Three days after the joyous birth of Jesus, our Christmas Octave meditation takes us to the murder of the innocent children of Bethlehem and its surroundings ordered by the jealous and paranoid King Herod. St. Stephen's martyrdom was rattling enough the very day after Christmas, but here is a tale charged with even greater emotion. The recent slaughter of innocent children in Newtown, Connecticut certainly gives us a taste of what must have been felt in Bethlehem. Yet, the adult abuse of children, which seems to go on constantly, the use of children as soldiers across the globe, children forced by drug lords to sell drugs or act as couriers, the abandonment of children, not to mention aborting them, and the bullying of children in schools or neighborhoods make us painfully aware that the slaughering of the Innocent is not an isolated event 2000 years ago, but one that is very contemporary, sad to say. Still, the birth of Jesus, the coming of Light into the darkness which cannot comprehend it, assures us that such darkness and evil shall not prevail. The outrage over this evil will lead to action which will reverse it. Starting with families where the greatest gifts to children can be prayer, love, faith in God and the goal of holiness, that is for each child to be encouraged to be the best possible version of him or herself, a reverse ripple effect will emerge. Let us begin today by sharing these gifts not only with our children, but with one another.
Bro. Rene
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