Thursday, March 28, AD 2024 5:37pm

Cold Winter of Unbelief

Today, dearest brethren, we celebrate the birthday of those children who were slaughtered, as the Gospel tells us, by that exceedingly cruel king, Herod. Let the earth, therefore, rejoice and the Church exult — she, the fruitful mother of so many heavenly champions and of such glorious virtues. Never, in fact, would that impious tyrant have been able to benefit these children by the sweetest kindness as much as he has done by his hatred. For as today’s feast reveals, in the measure with which malice in all its fury was poured out upon the holy children, did heaven’s blessing stream down upon them.

“Blessed are you, Bethlehem in the land of Judah! You suffered the inhumanity of King Herod in the murder of your babes and thereby have become worthy to offer to the Lord a pure host of infants. In full right do we celebrate the heavenly birthday of these children whom the world caused to be born unto an eternally blessed life rather than that from their mothers’ womb, for they attained the grace of everlasting life before the enjoyment of the present. The precious death of any martyr deserves high praise because of his heroic confession; the death of these children is precious in the sight of God because of the beatitude they gained so quickly. For already at the beginning of their lives they pass on. The end of the present life is for them the beginning of glory. These then, whom Herod’s cruelty tore as sucklings from their mothers’ bosom, are justly hailed as “infant martyr flowers”; they were the Church’s first blossoms, matured by the frost of persecution during the cold winter of unbelief.

 St. Augustine

Saint Augustine pray for us as we do battle with those who would bring on a new cruel, cold winter of unbelief, replete with millions of new Holy Innocents.

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Philip
Philip
Wednesday, December 28, AD 2016 4:40am

Thank you for the reminder.
We will mention this memorial tonight at the empty manger gathering.

When we picked this date it wasn’t based on the Holy Innocents feast day…But now in clearer light, it couldn’t be a better date.

To the END of the slaughter we pray and sing…Peace on Earth and Mercy mild, God and sinner reconciled…

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
Wednesday, December 28, AD 2016 11:02am

I’ve been able to attend daily Mass during my Christmas vacation. Here is what I recall of my priest’s homily for today:
.
http://prognosticis.blogspot.com/2016/12/martyrium-innocentum-sacrorum.html
.
PS, Donald, I used your last two posts on King Wencelaus and St Stephen, and on St John for my family Bible reading at night the past two days. After we read the Scripture readings for the day, I read your post as the meditation. As always, keep up the good work.

Michael Dowd
Michael Dowd
Thursday, December 29, AD 2016 3:35am

Abortion would be seen as more horrific if the government mandated that babies must be born before they are slaughtered. I would like to see someone propose such a bill in Congress in order create another focus on today’s form of child murder.

Philip
Philip
Thursday, December 29, AD 2016 4:49am

Michael Dowd.

To your proposal add this: that the birth mother must be the executioner of said order.
She can not use poisoning as a method of termination.
She must spend a minimum of thirty minutes alone with the corpse after her wishes are carried out.

A deterrent to abortion?

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