Daily Gospel for Saturday, 28 December 2013
“Peter replied, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words
of real life, eternal life.”(John 6:68, The Message).
The Holy Innocents, martyrs – Feast
Feast of the Day:
THE HOLY INNOCENTS
Martyrs
Herod, who was reigning in Judea at the time of the birth of Our
Saviour, having heard that the Wise Men had come from the East to Jerusalem in
search of the King of the Jews, was troubled.
He called together the chief priests, and learning that Christ
was to be born in Bethlehem, he told the Wise Men: "When you have found
Him, bring me word again, that I also may come and adore Him." But God
having warned them in a dream not to return, they went back to their homes
another way. St. Joseph, too, was ordered in his sleep to "take the Child
and His Mother and fly into Egypt."
When Herod found that the Wise Men did not return, he was
furious, and ordered that every male child in Bethlehem and its vicinity of the
age of two and under should be slain.
These innocent victims were the flowers and the first-fruits of
His martyrs, and triumphed over the world, without having ever known it or
experienced its dangers.
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Father,
the Holy Innocents offered you praise
by the death they suffered for Christ.
May our lives bear witness
to the faith we profess with our lips.
(The Weekday Missal Collins -1979-)
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
The Holy Innocents, martyrs - Feast
Saint of the Day:
Saint Anthony the Hermit
Feastday: December 28
Anthony was born about circa 468 at Valeria in Lower Pannonia.
When he was eight years old, his father died and he was first entrusted to the
care of St. Severinus. After the death of Severinus, an uncle, Bishop
Constantius of Lorsch in Bavaria took charge of his upbringing. While in
Bavaria, Anthony became a monk. He returned to Italy in 488 and joined the
cleric Marius and his companions as a hermit at Lake Como. However, he gained
so many disciples that he was forced to flee. Anthony then went to Lerins in
Gaul and became a monk there. However, he lived only two years at Lerins before
his death, renowned for his miracles and spirituality.
The Holy Innocents, martyrs - Feast
1 John 1: God Is Light
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to
you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that
we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not
do what is true; 7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us
from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will
forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that
we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Christ Our Advocate
2: My little children, I am writing these things to you so that
you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and
not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Psalm 124: Thanksgiving for Israel’s Deliverance
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side
—let Israel now say—
2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
when our enemies
attacked us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was
kindled against us;
4 then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have
gone over us;
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us
as prey to their
teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the
fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and
earth
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 2: The
Escape to Egypt
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to
Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to
Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the
child, to destroy him.” 14 Then Joseph[a] got up, took the child and his mother
by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod.
This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out
of Egypt I have called my son.”
The Massacre of the Infants
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men,[b]
he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around
Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had
learned from the wise men.[c] 17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken
through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud
lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be
consoled, because they are no more.”
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 2:14 Gk he
b. Matthew 2:16 Or astrologers; Gk magi
c. Matthew 2:16 Or astrologers; Gk magi
The Holy Innocents, martyrs - Feast
Commentary of the Day:
Saint Cyprian (c.200-258), Bishop of Carthage and martyr
Letter 55
“The servant is not greater than his lord” (Jn 15,20)
The Apostle John said: “Whoever says he abides in Christ, ought
to walk even as Christ walked” (1Jn 2,6). Moreover, the blessed Apostle Paul
exhorts and teaches us, saying: “We are God's children; but if children, then
heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him
that we may also be glorified together” (Rm 8,16f.)... Let us, beloved
brethren, imitate righteous Abel, who initiated martyrdom, he being the first
to be slain for righteousness' sake (Gn 4,8)...; let us imitate the three
children Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, who...
overcame the king by the power of faith (Dn 3)... What of the prophets
whom the Holy Spirit quickened to a foreknowledge of future events? What of the
apostles whom the Lord chose? Since these righteous men were slain for
righteousness' sake, have they not taught us also to die?
The nativity of Christ at once witnessed the martyrdom of
infants, so that they who were two years old and under were slain for his
name's sake. An age not yet fitted for the battle appeared fit for the crown.
That it might be manifest that they who are slain for Christ's sake are
innocent, innocent infancy was put to death for his name's sake... How grave is
the case of a Christian, if he, a servant, is unwilling to suffer when his
Master first suffered...! The Son of God suffered that he might make us sons of
God, and the son of man will not suffer that he may continue to be a son of
God!... The Maker and Lord of the world also warns us, saying: “If the world
hate you, remember that it hated me before you. If you were of the world, the
world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have
chosen you out of the world... remember the word that I said to you: “The
servant is not greater than his lord” (Jn 15,18-20).
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