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Feast of the Holy Innocents

Today's Lectionary Readings
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In the first reading, St. John is reminding us that Jesus wants us to
walk in the light with Him to have fellowship with one another. He is
also telling us to be honest and humble, and that by recognizing our
human brokenness, we will allow God's saving grace to purify us
and bring us close to Him.

But what do these words mean for our daily lives? We spend so much
time analyzing the social and economic systems for the injustices in
our society, and so little time looking at ourselves and what comes
out of our hearts that can cause these problems. I think that if we
want to change the world, we first must open ourselves to receive His
grace.

The Gospel tells us the story of the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt to
escape Herod's massacre of Holy Innocents. We see similar evil
events happening today to millions of refugees that are escaping wars,
hunger, and many forms of persecution. We also see the massacre of
millions of babies through abortion. We can easily lose faith and hope
in mankind, and we may even blame God for all the craziness that we
humans have caused.

But again, only three days ago, we celebrated the birth of Jesus.
Let's think about it: God, who is all-powerful, the creator of
all, humbled himself and became one of us, a human being. He
experienced everything that we experience and then more. He was a
refugee, homeless, poor, and suffered hunger and thirst. He was
insulted, ridiculed, and murdered on a cross. He knows what we are
going through and is telling us to repent, change, and have faith in
Him; He has conquered death and defeated evil. Hence, here is our
answer: by following His example of humility and self-giving, and by
believing in Him, He will change us and therefore the world will be
changed. Only with Him and in Him, we will experience joy and have
eternal life.  

Roberto Parterrieu is Executive Director of Catholic Charities of La
Crosse, Wisconsin.




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