Posted on 12/28/2023 9:06:01 AM PST by fidelis
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.” Matthew 2:13
The most glorious event ever to take place in our world also filled some with hatred and rage. Herod, who was jealous of his own earthly power, felt greatly threatened by the message shared with him by the Magi. And when the Magi failed to return to Herod to tell him where the Newborn King was located, Herod did the unthinkable. He ordered the slaughter of every boy, two years old and younger, who was in Bethlehem and its vicinity.
Such an act is hard to comprehend. How could the soldiers carry out such an evil plot? Imagine the deep mourning and devastation so many families encountered as a result. How could a civil ruler murder so many innocent children.
Of course, in our day and age, so many civil leaders continue to support the barbaric practice of permitting the slaughter of the innocent within the womb. Thus, in many ways, Herod’s action is not that different from today.
The passage above reveals to us the will of the Father regarding not only the protection of His divine Son but also His divine will for the protection and sanctity of all human life. It was satan who inspired Herod to kill those precious and innocent children so long ago, and it is satan who continues to promote a culture of death and destruction today. What should our response be? We, like Saint Joseph, must see it as our solemn duty to protect the most innocent and vulnerable with unwavering determination. Though this newborn Child was God, and though the Father in Heaven could have protected His Son with a myriad of angels, it was the Father’s will that a man, Saint Joseph, protect His Son. For that reason, we should also hear the Father calling each and every one of us to do all we can to protect the innocent and most vulnerable, especially the child within the womb.
Reflect, today, upon the will of God for your life. In what ways is God calling you to be like Saint Joseph and protect the most innocent and most vulnerable? How are you being called to be a guardian of those entrusted to your care? Certainly on a civil level we must all work to protect the lives of those who are unborn. But every parent, grandparent and all those entrusted with responsibility for another must strive to protect those in their care in countless other ways. We must diligently work to preserve them from the evils in our world and the numerous attacks of the evil one on their lives. Ponder this question today and allow the Lord to speak to you of your duty to imitate the great protector, Saint Joseph.
Lord, give me insight, wisdom and strength so that I can work in accord with Your will to protect the most innocent from the evils of this world. May I never cower in the face of evil, and may I always fulfill my duty to protect those entrusted to my care. Saint Joseph, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Morning Prayer (selections)
HYMN
Christ, in whose passion once was sown
All virtue of all saints to be,
From the white field of these thy own
We praise the seed and sower, thee.
Thine was the first and holiest grain
To die and quicken and increase;
And then came these, and died again,
That spring and harvest should not cease.
From thee the martyrs, we from those,
Each in thy grace's measure, spring;
Their strength upon our weakness flows
And guides us to the goal we sing.
These were thy great ones: we, thy least,
One in desire and faith with them,
Called by the Lord to keep one feast,
Journey to one Jerusalem.
PSALMODY
Antiphon: Clothed in white robes, they will walk with me, says the Lord, for they are worthy.
Antiphon: These children cry out their praises to the Lord; by their death they have proclaimed what they could not preach with their infant voices.
Canticle – Daniel 3:57-88, 56
Antiphon: From the mouths of children and babies at the breast you have found praise to foil your enemies.
READING
Jeremiah 31:15
In Ramah is heard the sound of moaning,
of bitter weeping!
Rachel mourns her children,
she refuses to be consoled
because her children are no more.
RESPONSORY
The just are the friends of God. They live with him forever.
- The just are the friends of God. They live with him forever.
God himself is their reward.
- They live with him forever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
- The just are the friends of God. They live with him forever.
BENEDICTUS (Canticle of Zechariah)
Antiphon: At the king's command these innocent babies and little children were put to death; they died for Christ, and now in the glory of heaven as they follow him, the sinless Lamb, they sing for ever: Glory to you, O Lord.
INTERCESSIONS
We rejoice in the glory of Jesus Christ, who conquered the enemy not by force of arms but with a white-robed army of children, and we cry out:
The white-robed army of martyrs praises you.
The Holy Innocents gave witness not by words but by their life's blood;
- give us the strength to be your witnesses before men, both by words and actions.
They were not ready for battle but you made them fit to win the palm of victory,
- now that we are prepared for victory, do not let us despair.
You washed the robes of the Innocents in your blood;
- cleanse us from all sin.
You rewarded the child martyrs with the first share of your kingdom,
- do not let us be cast out from the unending heavenly banquet.
You knew persecution and exile as a child
- protect all children whose lives are in danger from famine wars and disasters.
COLLECT
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 you 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,
God, for ever and ever.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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