The Holy Innocents

The shadow of the cross falls over the manger--Christ was, as the old hymn says, born for to die.  The shadow of the cross falls over us all.  We in the midst of the season of Christmas; in fact, we are in the Octave, where every day is celebrated as if it were Christmas Day.  So who do we celebrate, in the very center of that octave, the brutal death of innocent children? Surely it is a cause for sadness and not joy.


Even as a helpless baby, Christ threatened the powers of the world.  From the first moments of His life, there were those who rejected Him and plotted His death.  And nothing, least of all other innocent babies, would get in the way of Herod's--and the world's--efforts to get rid of Him.  John the Baptist lost his life because he proclaimed the coming of Christ.  St. Stephen lost his life for proclaiming the truth of Christ.  The Holy Innocents died simply because they resembled Him too closely.  They died not so much for Christ , as Stephen and John did, but in His place.  Thus the Church venerates them as martyrs.


Here is St. Augustine on the Holy Innocents ("birthday" refers to the day of death--the birth into heaven):

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

The Holy Innocents also bring to mind the holocaust of abortion, the killing of innocents in our day and time.  Mother Teresa once said,  "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."  The Holy Innocents died so that Herod could live as he wished--or so Herod thought.  The Holy Innocents, patron saints of  babies,  have been also proposed at patron saints of the aborted and those recovering from abortion.


We take some time from our joyful celebration of the birth of Christ to remember that a holy life also involves suffering, much of it undeserved.

Three French Hens....

This is about Boxing Day (yesterday, the second day of Christmas) from Sister Mary Martha:

Today is the day the Good King Wenceslaus looked out at the snow that was deep and crisp and even. Actually, it's not today, it's tonight, because the moon was bright (although the frost was cruel). The Good King spotted a poor man gathering wood for his fire. He asked his page if the page knew where the poor man lived, and the page knew exactly where the poor man lived. So Wenceslaus told the page to make up a box of groceries and stuff with a plan to bring it to the poor man so they could sit and watch him eat it all.
Nothing would have happened without the page, really. The king wouldn't have known where to find the man and even if he could have figured it out, he would have had to get the groceries together himself. I'll bet the page carried all the stuff once they went out, too, because otherwise, if you think about it, why did he have to go out there with the King? It wasn't the page's idea and he had already told Wenceslaus where to head.

We never hear anything about what happened once they reached the poor man's house. We are more interested in what happened on the way, when the poor page nearly froze to death but was saved by Wenceslaus' hot foot tracks.

Today is the second day of Christmastime, a time of hope and love. May your footsteps also leave a warm path in the world.

I am struck by several things:

(1) As modern Americans, we have lost what kingship means. Kings weren't crowned by acclimation---they held office by right. Some were good, some bad--but no matter which, you owed your king obedience--and he had great control over your daily life. And you didn't get to decide, one day, that you just wouldn't be subject to the king any more--he was yours for life. We have a good King indeed in Christ, who should, in fact, have sway over EVERYTHING in our life.

(2) Boxing Day, the day when in British Countries boxes of food are taken to the poor, are in a way a nod to Good King Wenceslas. He restored Christianity to his kingdom, bolstered the Church, took a vow of virginity in the service of the Church and was--as the song says--considered a good king. He was murdered by his brother for political reasons. In a slightly happier ending to the story than one might expect, the brother later repented, and returned Wenceslas' body to a royal resting place.

(3) Kings use their pages to get the job done. Christ usess us to be His hands in the world.

(4) The page is saved by the warmth of the King's footsteps as he followed according to the king's order. We are ordered to take up our cross and follow Christ, but in His footsteps is the way of life, even if there's trouble and hardship on the way. But by following in His footsteps we are saved. Christ did first what we are to do so that we would know the way.

The Church teaches we have several reliable ways to encounter Christ in our daily lives:

• In the Eucharist
• In the Church, her teaching and her works
• In the Scriptures
• In the priest in his priestly functions which he exercises through Christ
• In the poor

Advent prepares us to meet Christ--the Christmas season can help us prepare to carry Him into the world, serving, especially, the poor.

Turning to today's feast, we honor one of God's great pages: St. John the Evangelist, who. like Wenceslas' page, followed in the footsteps of his King. John is the Apostle of the Incarnation, the only of the faithful Apostles who was not martyred. His gospel is the most theological, the richest in the underlying truths of the faith. It has been described as the passion gospel, and John delves deep into the mysteries of the Incarnation. By modern standards it's not a long book--why not begin to read it today on John's feast day--and finish it before the end of the Christmas season?

It is said that at the end of his life, John simply preached, over and over, "Little children, love one another..." Love is not just an emotion, it is willing the good of the other as other, with no mind to ourselves. That's a good thought for meditation on the third day of Christmas. Perhaps deliver three French hens to the poor in John's admonition of love? Perhaps this might be a way to come face to face with Christ?

Two Turtle Doves...

Remember the old song? It accurately reflects the Liturgical Calendar. Christmas BEGAN yesterday with the Feat of the Nativity (the Feast of the Incarnation) and will not end until the Feast of the Epiphany, traditionally January 6, but moved to the nearest Sunday, this year January 8--so Christmas has 14 days this year!

The Season of Christmas has many other feasts embedded in it---today's is the Feast of St. Stephen, martyr. You have heard of it in the Carol of King Wenceslas. Read the story in Acts 6:8-8:1. Note, also that they coats of the mob were laid at the feet of Saul, later to be St. Paul...Paul himself will speak of this in his letters. St. Stephen was a deacon in the early Church, and he is the patron Saint of Deacons, stone masons, and coffin makers as well as against headaches (no doubt he got one from being stoned..) and for horses--go figure.... (and a bunch of towns--check this link_). And remember--doves were a traditional animal used for sacrifice in the Temple.....Stephen sacrificed his life for his faith in Christ.

