The day after Christmas, we celebrate the feast of St Stephen, the first Martyr of the Early Church. Today, we celebrate some of the youngest martyrs recognized in our faith, the first martyrs killed because of Jesus. In his tenacity to have Jesus killed, Herod ordered that all boys two years and under in Bethlehem and in the vicinity of that town be put to death. Yet, Jesus and his family are able to escape unharmed, aided by the warning from the angel. Perhaps we remember the innocents who are killed in our own day: children and innocent victims of war or violence or terrorism, of refugees who need to flee their homelands, of innocent bystanders gunned down on the streets of Chicago in the midst of gang warfare, of believers in the faith persecuted for their religion, of victims killed by terrorist attacks, of the unborn killed through abortion. In the feast of the Holy Innocents that we recognize today, we recognize the dignity of the human being. As we journey through this holy season of Christmas in celebration of the nativity of our Lord, we recognize all those who have given our lives for the faith. The Holy Innocents were too young to know or even believe in Jesus as the Savior, but their lives were given in place of Jesus that he might live. Today’s feast reminds us of the presence and power of darkness in our world, of those who want to trample on others in order to secure their place of prestige and power in the world. The answer lied in our belief in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God.
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