Today is Dec. 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents.
On the Feast of the Holy Innocents, we remember the tragic massacre of children in Bethlehem ordered by King Herod, a desperate attempt to destroy the Christ Child. This sorrowful event, recounted in today’s readings from the Gospel of Matthew, reminds us that even in the joyous season of Christmas, the shadow of sin and suffering looms. Yet, amid this darkness, God’s light shines–a light that no earthly power can extinguish.
The haunting strains of the Coventry Carol capture the grief of this feast:
“Lullay, lullay, thou little tiny child,
By-by, lully, lullay.”
This lullaby, sung for children who would never grow up, echoes the lamentation of the mothers of Bethlehem, fulfilling the prophecy:
“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” (Mt 2:18).
‘Witnesses to the light of Christ’
The Holy Innocents are martyrs, witnesses to the light of Christ even in their silence. Their brief lives point to the ultimate victory of God’s love over the powers of evil. Though their deaths are a mystery of suffering, they hold a promise of redemption: they now rest in the eternal embrace of the One who came to save them.
In a world still marked by violence and injustice, the story of the Holy Innocents compels us to reflect on our role as protectors of the vulnerable. How do we respond to the cries of children who suffer from war, poverty, or neglect? Are our lives a witness to the peace and justice of the Kingdom Christ came to establish?
Yet even as we grieve, we are called to hope. Just as the Coventry Carol expresses lament but ends in a quiet lullaby, so too does the Feast of the Holy Innocents remind us that sorrow is not the final word. The Christ Child — protected by His earthly parents and destined for the cross — has already begun His work of salvation.
Let us pray,
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. Amen.
