Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

Lectionary: 698

This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth.

The Feast of the Holy Innocents first appeared in the liturgical calendar during the fifth century, according to the New Advent Encyclopedia. The incident itself is not recorded in any historical account; but neither is it entirely fictitious. Historians, secular and religious, agree that King Herod was a murderous despot who would not hesitate to slaughter anyone or any group who might remotely threaten his power. And we know that innocent children are often caught up and destroyed in political and military struggles. We have only to watch the news out of Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan to witness that. Many American Veterans of the Vietnam conflict remember in their nightmares the reckless killing of children.
This feast, like that of Saint Stephen, must remind us of the intense, diabolical reaction to the Gospel.
If the Good News of Jesus is pure Goodness, it must be met by a spasm of unadulterated violence. This response is not necessary; it is not a chemical or mechanical law, like "What goes up must come down." Or Isaac Newton's principle, "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." There is no necessity for this evil except in the heart of evil people; that is, us. Herod saw it; Saint Joseph anticipated it.
This dark feast on the fourth day of Christmas reminds us of the casual evil that occurs in the normal course of events. A close reading of any historical account of a nation, city, movement or church must acknowledge this violence unless the historians intentionally ignore and hide the incidents. Propaganda may be recognized by what it does with these stories; it ignores the evil behavior of its proponents and projects them on its enemies. "We are the innocent;" it will say, "they are the guilty."
The righteous, as the Gospel, defines them, are not the innocent; they are those who are willing to see and recognize their own guilt. They listen to their friends and enemies, and often admit that their enemies are better friends for telling them the truth about themselves. The Catholic who cannot think of anything to confess in the Sacrament has only to ask why her enemies resent her so much. But if she thinks she has no enemies, she is even further removed from the truth about herself, her tribe, class and nation.
Christmas has invited us into the darkness to see the light, but it is a blinding light. Only as our eyes adjust to its radiance do we really understand how intensely the Lord loves us, for he sees our guilt clearly.