December 28th Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Mass Readings are here





The Massacre of The Holy Innocents by King Herod is a sobering day for reflection, significantly sandwiched between the wonder of Christmas and the revelry of New Year.

"The source of most human violence and suffering has been a hidden children's holocaust throughout history, whereby billions of innocent human beings have been routinely murdered, bound, starved, raped, mutilated, battered and tortured by parents and other caregivers, so that they grow up as emotionally crippled adults and become vengeful time bombs who periodically restage their early traumas in sacrificial rites called wars." -Lloyd de Mause.

Gospel Matthew 2 : 13-18

When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son
.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.

 





Above : James Tissot Massacre of the Innocents 


Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.



We can do something to prevent more child genocide.
The people of Sudan deserve peace ......

In this video below Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls, a refugee of the war between north and south Sudan, calls for peace in his home country, as an independence referendum for the south draws near on January 9th 2011.

Visit Cafod here or Sudan Action Now here or Save Darfur here to learn how you can help prevent a return to war in Sudan.

 

Rivers are Full
Rivers are full
with our bodies.
Yet the World has not discovered it.
Why?

The land is white,
covered
with our bones.
Yet the World has not seen it.
Why?

Our flesh is the food
of the birds
of prey, and wild animals.
Yet the World doesn’t know it.
Why?

Our blood forms streams
that flow like streams
of water.
Yet the World keeps her eyes away from it.
Why?

We cry.
We scream.
Yet the World has not heard our Voices.
Why?

Our Mothers are Fourth Citizens
in the Country
that they have created.
Yet there are no Women’s Rights.
Why?

The Children of Sudan
abducted,
beaten, and worse.
There are no protections for them.
Why?

The price of a human being that God created
not to be sold
brings three times the price of a goat.
Yet slavery has been abolished.
Why?

The oil that God has blessed us to have
turns as a great Enemy
toward our lives.
Even our Government turns out the villagers.
Why?

Westerners brought our grandparents
Christian beliefs. Now our beliefs are attacked
with guns.
Yet the West does not defend us.
Why?

Curable diseases
claim 100,000 lives.
Yet our Country could buy medicine.
Why?

Hunger starves big numbers
of young and old
every year.
Yet our Country has fertile land
and water to grow enough food for all.
Why?

The Freedom
that God has given
to all living creatures
is denied to us.
Why?

One thing I know:
the World has forgotten us
but God has not, has not forgotten
has not abandoned us.

We need
to be free
like the rest of the World.
We need
the Rights of our Mothers to appear
like the morning star.
We need
the streams of blood
to stop, to dry up.
We need
the long, long tears
to be wiped from our eyes.
We need
to worship
what we believe
as we want






Vox in Rama audita est,
ploratus et ululatus multus.
Rachel plorans filios suos,
noluit consolari, quia non sunt.
 
A voice is heard in Ramah
of weeping and great lamentation.

Rachel is weeping for her children,
and will not be comforted because they are no more.


 Click here for other areas of concern in the world and an organisation for intervention against child genocide.


No comments: