Close to the celebration of the Feast of the Holy Innocents, two priests explain some information about the origin of the commemoration of the martyrdom of the children who died for Christ.
The priest of the Archdiocese of Maracaibo (Venezuela), Fr. Silverio Osorio; and the spiritual director of the Santa Rosa de Chosica School (Peru), Fr. Paulo Saavedra, highlight some data from this important celebration of the Church that remembers the children murdered by order of King Herod, who wanted to kill the Child Jesus.
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1. The death of the holy innocents was a genocide
On December 28, the Church commemorates “those who gave their lives – even without knowing it – for the Lord,” said Father Silverio in an interview with ACI Prensa in 2019.
According to “Saint Matthew in chapter 2 tells us that it was Herod the Great: First Prosecutor of Galilee, then King of the Jews”, who “ruled when Jesus was born”, and who “ordered the innocents to be killed.”
Herod asked the Magi from the East, who came to see the Child who had just been born in Bethlehem, that when they found him they would guide him so that he too could worship him.
The wise men met the Baby Jesus thanks to a star that led them to the manger, but they returned to their lands by a different path, because an angel warned them in a dream that Herod’s true intention was to kill the Savior.
Because of this, Herod orders the killing of all children under two years of age, hoping to find Jesus and end his life to avoid the “danger” he represented for his own reign.
2. Rachel’s cry
Father Paulo pointed out to ACI Prensa that the biblical passage of Jeremiah 31 fulfills “the text of Rachel’s cry for her children who are no longer here.”
“Thus speaks the Lord: Listen! In Ramah you hear lamentations, cries of bitterness: it is Rachel weeping for her children; “She does not want to be consoled, because they no longer exist,” it is noted in the Bible.
He added that the death of these children is really innocent, because they were effectively blameless and they die “persecuted by someone who wanted to put an end to Christ.” In that sense, they give their lives as innocents for the blood of Jesus, he stressed.
3. They show the opposition of darkness and light
Father Silverio pointed out that this date can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in its number 30, where it tells us that “The Flight into Egypt and the slaughter of the innocents (cf. Matthew 2:13-18) manifest the opposition of darkness to light: ‘He came to his House, and his own did not receive him.'”
“Christ’s entire life will be under the sign of persecution. His own share it with him (cf. John 15:20). His return from Egypt (cf. Matthew 2:15) recalls the Exodus (cf. Hosea 11:1) and presents Jesus as the definitive liberator,” the Catechism adds.
4. Nowadays there are still innocent saints
Father Osorio said that these innocent saints can also be found today, in all those children who are persecuted and murdered.
“Historically they remain the same. Allegorically, the aborted, the abused, the dead from wars and hunger,” he concluded.
This note was originally published on December 27, 2019. It has been updated for republication.
Harumi Suzuki
Harumi Suzuki is editor of ChurchPOP in Spanish. He has a bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Arts with a mention in Advertising from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP). She is a graphic designer, writer and created the Catholic enterprise, Agnus Dei.