Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday 28th December 2023

 

​The feast celebrated today is that of the Holy Innocents, of whom we read in Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 2:13-18). The events described are related to the coming of the Wise Men, who believing the child, whose star they are following, to be the son of a king, call by Jerusalem to ask King Herod, “Where is he who is born King of the Jews?” Herod calls his advisers together, then asks the Wise Men to continue their journey until they find the new born babe and return to let him know that he, too, might visit and pay homage. The Wise Men sense that something is wrong and decide to go home without returning by way of Herod’s palace. This is the point at which we take up today’s Gospel passage. “After the wise men had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him.’ So, Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I called my son out of Egypt.” This is the story of the flight into Egypt. Jesus, Mary and Joseph become refugees. migrants, escaping persecution and certain death and seeking protection and the freedom to live in a foreign country. We think of the millions of refugees who, down the ages, have made long, perilous journeys, many of them parents with babies and small children, some born on the road or in small boats, in order to find a safe haven and a better future. Little wonder Pope Francis introduced into the Litany of Our Lady that lovely invocation, Mary, Solace of Migrants. God always reveals his will to Joseph by an angel in a dream. Joseph’s obedience is immediate, his only interest being the safety of his wife and child. As always, Matthew links what is happening to a prophecy from the Old Testament, in this case Hosea (Hos 11:1).

 

​Sadly, when Herod realises that the Wise Men have tricked him, he turns nasty in the most barbaric way. We read: “Herod was furious when he realised that he had been outwitted by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or under, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men. It was then that the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah were fulfilled: A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loudly lamenting: it was Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they were no more.” Once again, Matthew relates this directly to the words of prophet Jeremiah (Jer 31: 15), who uses Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, sons of Jacob, as a symbol at the time of the deportation of the Israelites to Babylon. There is no worse crime than the abuse and murder of a child and, in this case, they were babes in arms. One can’t help but think of the infants killed in Gaza and of those struggling to survive, hungry and without medication or even fresh water. We are reminded of the Book of Exodus and the order from the Pharaoh that all males born to the Hebrew people should be killed. Moses escapes as he is found by Pharaoh’s daughter. Only tyrants can fear innocent children in this way. Why did God allow the Holy Innocents to die and why does he allow children to suffer? The truth is that God is not responsible for the actions of evil men, but sadly history does repeat itself and children are suffering for many reasons in our world today, due directly to the actions of evil men, their lust for power, their greed and utter selfishness. What can we do to alleviate that suffering? We can’t shrug our shoulders and say there’s nothing we can do. The Holy Innocents, of course, are in the glory of their Father in heaven, as indeed are all innocent children who have been deprived of the gift of life, and that includes children who have been the victims of abortion. Lord, convert the hearts of all those who cause suffering and pain, especially to the unborn, to babies and to young children and their parents. Grant them the gift of repentance and a new heart to do things differently in future. O Child of Bethlehem, born to die for our sins, take with you to heaven all those who have died in their childhood innocence. Amen.