December 28, 2012

Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

The Holy Innocents, the children massacred by King Herod in his effort to exterminate the Christ.  Read more.

On the fourth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me...four calling birds.

The four calling birds stand for the Four Evangelists, or Gospel authors, Sts. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  I imagine they are calling birds because they call us to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Lectionary: 698

Reading 1 from the first letter of St. John to the Church
1 Jn 1:5-2:2

Beloved:
This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ
and proclaim to you:
God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.

The message of Jesus Christ to the world is that God is good and there is no evil in Him.

If we say, "We have fellowship with him,"
while we continue to walk in darkness,
we lie and do not act in truth.
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

One can not love God and continue to walk in sin.

If we say, "We are without sin,"
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Anyone who approaches God without repenting of his sins is lying.

If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.
If we say, "We have not sinned," we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.

But if we repent of our sins and ask for forgiveness, He will wash us of our sins and we will be born again in the Spirit, children of God.

My children, I am writing this to you
so that you may not commit sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.

And St. John advises all who come to God not to sin.  But, if we sin, we are represented by Jesus Christ our advocate in heaven, if we repent and return to Him.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 124:2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8

R. (7) Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.

Had not the LORD been with us?
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.

R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.

Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.

R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.

Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.

This is a recalling of God rescuing the Hebrews from the pagan nations which had overpowered them because of their sins.

But it is also a spiritual reference to our being freed from the snares of Satan when we are washed in the waters of rebirth by the Holy Spirit.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew
Mt 2:13-18

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."

Herod tried to trick the Magi into revealing where the Child was born.  But they were warned in a dream, not to listen to Herod and they left by another way.

At the same time, also in a dream, St. Joseph was warned by St. Gabriel, to flee with the Child and His mother to Egypt.

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.

St. Joseph obyed his dream and took his family to Egypt.

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.

When Herod realized that the Magi had not obeyed his command, he ordered the massacre of all the babies in Bethlehem.

Sincerely,

De Maria