Feast of the Holy Innocents
Martyrs in Deed but Not in Will
(December 28 - Feast of the Holy Innocents)
Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents. The Massacre of the Holy Innocents is associated with King Herod the Great's order to kill all male infants in Bethlehem under the age of two. We hear about this event from the Gospel of Matthew.
According to the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:1-18), the event takes place after the birth of Jesus. Magi, or wise men, from the East (maybe Bayblon?) come to Jerusalem in search of the newborn King of the Jews. They ask Herod about the child's whereabouts, and King Herod, due to a politically fraught situation, becomes troubled and jealous. Herod, fearing that the newborn king would threaten his rule, deceitfully asks the Magi to inform him of the child's location once they find him. So, off the Magi go to find the Christ child.
After the Magi visit the baby Jesus and present their gifts, they are warned in a dream not to return to Herod. The King learns that the Magi have departed after finding the child but that they did not disclose his location. So, Herod gave the order to have every male child below the age of two years old killed. However, the Holy Family escape to Egypt after being warned in a dream by an angel to flee.
This feast is called the Feast of the Holy Innocents because these poor babies were the first martyrs for Christ. Now, you might be saying… didn’t we just celebrate St. Stephen the Protomartyr? He came much later after this event. Yes, he did! But there is a difference in their martyrdoms.
On these three days following the Solemnity of the Nativity, we have three of the oldest feasts in the Church: December 26 is St. Stephen, December 27 is St. John the Apostle, and December 28 is the Holy Innocents. With these three ancient feasts we see the three types of witnesses to Christ. Normally, the Church speaks of two types of martyrdom: white and red. White martyrdom is when we are willing to shed our blood for Christ but we live out our lives as a witness to Him. Red martyrdom is when we give our lives bodily for love of Christ - we shed our blood for Him. But the Holy Innocents do not really fit into either category neatly.
St. Stephen embraced martyrdom in deed and desire. St. John embraced martyrdom in desire but not in deed. And the Holy Martyrs were martyred in deed but not in desire. All three instances of martyrdom (remember, the word means “witness” in Greek) show us how are lives speak to the reality of Almighty God and His Holy Son.
Our lives witness to Jesus. May God grant us the grace of perseverance to live our lives as willing instruments of His charity, embracing white martyrdom. And may He grant us the grace of fortitude if we are called to shed our blood for love of him. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a Friend. The saints desire martyrdom and many have been given that crown, whether white or red. May we share in their number!