Thursday, December 27, 2012
MEMORIAL, HOLY INNOCENTS
DECEMBER 28, 2012
MEMORIAL, HOLY INNOCENTS
OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS
1 Jn 1:5-2:2 / Mt 2:13-18
1 JOHN 1:5-2:2
We heard his message from him and announce it to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him. If we say we are in fellowship with him, while we walk in darkness, we lie instead of being in truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we are in fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, purifies us from all sin. If we say, "We have no sin," we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness. If we say that we do not sin, we make God a liar, his word is not in us. My little children, I write to you that you may not sin. But if anyone sins, we have an intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One. He is the sacrificial victim for our sins and the sins of the whole world.
MATTHEW 2:13-18
After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon be looking for the child in order to kill him." Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. In this way, what the Lord had said through the prophet was fulfilled: I called my son out of Egypt. When Herod found out that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighborhood who were two years old or under. This was done in line with what he had learned from the wise men about the time when the star appeared. In this way, what the prophet Jeremiah had said was fulfilled: A cry is heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation: Rachel weeps for her children. She refuses to be comforted, for they are no more.
REFLECTION
In the Old Testament, when the monarchy of Northern Israel was destroyed and the Israelites were deported to Assyria, the prophet Jeremiah says that Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, wept. This happens again in Bethlehem in the massacre of the little children two years old and below by the soldiers of King Herod who wanted to kill the baby Jesus. This time, it is the mothers of these innocent children who weep for their babies. Yet here we realize that for God's plan of salvation to come about, witnesses were necessary, even those who were willing to shed their blood so that God's will may be done.
Witnessing to Jesus is not conditioned by age. What counts is the person's willingness. The Holy Innocents certainly were not old enough to agree to die for Jesus. Yet they did die for him. Imagine these little babies being slaughtered because of one man's fury. They represent all the people who are killed in our present generation for all the wrong reasons – prejudice, hatred, jealousy, madness or just plain ambition. Since these people are innocent victims, God will surely be merciful to them and grant them a place in heaven. The senselessness of the death of these children was prefiguring the senselessness of the passion and death of Jesus. But we know that Jesus rose from death and thereby triumphed over evil. So let us not be sad for these very young martyrs. Instead let us extol them for the ultimate sacrifice they made for the Lord.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Mon Torres
- Fleur Torres
- Ditas dela Paz
- Alejandro Lecaros
- Renan Lacida
… for the personal intentions of Pauline
… In Memoriam: Rex Owen O. Lucena
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Ma. Celia R. Marin
- Birthday: Jesus Felix Gonong
- Birthday: Herminia Musico
- Birthday: Vicente K. Fabella
- Wedding Anniversary: Victoria & Leonardo L. Yu
- Wedding Anniversary: Wesley & Leona Panutat
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
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© 2012 Daily-Homily
MEMORIAL, HOLY INNOCENTS
OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS
1 Jn 1:5-2:2 / Mt 2:13-18
1 JOHN 1:5-2:2
We heard his message from him and announce it to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him. If we say we are in fellowship with him, while we walk in darkness, we lie instead of being in truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we are in fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, purifies us from all sin. If we say, "We have no sin," we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness. If we say that we do not sin, we make God a liar, his word is not in us. My little children, I write to you that you may not sin. But if anyone sins, we have an intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One. He is the sacrificial victim for our sins and the sins of the whole world.
MATTHEW 2:13-18
After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon be looking for the child in order to kill him." Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. In this way, what the Lord had said through the prophet was fulfilled: I called my son out of Egypt. When Herod found out that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighborhood who were two years old or under. This was done in line with what he had learned from the wise men about the time when the star appeared. In this way, what the prophet Jeremiah had said was fulfilled: A cry is heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation: Rachel weeps for her children. She refuses to be comforted, for they are no more.
REFLECTION
In the Old Testament, when the monarchy of Northern Israel was destroyed and the Israelites were deported to Assyria, the prophet Jeremiah says that Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, wept. This happens again in Bethlehem in the massacre of the little children two years old and below by the soldiers of King Herod who wanted to kill the baby Jesus. This time, it is the mothers of these innocent children who weep for their babies. Yet here we realize that for God's plan of salvation to come about, witnesses were necessary, even those who were willing to shed their blood so that God's will may be done.
Witnessing to Jesus is not conditioned by age. What counts is the person's willingness. The Holy Innocents certainly were not old enough to agree to die for Jesus. Yet they did die for him. Imagine these little babies being slaughtered because of one man's fury. They represent all the people who are killed in our present generation for all the wrong reasons – prejudice, hatred, jealousy, madness or just plain ambition. Since these people are innocent victims, God will surely be merciful to them and grant them a place in heaven. The senselessness of the death of these children was prefiguring the senselessness of the passion and death of Jesus. But we know that Jesus rose from death and thereby triumphed over evil. So let us not be sad for these very young martyrs. Instead let us extol them for the ultimate sacrifice they made for the Lord.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Mon Torres
- Fleur Torres
- Ditas dela Paz
- Alejandro Lecaros
- Renan Lacida
… for the personal intentions of Pauline
… In Memoriam: Rex Owen O. Lucena
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Ma. Celia R. Marin
- Birthday: Jesus Felix Gonong
- Birthday: Herminia Musico
- Birthday: Vicente K. Fabella
- Wedding Anniversary: Victoria & Leonardo L. Yu
- Wedding Anniversary: Wesley & Leona Panutat
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoogleGroup Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
© 2012 Daily-Homily
# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 2:18 AM 
