Pope’s Intention for December

The Future of the Very Young

That every country take the measures necessary to prioritize the future of the very young, especially those who are suffering..

Children should never be taken to church in dress that would not be thought good enough for appearing before company.

St. John Baptiste de la Salle

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42).

Catholic Culture

Christmas: December 28th

Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

MASS READINGS

December 28, 2019 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

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 your which we confess with our lips may also speak through our manner of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Recipes (5)

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Activities (4)

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Prayers (13)

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Library (2)

» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!

Old Calendar: The Holy Innocents

“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

During this octave of Christmas the Church celebrates the memory of the small children of the neighborhood of Bethlehem put to death by Herod. Sacrificed by a wicked monarch, these innocent lives bear witness to Christ who was persecuted from the time of His birth by a world which would not receive Him. It is Christ Himself who is at stake in this mass-murder of the children; already the choice, for or against Him, is put clearly before men. But the persecutors are powerless, for Christ came to perform a work of salvation that nothing can prevent; when He fell into the hands of His enemies at the time chosen by God it was to redeem the world by His own Blood.

Our Christmas joy is tempered today by a feeling of sadness. But the Church looks principally to the glory of the children, of these innocent victims, whom she shows us in heaven following the Lamb wherever He goes.

Feast of the Holy Innocents - Day Four
The Holy Innocents saved the Child Jesus from death by King Herod by the shedding of their own blood. The Holy Innocents are the special patrons of small children, who can please the Christ Child by being obedient and helpful to parents, and by sharing their toys and loving their siblings and playmates.

The feast of the Holy Innocents is an excellent time for parents to inaugurate the custom of blessing their children. From the Ritual comes the form which we use on solemn occasions, such as First Communion. But parents can simply sign a cross on the child's forehead with the right thumb dipped in holy water and say: May God bless you, and may He be the Guardian of your heart and mind—the Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Day Four activity (Holy Innocents)
Day Four recipe (Blanc Mange)

The Holy Innocents

Today, dearest brethren, we celebrate the birthday of those children who were slaughtered, as the Gospel tells us, by that exceedingly cruel king, Herod. Let the earth, therefore, rejoice and the Church exult — she, the fruitful mother of so many heavenly champions and of such glorious virtues. Never, in fact, would that impious tyrant have been able to benefit these children by the sweetest kindness as much as he has done by his hatred. For as today's feast reveals, in the measure with which malice in all its fury was poured out upon the holy children, did heaven's blessing stream down upon them.

"Blessed are you, Bethlehem in the land of Judah! You suffered the inhumanity of King Herod in the murder of your babes and thereby have become worthy to offer to the Lord a pure host of infants. In full right do we celebrate the heavenly birthday of these children whom the world caused to be born unto an eternally blessed life rather than that from their mothers' womb, for they attained the grace of everlasting life before the enjoyment of the present. The precious death of any martyr deserves high praise because of his heroic confession; the death of these children is precious in the sight of God because of the beatitude they gained so quickly. For already at the beginning of their lives they pass on. The end of the present life is for them the beginning of glory. These then, whom Herod's cruelty tore as sucklings from their mothers' bosom, are justly hailed as "infant martyr flowers"; they were the Church's first blossoms, matured by the frost of persecution during the cold winter of unbelief.

— St. Augustine

Things to Do:

Read this article by Mgr. Luciano Alimandi on the humility of children.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 2:13-18

The Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Feast)

Herod . . . became furious. (Matthew 2:16)

What kind of person orders the slaughter of two-year-olds? Someone as neurotic and paranoid as Herod the Great, that’s who. This atrocity also shows how desperate Herod must have been. It’s possible that the birth of one little child terrified him so much because he had already sensed that his grip on power was slipping away—which it was. In the end, his order to kill little children was just an irrational, final lashing out at a fate he knew he could not avoid. His darkness may have been fading, but he wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

It can sound ironic, but Herod’s desperation is another sign that Jesus’ coming had ushered in a new era of freedom and hope. Jesus’ light was just beginning to shine, and the powers of darkness were already trembling.

How does this relate to today? Deeds of darkness like abortion, euthanasia, sexual immorality, and corruption in general continue to have a firm grip on our world. The darkness doesn’t seem like it is giving up the fight, and in many cases, it even appears to be winning. Or at the very least, the darkness is taking quite a long time to admit defeat.

On one level, it would make perfect sense to give up hope for the world. But God doesn’t want us to give up—and our faith urges us to keep shining our light. We may at times feel about as powerless as a little child against so much evil, but that’s when we need to remember that this is exactly how Jesus came into the world. He was only a little child, but his light attracted the Magi from hundreds of miles away. He was only a little child, but his light filled Herod with fear.

