Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs – 1 John 1:5-2:2; Psalm 124:2-5,7-8; Matthew 2:13-18

A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation (Mt 2:18).

The death of children is a tragic event that affected the inhabitants of Bethlehem in connection with the activities of the despotic king Herod. The ruler saw potential enemies around him and felt a threat to the power he exercised. Hence the downright paranoid fear even of children, whom he ordered to be murdered, because he wanted to have power and control over others.

The loss of an innocent child is associated with indescribable pain. “In such a situation, there are no words and cannot be any that could soothe the heart of a mother (…) Can there be a greater pain than that felt by a mother when she sees the death of her children? When children die, then they – mothers – carry in their hearts the memory of the death of their offspring for the rest of their lives, as a sign of tragic events from the past” (Elena Bosetti).

Only God can soothe heartache. In His Son, He became a companion in human history, pouring into sorrowful hearts the hope of new life. And giving us the Mother of hope, who “embraces each one of us with her heart. . . She is with us at all times.”