It may seem odd that the first day after the Feast of the Nativity is a feast of a martyr, but the Church wants us to realize that the cross is always near us--that as Christ was persecuted, so will we be for no servant is greater than his Master (John 15:18-29)

Consider these words of St. Augustine:

Do not say that Christians are not persecuted. The Apostle's (Paul's) words are always true....all who desire to live a Godly life in Christ will be persecuted. (2 Tim 3:12). All, he says, with no one being excluded or exempted. If you want to test the truth of this saying, you have only to begin leading a pious life and you will see what good reason he had for saying this....In former times, Christians were incited to renounce Christ; now they are taught to deny Christ. Then they were forced, now they are taught. The violence was used, now it is deception. Then, one heard the shouts of the enemy, now he prowls around, gentle and insinuating; it is difficult to recognize him. Everyone nows how he tried to force Christians to deny Christ; he tried to attract them to himself so that they would renounce HIm but they confessed Christ and were crowned by HIm. Now they are taught to deny Christ by trickery because he doesn't want them to realize he is drawing them away from Christ....

These were in my morning meditation, and I read them with increasing realization that they are more true now than when he wrote them almost 1600 years ago. It caused me to reflect on the subtle ways society tries to draw me away from my love of Christ and my service to Him--in ways that seem innocuous, pleasant and completely ordinary. The presence of the Feast of St. Stephen in the great Season of Christmas reminds us that if Christ is born in our lives, so is the cross--and we must accept them both, together. Faith is not just an act of the intellect, it is an act of the will, a living out in daily life that which we have accepted in our hearts with th birth of the Christ Child in our world---and in our lives....

Happy New Year!

No, I am not an overachiever, looking more than a month ahead to the excesses of January 1. The Church begins her new year the Sunday following Thanksgiving, when the season of Advent Begins.

Before that, however, is the Feast of Christ the King, this Sunday--the Culmination of Ordinary Time and the last big feast of the Church year. As Ordinary Time has come to an end, the readings have focused us on Jesus' life and teachings and they will end with a flourish reminding us that He is our King, the ruler of our our hearts, to whom we owe quite simply ...everything.

Advent, the season which begins the new Church year, prepares us for the birth of Christ. Take time to meditate on what the Incarnation really means--God taking humanity to Himself, to live as one of us, among us, and to redeem us and reconcile us to Himself. The Advent readings will take us through the expectation of the Jewish people for the Messiah, which we see fully realized in Christ. But it is important to remember that we have experienced His first Advent, and now wait as expectantly as the ancient Jews ever did, not for His first coming, but for His Second Advent.

You will see the color of vestments change from green to purple and the decorations in the church become more subdued. Advent is a time of prayer and preparation, the lesser of the two penitential seasons, both in length and severity. I would encourage you to set aside time for prayer and meditation, take on a new devotional practice (maybe the Advent wreath, killing two birds with one stone...) and to find a way to add both penance and almsgiving to your routine. Purple is the color of royalty, and we use it to mark the preparation for the coming of the Infant King. But it is also the color of suffering and penance, and it reminds us that Jesus' birth cannot be separated from His death--that the Incarnation is intimately tied to the Crucifixion. Advent is rich in reflections.

Unlike the rest of the world, we will not be singing Christmas carols during Advent and you won't see decorations in the church until late in Advent. Traditionally, Christmas decorations don't go up until Christmas Eve--though that's usually not the case these days, even in my house. But do try to avoid the ever present Christmas carols until Christmas actually arrives on the evening of the 24th. You'll be surprised how much more they will mean if you do. (I refuse to go to the mall and limit my time in stores because I really do want to avoid Christmas carols....I've been known to walk through Bi-Lo with earphones in listening to my tunes rather than hear one more pa-rum-pa-pa-pum....it's turned out to be one way to limit the economic excesses of the season as well.)

Christmas carols commence in Catholic worship on the vigil of Christmas (Dec 24, evening) and we sing them for twelve days (just like in the song...) ...until Epiphany. So when everyone else is sick and tired of carols, we will just be starting on them. When everyone else is done with Christmas, we'll just be getting geared up....being Catholic is definitely counter-cultural in December! I have found great joy over the years in keeping to the traditional calendar, and would encourage you to give it a try. After all, the Incarnation is such an important Event, it needs more than a single day to honor it.

Try getting a selection of Advent music to listen to. Here's what's on my Advent playlist"

The O Antiphones

O Come Emmanuel

On Jordan's Banks

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Creator of the Stars of Night (Latin and English...)

Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent

The King Shall Come

People Look East

Magnificat

O Magnum Mysterium

Wake, O Wake

Patience People

Come Thou Almighty King

Of the Father's Love Begotten

Comfort, Comfort O My People

Saviour of the Nations Come

O Come Divine Messiah

There are several Advent collections on iTunes, and another great tradition is the service of Lessons and Carols, also available on CD from several sources--Check out Wyoming Catholic College for their version--magnificent, and buying from them helps keep a light of Catholic education burning....

Welcome 2011-2012 Catechumens

I will begin using this blog for links and posts and announcements. I'll add you to the list so that you will get automatic notifications--take some time to look at what has been posted in prior years--you might find it helpful. And please--COMMENT! It will be a good way to keep the conversations going in between meetings!

In His hands and service--BHG