Two Sides of the Same Coin: 4th Day of Christmas 

 Two Sides . . . 

Two sides of the same coin, yet so different . . . at first glance. Today we celebrate the Fourth Day of Christmas, which is usually the Feast of the Holy Innocents. This liturgical feast commemorates King Herod’s slaughter of every male child two years old and younger in Bethlehem. This, in an attempt to snuff out the Messiah that he learned had been born there. This year, however, since the date of Holy Innocents falls on the Sunday after Christmas, it is surrendering its usual place to the Feast of the Holy Family.

The Change certainly makes for a more upbeat post than it would be otherwise. Normally, I would make the connection between the murder of the Holy Innocents two thousand years ago and the wholesale massacre of unborn children through abortion today. I might also mention that our pornified pop culture robs those youngsters who have dodged the abortionist of their Holy Innocence. It causes all manner of suffering throughout their lives. On top of that, it contributes in a significant way to all sorts of social pathologies.

 . . . of the Same Coin 

Happily, thanks to the Feast of the Holy Family, I don’t need to write that post. It is interesting, however, that the two different feasts are really different sides of the same coin. To wit: The Holy Family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus is a model of God’s plan for the family. The slaughter of the Holy Innocents underscores how far we need to go, right now, to adhere to that model. It is likewise interesting that one of the few places in Scripture where we see the Holy Family in action is the same passage from Matthew’s Gospel that describes the Holy Innocents:

And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they [the Magi] departed to their own country by another way. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. (Matthew 2:12 -16)

See Also:

The Crisis of Fatherhood and the Litany of St. Joseph

 Leader of the Family 

Joseph, like fathers and fatherhood itself today, is often overlooked and forgotten.  In the passage above, however, he is clearly the leader of the family.  Like his Old Testament namesake, and like the Wise Men from the East, he receives a warning in a dream. Without hesitation, he takes action. He has the vision to guide and protect his family. He shows us why God chose him to be the foster father of His own Divine Son.

The Slaughter of the Holy Innocents was not a once and only event. It continues in new and ever more devious forms. On this feast of the Holy Family, we would do well to pray for the intercession of the Holy Family’s head and guardian.

Featured image top of page: Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Titian, c. 1512

Music for Christmas (and the Holy Family): “Once in Royal David’s City”