Today's Oranments of Grace for Wednesday of the Octave of Christmas are the Holy Innocents.
1 John 1:5 – 2:2
Here, then, is the message we have heard from him and announce to you: that God is light; in him there is no darkness. If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while continuing to walk in darkness, we are liars and do not act in truth. But if we walk in light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
Today’s first reading is, like that of yesterday, from John. Today he does not mince words. He tells Christians to quit pretending that they are good and holy if they continue doing sinful deeds. Of course, everyone sins, and that is why Jesus came to save us. But hypocrisy runs rampant in our country and our world, dividing people and causing little children the greatest harm. We cannot say we are for life if we fail to act in life-giving ways.
Today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, a day when we remember those boy babies under the age of two who were slaughtered in and around Bethlehem by order of King Herod. Herod, thinking Jesus could be the Messiah, wanted to eliminate him for fear he would someday usurp his power. Herod’s lust for power caused unimaginable suffering. Lust for power still does today.
An average of around 15,000 children under the age of 5 die each day. Some die because of preterm birth or birth trauma, some from infectious diseases, others from injuries and drowning. Most die from treatable diseases and other preventable causes. Poverty, inequality, discrimination, and illness still stalk and kill our children. War and other conflicts deny children the safety they need to grow in security. They lack healthcare and intact family life in war-torn regions, so they cannot be properly nurtured.
Children everywhere, even in our own country, lack proper nutrition. Many more children are in school than ever before, but more than half the children do not achieve even minimal educational goals. Often, in some countries, girls are denied education altogether. Children of all ages often suffer violence or the threat of violence in their own schools and neighborhoods.
Walking in the light means working so that all the children have clean water, clean air and a safe climate. Obviously, our changing climate is endangering the lives of many – if not all – children. It contributes to drought, flooding, and the destruction of crops. Malnutrition and starvation result. Many children die painful deaths daily. Others have to flee from their homes due to increasing natural disasters driven by climate change. Some die in the process of migration; others make it to a new destination, only to live in dire poverty, with little or no healthcare, facing a slow death.
Nearly 300 million children live in areas with severe toxic outdoor pollution – air, groundwater, toxic waste areas. Over 600,000 of these are under five and will die. Those who survive will suffer damage to their bodies and minds. If we do not work against all these evils, then we walk in darkness, not in the light.
Little children are the first victims of war and poverty. How are we working for peace in order to save our Holy Innocents today?
Herod, by other names, still seeks to kill the little children. God entrusted the care of his children to us. Let us walk in the Light of Love.
OBSERVING THE BEAUTIFUL ORNAMENTS
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