Dec 28 – Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs
The Holy Innocents are the children slaughtered by Herod the Great when he tried to kill the infant Christ.
- Patron Saint Index
The children died for Christ, though they do not know it. The parents mourned for the death of martyrs. The Christ child makes of those as yet unable to speak fit witnesses to Himself.
To what merits of their own do the children owe this kind of victory? They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already they bear off the palm of victory.
- From a sermon by bishop St. Quodvultdeus about the Holy Innocents
1 Jn 1:5-2:2
Mt 2:13-18
Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt...
The past two COVID-ravaged years have left me with much to consider about how my life was going. With more time spent at home, and work taking on many different virtual forms, it was a welcome change of pace compared to the roaring days of 2019 and prior.
I have come to realise that there were many activities which, when deprived of them, did not incite as big a sense of loss as I thought they would. For example — travelling, dining out, raucous social gatherings, and adventure sports.
It has also become a realisation that in times of crisis, only two things really remain stalwart throughout. Without God and family, my life was nothing more than a series of daily events scheduled and primped-up to disguise the chaos of modern living.
I could not be more grateful for the family and friends who have made the last two years a season of immense personal growth. And it would be criminal for me to not act on the stirrings in my heart that compel me to draw even closer to God, and to serve him in the spirit of vocation and not vainglory.
There will be big decisions to make. Sacrifices and loss will follow in their wake. And yet, as the end of yet another year befalls us, Tracy Chapman’s words have never had more purchase. “If not now, then when? If not today, then why make your promises? A love declared for days to come is as good as none”.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I hope that you will dig deep to depart for your Egypt, wherever it may be. Bring along only essentials, and faith as small as a mustard seed.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Gregory Mathew)
Prayer: Help us O Lord, to have the courage to make big decisions in our lives that serve our growth.
Thanksgiving: We thank you Jesus, for the serenity you give us as we put all our trust in you.
OXYGEN 
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