Today, the Church commemorates the Feast of the Holy Innocents, remembering the infant victims of King Herod’s massacre in Bethlehem, an act aimed at preventing the fulfillment of the prophecy of a new king’s birth.
King Herod, fearing a prophesied Messiah would usurp his throne, was visited by three Magi who followed a star to find this new king.
The Magi, seeking to honor the newborn king, came to Jerusalem and inquired of Herod where this king of the Jews had been born. Herod, after consulting with the chief priests and teachers of the law who pointed to Bethlehem based on the prophecy of Micah, instructed the Magi to go there and search diligently for the child. He deceitfully asked them to return to him with the exact location, saying that he too wished to worship the child. However, warned in a dream about Herod’s sinister intentions, the Magi did not return to him. When Herod realized he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious and ordered the massacre of all boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.
These children, called the Holy Innocents, are honored as the first Christian martyrs, their sacrifice symbolizing the cost of faith and the innocence of those who suffer for it.
“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” – Matthew 2:18
