It's Not a Joke

NO JOKE

It is unfortunate that some people take this day as a big joke. On this day, they pull on a trick on some unsuspecting people. They exploit other people's innocence.

Today is not a big joke. It is no joke for parents to lose their children. It is not joke for children to be killed. It is no joke for Mary and Joseph to flee in the middle of the night to save their newborn Son from the sword of Herod. Please do not spend this day making practical jokes on anyone. The day today is written in red, written in blood; it is not a joke-day today.

The Holy Innocents who were massacred thousands of years ago by a mad king continue crying today. They are the aborted infants, the abandoned babies, the children caught in crossfires, the boys and girls who are exploited in many horrific ways. Their cries pierce our hearts. We cannot but be disturbed so as to act on their behalf.

Today's feast is not a day for making practical jokes on each other, as many people think it is. It is a day to stand with those caught in the crossfire between good and evil. Not again should we allow them to suffer. Never again should we remain indifferent to their plight. To save them is to save Jesus. Fr. Bobby T.

REFLECTION QUESTION: The cries of the Holy Innocents can still be heard today.

Forgive me, Jesus, for my indifference to the cries of the innocent. Forgive me, Jesus, for not saving You in the person of the dying children. Show me how I can help them and help me to defend and protect them. Amen.

St. Anthony, hermit, pray for us.

adapted from Kyregma