Be a light for our children

Gospel Reflection
 

When the magi had departed, behold,

the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,

“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,

and stay there until I tell you.

Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”

Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night

and departed for Egypt.

He stayed there until the death of Herod,

that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,

Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,

he became furious.

He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity

two years old and under,

in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.

Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

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.

Matthew 2:13-18

Today is the feast of the Holy Innocents and in our readings we heard how we are invited by our Lord Jesus Christ to live in the light, and that our being sinners is being changed by Christ, if only we would confess it to Him, repent, and strive to live in the light of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But there are times when our lives are filled with so much difficulties that we become blinded by the darkness of our situation. We have a choice.

For King Herod, he chose to live in the darkness of sin, in the darkness of the world. He was being ruled by his ambition and his desire to have power over people.

He cannot give himself to those who are in need because of his desires, of his wants, of his wanting to live a life of luxury and excess.

That is why when the wise men did not return to him after coaxing them to tell him where the Child Savior is, he was so mad to the point that he ordered that all male children in Bethlehem and neighboring towns, two years old and under, should be killed. It was a massacre. 

He wanted to remove the threat to his kingship, to his throne, our Lord Jesus Christ, whom the prophets spoke of as the ruler of the world. He thought that Jesus would take his throne away from him. His limited power.

This is not unexpected of Herod. Herod is so evil that he even killed his sons, his wife, his brothers and the husbands of his sisters just so no one could take his throne away from him.

The massacre of the children fulfilled the prophesy of Jeremiah who said that Rachel, the wife of Israel, weeps for her children and could not be consoled.

But despite this evil plot of Herod, he was not able to dispose of our Lord Jesus Christ. The obedience of Joseph and his desire to fulfill his obligation to protect the child of God made him receptive of the work of the Holy Spirit, and so, obeying the angel in his dream, he brought Mary and the child Jesus to Egypt, fulfilling what Hosea said that God called his Son out of Egypt.

Herod's wickedness is because he was captivated by the temporary pleasures of the world, of the happiness that would lead him to do such evil acts, bringing him to darkness.

This is happening even now. 

Children who are victims of abuse, of war, of neglect, of violence, of abortion. Our dear Mother is in deep sorrow for the loss of these innocent children who have fallen victim to our choice to live in darkness.

Let us live in the light and let us bring God's light to those who continue to live in the darkness of sin.

Let us also continue to pray for our children who continues to experience violence and hardship because of our choice to continue to live in darkness and in sin.

May you be a blessing and a light for all our children in need.

 

Photo: Larm Rmah | Unsplash