From the Pastor’s Desk
Dear St. Mary’s Parishioners:
Typically, on December 28th we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents. The feast day commemorates the account in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 2:13-18), when Herod “ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years and under, in accordance with the time he ascertained from the magi”. (Mt 2:16b) We know that Herod was certainly capable of such treachery. He had already had three of his sons killed because he felt his authority threatened by them. Even though Herod knew that the Holy Family had escaped from Bethlehem, he still carried out his murderous act. Matthew writes: “When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious.” (Mt 2:16a) The Feast of the Holy Innocents is traditionally a day when we remember to pray more intentionally for all the holy innocents, the little ones in the wombs of their mothers waiting to be born. We pray through the intercession of the Holy Innocents for an end to abortion and for healing for those suffering from the aftermaths of abortion.
The first half of the Gospel on the Feast of the Holy Innocents recounts how the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. This was the second time that Joseph received instructions while dreaming. The first time was when he was told that Mary had conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit and that he should take her into his home as his wife. On this second angelic “dream visit”, Joseph is told to “take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you”. (Mt 2:13) St. Matthew notes: “Joseph rose and took the child and this mother by night and departed for Egypt.” (Mt 2:14)
By Joseph’s immediate action to protect Mary and Jesus, he witnesses to us the importance of being ready at all times and the importance of obedience. To be sure, a number of you had the experience last August of having to depart your homes immediately, and in the middle of the night, on account of the approaching LNU Complex fire. No doubt, it was stressful and nerve-wracking. You had a taste of the stress felt by the Holy Family and you experienced first-hand what it feels like to be exiled from the place that you called home. The Holy Family went into exile to Egypt to escape Herod, but also to pre-figure the Son’s exile on Holy Saturday when he “descended into hell” as we pray in the Creed. Pope Benedict XVI explains:
“With the flight into Egypt and the return to the promised land, Jesus grants the definitive Exodus. He is truly the Son. He is not going to run away from the Father. He returns home, and he leads others home. He is always on the path toward God and thus he leads the way back from exile to the homeland, back to all that is authentic and true. Jesus, the true Son, himself went into exile in a very deep sense, in order to lead all of us home from exile.” (Jesus of Nazareth, The Infancy Narratives, pp. 111-112)
Through the grace of the sacraments, which are fruit of Our Lord’s death on the Cross and His Resurrection, the Son brings us always again and again out of exile and back to God.
As we give thanks to God for the gift of the Incarnation, we remember that the main purpose God came to us in the way He did was to “save his people from their sins”. (Mt 1:21) This is truly good news indeed!
Blessed Christmas!
Father Berg
