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
…then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and purify us…
How challenging it is to write today’s reflection as I also am called to look at my own sinful way of life. Over the past year or so, I find myself falling into old habits and sins that can be quite hard to stop myself from committing. Time and time again, I head to the confessional to confess this same set of sins but yet, the same sins keep recurring. And I sometimes beat myself over it and then fall into some sort of despair.
Yet, today’s 1st reading provides me the comfort to know that “God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and purify us from everything that is wrong”, if we acknowledge our sins.
I guess, as we’ve often heard, God is always waiting to welcome us back to His embrace like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son. And to humbly acknowledge our sins and to come to Him with contrition to beg His forgiveness, is just the way to be embraced by God and His merciful love again.
However, I’m also reminded of an analogy that a priest once gave me when I spoke to him about my recurrent sins. He said the mercy and forgiveness of God should not be taken for granted as though we were turning on and off a tap to wash our hands. And I find that quite a challenge too, because it is a struggle to want to remain close to God but yet, fall into sin again and again.
But as St John tells us in today’s reading, “but if anyone should sin, we have our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, who is just”. He takes our sins away and He welcomes us back to His embrace time and again.
Brothers and sisters, let us take courage during this Feast of the Holy Innocents to turn to God and acknowledge our sins, for where sin abounds, grace abounds even greater!
(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Lee)
Prayer: Lord, may I have the grace and strength to turn away from sin and turn to you, so that I may live in Your light.
Thanksgiving: Thank you Lord, for your mercy and forgiveness that is boundless.
OXYGEN 
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