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St. Luke’s Institute
Feast of the Holy Innocents
December 28 2010
THE EVENT ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø The gospel story of Herod slaughtering all
boys two-years-old and under in the environs of Bethlehem is told only by St
Matthew
Ø It is a chilling story and deserves our
attention
THE MAN +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø King Herod was a cruel and ruthless tyrant
Ø He was very self-centered and insecure
Ø He was threatened by any possible challenge
to his authority
Ø He even put to death members of his own family
whom he perceived as a threat
Ø Theses traits led him to order the killing of
baby boys as a way to kill this Messiah or King of the Jews who was recently
born
THE CHILDREN +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø It would be good for us to look at our day
and age in light of this piece of history
Ø Today, children still die in our world with
the tragedy of Newtown still fresh in our experience
Ø And there is the tragedy of abortion, the
killing of unborn children
Ø There are also many incidents of unnecessary
deaths and the taking of the life of children who are born
Ø In some countries, newborn and very young
children suffer from malnutrition, impure drinking water, lack of health care
and of vaccinations that we take for granted
Ø In some places, children are the victims of
ethnic cleansing
THE CAUSE ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø Infant mortality runs high in some countries.
Ø Some of this is caused by self-centered,
insecure and amoral leaders
Ø Some of it is caused by a lack of sensitivity
to the sacredness of human life
Ø Some of it is caused by poverty and by the
serious imbalance between rich and poor countries
COMMEMORATION +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø Because of this, today we are joining
churches across the country to remember the death of innocent children w/ five
minutes of silence as bells toll and we pray silently for them
Ø We are invited to do the same here at St. Luke’s
as our own bell is tolled at noon
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
