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
If we say, ‘We have no sin in us,’ we are deceiving ourselves and refusing to admit the truth.
The bible routinely tells us to try to live a life without sin. But we know that as human beings, it is an impossible ask. We sin on a daily basis and for some, the cycle of correcting our wrongs and asking for forgiveness from the Lord can be tiring.
It also doesn’t help that social media is full of posts showing us either model behaviours and characteristics, or the very opposite of Catholic values. It seems hard to find examples of the middle ground online. Yet this middle ground is where most of us sit — we aren’t particularly bad; but neither are we particularly holy. And this is ok.
It is ok because Jesus recognises our human weaknesses. We are not expected to martyr ourselves everyday over every issue. It is ok if sometimes you do not recycle your plastics; it is ok if you get flustered on the roads; it is ok if you lose your temper at someone. It is ok as long as you don’t let the behaviour or action become a habit, and you make an attempt to do better next time. And if that attempt is unsuccessful, that is ok too.
The last thing any of us would want is to be jaded and apathetic about our faith. Why bother trying if I will be judged and shamed, and nothing ever seems good enough? I once had a boss who was highly critical of my work and who had unrelenting standards even for the most menial of tasks. After a while, all of us in the office were much less motivated and didn’t hand in our best work as it would be criticized and have to be redone anyway. While I appreciate what he was trying to do, his methods were ineffective.
As we go about our lives, there are bound to be critics and fear mongers who tell us that God is displeased with us and that our best is not good enough. I hope you are able to extricate yourselves from such toxicity and walk on your own journey with Jesus. As long as you have a clear conscience and are fulfilling your responsibilities, I believe that God will be more than pleased with you.
So keep perfection in mind. Have an idea of what it would be like. But don’t berate yourself or lose hope if you don’t achieve it. Because many of us will be a lot happier and closer to God if we go with good enough.
(Today’s Oxygen by Gregory Mathew)
Prayer: We ask you Lord, to give us the humility to accept our failures when we sin, and to give us the perseverance to continue trying to be holy when we falter.
Thanksgiving: We are grateful for your forgiveness every time we sin. Continue to guide us to be better persons living in your ways.
OXYGEN 
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