December 28, 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. This was the massacre of boys under the age of two ordered by King Herod. His fear of the newborn king, Jesus, drove this senseless act in order to preserve his power. It is ironic that already in the very brief time of His existence, the powers of the world should seek to destroy Him, despite the fact that Jesus was powerless, born into poverty. Truth is dangerous and Divine Truth is life changing. Those young boys’ lives were taken because of association. Their guilt before the law was the crime of association – they looked like Jesus.
It is the innocent who always suffer. This identification of the innocent with the one, Jesus, who though innocent will pay the ultimate cost for our sinfulness. The blood of the innocents this day will mirror the blood shed on the cross by the innocent Jesus. But the world to this day still tries to destroy those who associate themselves with Jesus.
Many of the martyrs were killed because they associated themselves with Christ. St. Stephen was stoned to death because he was doing good and charitable deeds, as a professed deacon, in the name of Jesus. In fact, his last words were not of condemnation of his persecutors but instead echoed the words of Jesus on the cross: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Our own patron of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, St. John the Evangelist, informs us in the beginning of his Gospel, “He was in the world and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.” (John 1:10-11)
It should be no surprise therefore that the more we reflect Christ in our words and actions, the more we are susceptible to persecution, no matter how pure and innocent our intentions.
The world is threatened by innocence. I would offer that the world still seeks to destroy innocence. The most obvious is abortion, where the destruction of innocents is tolerated under a law that ignores “life.” Why do we oppose abortion? The answer is found in a simple and innocent response of a child: It’s a baby!
There is also a loss of innocence in our daily lives. Our society wants our children to grow up as quickly as possible to the detriment of imagination and wonder. We lose the clarity of innocent vision that seems to embrace love and joy in the simplest of things and the tenderness of people. I am not glorifying childishness or demeaning intellectual insights but rather embracing the view of simplicity and of wonder.
It is no mistake that the Prophet Isaiah in 11:6 states that a “child shall lead them.” The restoration of the Kingdom is fulfilled through the Prince of Peace. This child that we celebrate now during this Christmas season is the Prince of Peace who will lead us to the Kingdom established by God for us. Jesus Himself tells us (Matthew 19:14), “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
The Holy Innocents gave their lives because they were seen as other Christs. May we fashion our lives to reflect Christ’s presence in our simplicity and wonder as we LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
Sincerely,
Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
