Merry Christmas all!  I hope it was a day full of blessings, joy and peace.

Today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the children massacred by King Herod in his attempt to find and kill the King of the Jews, who the Wise Men spoke of.  The Holy Innocents have been referred to as the first Christian martyrs, and their plight is remembered in the haunting ‘Coventry Carol’.

Here is a little reflection for this feast day from the Verbum Dei group in Australia:

We pray for all children around the world, that they may grow up in safety and love.

Whether we have children of our own or not, we are called to protect the life of Jesus in others. Like Joseph, we are called to be prompt to follow the voice and the insinuations of the Holy Spirit in order to do so, and to let Jesus’ life mature in us and in others.

What practical steps do I need to take to do this? Sometimes it is necessary to take decisive action, like Joseph did.

Matthew 2:13-18 “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt…”

Let us pray especially for the safety of all children and for an end to abortion in New Zealand and the rest of the world.