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     The stories recounted by the evangelists Matthew and Luke are told in the light of the rest of Jesus' life.  The slaughter of children by a paranoid ruler, Herod, recalls both the decree of Pharaoh in Exodus and the death of Jesus at the hand of a Roman ruler and religious authorities.  Matthew, in particular, continually calls attention to Jesus as the fulfillment of all the prophets in regard to a messiah, and quotes from Jeremiah in regard to the slaughter of the children, albeit in a different age.  The liturgical calendar is not helpful here because the event occurred after the visit of the Magi, and we will not celebrate that for a few days yet!

     This feast day has taken on additional significance in the struggle to protect the unborn child from elective abortion.  Even if the factual situation of the feast is different, the child remains innocent of any wrongdoing and is a complete victim of a decision that is fatal, even if made under terribly difficult circumstances such as rape or incest.  In Herod's case, it is his paranoia.  

     Today we can pray for all suffering children who are victims of decisions made without regard to their human rights.  These include not just the unborn but the children of immigrants who are taken from their parents at our borders or the children of those who have had to flee violence and war in their own countries and now live in vast camps in the desert.  We can also pray for the children suffering from illnesses that they have inherited genetically or have contracted because of a failure to vaccinate or without access to adequate health care.  They are all holy innocents.  AMEN