December 28 is celebrated here in the Philippines as Holy Innocents Day. In the calendar of the church this feast commemorate the death of the Innocent Children of Bethlehem slaughtered by Herod the Great in his desperation to kill the Messiah destined to be the King of Israel. A full account of this event can be read from the Gospel of Matthew 2:16-18. in the Philippines this celebration is very much a part of Christmas and pertains to children. This day is celebrated in the Philippines like sort of equivalent to April fools' day. Every one will try to play jokes or invent hoaxes. Thus on Holy Innocents day people don't usually go out of their houses or buy or lend money for fear that practical jokes for hoaxes would be played on them by others. This practice though not related to the religious significance of the feast, yet it lend some sort of cultural flavor to the celebration. This peculiar cultural practice helps keeps the spirit of the celebration alive. On this feast I would like to offer my personal reflection on the contemporary significance of this feast.
First - The feast of the Holy Innocents points us to the fact that evil as represented by Satan hates God and all who obey Him. This is the reason why St. Peter in his admonition tells us to beware because the devil is like a roaring Lion seeking whom to devour. The only way to do this is to listen to the Word of God and to pray without ceasing.
Second - This calls us to trust in God completely because we know that as long as we remain under His wings all shall be well. Calamities may befall us but if we trust the Lord He surely knows how to keep His own.
Third - This feast most importantly calls our attention to a sector of our society known as the "unborn child". Every creature conceived in the womb is a creation of God. How sad that in our modern times abortion and divorce has brought havoc to the Family. If there is a sin crying out to heaven for vengeance is the cry of these little angels killed and destroyed by the caretaker assigned by nature to take care of them. The most unnatural thing for a mother is to kill her child. And this is what is happening now. Let me show how mothers who abort their children would reason out:
Mother who seek abortion: "It is rather better to abort this child rather than bring give her life because it will be unkind to bring her to a situation which both the mother and child never wanted."
The Christian Mother: " I will do everything in my power to give life to this child because this is a gift from God. Even if we are poor we shall struggle and do our best to fill our needs. I work extra hours and devote my time for my family."
The first one is characterized by concern for the quality of life, for the convenience and for choice. In other words the former is characterized by materialism and lack of values. While the latter is characterized by self-sacrifice and devotion. A devotion that is not negligent but strives for the better.
Second - This calls us to trust in God completely because we know that as long as we remain under His wings all shall be well. Calamities may befall us but if we trust the Lord He surely knows how to keep His own.
Third - This feast most importantly calls our attention to a sector of our society known as the "unborn child". Every creature conceived in the womb is a creation of God. How sad that in our modern times abortion and divorce has brought havoc to the Family. If there is a sin crying out to heaven for vengeance is the cry of these little angels killed and destroyed by the caretaker assigned by nature to take care of them. The most unnatural thing for a mother is to kill her child. And this is what is happening now. Let me show how mothers who abort their children would reason out:
Mother who seek abortion: "It is rather better to abort this child rather than bring give her life because it will be unkind to bring her to a situation which both the mother and child never wanted."
The Christian Mother: " I will do everything in my power to give life to this child because this is a gift from God. Even if we are poor we shall struggle and do our best to fill our needs. I work extra hours and devote my time for my family."
The first one is characterized by concern for the quality of life, for the convenience and for choice. In other words the former is characterized by materialism and lack of values. While the latter is characterized by self-sacrifice and devotion. A devotion that is not negligent but strives for the better.
Let us pray hard that all mothers and fathers will recognize their God-given responsibilities. There is joy and happiness in child rearing. Material wealth and convenience should never encumber us. Have we not heard Jesus said that we should not worry about material things but seek the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto us? Child rearing is a way of seeking God's Kingdom. if we do this with diligence then our Lord on the last day will welcome us in the heavenly kingdom.
Holy Innocents Pray for us!
Holy Innocents Pray for us!
No comments:
Post a Comment