It may seem vague and overly spiritual, but the best thing you could ever do is to let your own light shine in the darkness. Show the world the difference that Jesus makes. Speak against evil, but in a way that is humble and patient. Let the words you say—and the words you choose not to say—demonstrate the compassion and goodness of the Lord. Never forget that Christ is in you. You can make a difference.

“Jesus, I want to help turn back the darkness. Come, Lord, and shine through me with the brightness of your love.”

1 John 1:5–2:2
Psalm 124:2-5, 7-8

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for December 28, 2019:

Today we remember the holy innocents Herod killed in his search for Jesus. Pray for couples mourning the loss of a child this Christmas season. Consider reaching out just to say you’re praying for them.

Regnum Christi

December 28, 2019 – Angel Wings

28 Dec 2019

Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

Matthew 2:13-18

When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child, to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed for Egypt, and stayed there until the death of Herod, so that what he had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time that he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through the prophet Jeremiah: “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.”

Introductory Prayer: Father, I come into your holy presence this day aware that you guide my life with love. I believe that nothing happens to me unless you will it. I renew my faith in your promise of heaven, where every tear will be wiped away. Thank you for getting involved in our cruel world in order to heal it with your love.

Petition: Lord, may my presence today be a help to those in need.

Angels: We want to cry with these women who have had their children stolen from them in the most defenseless time of their lives. Human cruelty reaches so deep that it desires to maintain power by snuffing out the lives of others! Yet these children silently remind us of another reality. They remind us that there is a place where tyranny does not reign. There is a King who rules by love and whose kingdom cannot be defeated by cruelty. These children are messengers of that kingdom. They have been called to give a brief but powerful witness of the fight that this King will wage for love. They have gone ahead of him, and their mothers will find them and hold them forever one day in the presence of their King.
Prophets: Thy Kingdom Come! This is the cry of these children. One day this new King will reign, but it will happen through a terrible fight with death and cruelty. These children are powerful prophets of the struggle of this King. They are prophets of the drama of human history where everything is at stake. Their cries are powerful prayers that will be heard by the Father, and their cries begin to stir in that special Child the desire to give his life as a ransom for souls. He will reign by pouring out his life as a gift for these children and for many souls.
Children: The Church has declared these children martyrs. The first saints of Christ are infants. Infants speak to us at Christmas, and their witness does not go unnoticed. These children inspire the Church and pray for her. A child speaks to us of goodness and innocence. A child reminds us of the attitude we should have before God. Christ always lives with a heart of a child, a heart that trusts completely in his Father. He shows special predilection for children. He knows that often they are his most powerful apostles, inviting others to God’s house by the simplicity and intimacy of their love for him. How many parents have been converted or discovered a deeper relationship with Christ through the example of their children!

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, it saddens me so much to see how these children were taken from their mothers and killed. It tears my heart apart to see how today so many children are never given the chance to know their mother’s love because of the evil of abortion. I want to be a consolation to your heart, Lord. I want to give the very best of myself to you today in order to offer you some of the love that these children wanted to give. Let my life be a witness of unselfish love. Let me be like you.

Resolution: I will find some way of encouraging a mother of a young child

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Espanol

All Issues > Volume 36, Issue 1

<< Saturday, December 28, 2019 >>

Holy Innocents

1 John 1:5�2:2
View Readings

Psalm 124:2-5, 7-8

Matthew 2:13-18
Similar Reflections

CONFORMED TO CHRIST

Herod "ordered the massacre of all the boys two years old and under in Bethlehem." �Matthew 2:16

Each baby boy killed that morning over two-thousand years ago in Bethlehem died because he was mistaken for Jesus. The soldiers who killed the Holy Innocents in Bethlehem thought they were killing Christ, or someone who could be Jesus. To the killers, the children were indistinguishable from Christ.

The child-martyrs we call the Holy Innocents are thus a model to us. We are to bear the light of Christ in our lives to such an extent that Jesus called us "the light of the world" (Mt 5:14). May our lives be conformed to such an astonishing likeness to Jesus that the world, in a sense, might confuse us for Christ. This makes us a threat to the world just as was Jesus, and so we risk being persecuted. But "blest are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of slander against you because of" Jesus (Mt 5:11).

"I beg you through the mercy of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God's will, what is good, pleasing and perfect" (Rm 12:1-2).

Prayer: Father, mold me and fashion me into the image of Jesus.

Promise: "Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth." —Ps 124:8

Praise: Jesus said, "My kingdom does not belong to this world" (Jn 18:36). In retrospect, King Herod should not have been threatened by the Holy Innocents. Thank You, Father, for protecting Jesus, Your Son through these blessed, innocent children.