, in what one way can you better care for and protect life?

One Bread, One Body

<< Saturday, December 28, 2002 >>

Holy Innocents

1 John 1:5—2:2

Psalm 124

Matthew 2:13-18

View Readings

WE WISH YOU AN OBEDIENT CHRISTMAS

“He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem.” —Matthew 2:16

At the first Christmas, Herod killed several innocent children. This Christmas, many thousands of innocent children will be killed each day not only through surgical but especially chemical abortions. Today’s death toll of innocent babies is unprecedented in the history of the human race.

Joseph saved his Foster-Son, Jesus, from death by obeying a revelation he received in a dream. Likewise, the Lord has revealed to us how we can stop the massacre of infants. He told us through Pope John Paul II that prayer and fasting are the most effective weapons in fighting against the culture of death (The Gospel of Life, 100). “Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens” (Eph 6:12), and some demons cannot be driven out except by prayer and fasting (Mt 17:21, NAB).

Like Joseph, we have been told by the Lord how to save lives. Will we be like Joseph and obey the Lord, or will we through our disobedience let demons use the Herods of today to continue the massacre of innocent children? Be like Joseph. Be obedient. Be for life.

Prayer: Father, may I not be selfish and thereby defeated by Satan.

Promise: “If anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.” —1 Jn 2:1-2

Praise: The Holy Innocents now number hundreds of millions. They pray for us to repent.

Priests for Life

The numbers on this homepage change daily. Check them out.

Priests for Life Site Updated Daily!

Welcome to Priests for Life! You are one of over 7000 daily visitors to this award-winning web site!

We are an officially approved association of Catholic Clergy who give special emphasis to the pro-life teachings of the Church. We offer ongoing assistance to the clergy in addressing the topics of abortion and euthanasia, and training and resources to the entire pro-life movement.

Number of babies killed by abortion since
January 22, 1973:

41,976,458

America Will Not Reject Abortion Until America Sees Abortion

Dec. 28 - Feast of the Holy Innocents

Click here for hymn tune.

Flight into Egypt

Lonely travellers from the stable
Out beneath the hard blue sky
Journeying, wandering, hoping, praying
For the safety of their child
While our mother Rachel's weeping
Fills the streets of Bethlehem.
Kyrie eleison.

Warned by angels, moved to save him
Who was born our kind to save,
Joseph leads his holy family
Far from Herod and harm's way.
Mary shielding and consoling
Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Kyrie eleison.

Fleeing from the land of promise
They in Egypt find a home
Strange the workings of God's mercy --
House of bondage now God's throne.
But for sons who all were murdered
Sorrow breaks the House of Bread.
Kyrie eleison.

True the tale of flight and exile.
Out of Egypt comes God's Son.
Angels tell of Herod's dying.
All is ended, all begun.
Jesus will grow up in Nazareth
And the world will all be stunned.
Kyrie eleison.

Ping.

Thanks for the melody and words, Siobhan.