28 December 2023 - Only By Grace Reflections

TOPIC: DO WE FULLY TRUST GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION?

First Reading: First John 1: 5 – 2: 2
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 124: 2-3, 4-5, 7b-8
Gospel: Matthew 2: 13-18

When we go back in time when our Lord Jesus Christ was born, we remember the death of the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem because the then King Herod did not want to have a King who would be his competitor. King Herod ruled with ruthlessness and his reign was full of darkness.

In contrast, Jesus is the divine Light who has come into the world to free us from darkness and the bondage of sin – He is the Prince of Peace. But when he was born, he is immediately opposed with violence. The Church honors the Holy Innocents as martyrs because they died so that Jesus might carry out his mission of salvation to mankind. In the words of a 5th century bishop, St. Quodvultdeus, “They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already they bear off the palm of victory”.

The feast of the Holy Innocents also recalls to mind the danger that innocent children face in our time. We already mentioned the death of innocent children in Israel and Palestine. But there is a bigger crisis facing the children of the world today because babies are not safe in their mother’s wombs, due to legalized abortion in many countries. In some Western nations, they have practically eliminated cases of Down syndrome. This is sometimes hailed as a victory of science, as if some breakthrough had been made possible to prevent this genetic disorder. But sadly, the real reason fewer children are born with Down syndrome is that they are identified through prenatal screening and then aborted. This is not victory. These little ones, like the Holy