WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN

PRAYER PAUSE

Thursday 28 December 2017, The Holy Innocents

WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN

Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “A voice was heard … it was Rachel weeping for her children.”  (Matt 4:13-18)

Reflection. I met two year old Jane last Sunday. She was born in prison and is still there, accompanying her mother who is serving her sentence. Jane knows no other home but she is one of the lucky ones. She is surrounded by love. There are millions of innocent children in our world caught up in wars, migrations, famines, cyclones and injustices. Many lose their lives. And then there are those who die before they are born – their mothers either caught in the anguish of abortion or out of ignorance aborting their child simply because he or she is “unwanted.” This is a unique feast today when we remember all these children and we pause to consider that in the heart of God each of them is loved and held. This feast celebrates their unconscious witness to Jesus, who migrated to escape Herod. They are are martyrs too and they too are purified – all unknowing – in the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:5-2:2).  

Prayer. Lord, we pray for the countless children all over the world caught up in the consequences of disasters and injustices. May we all move forward to remove the causes of so much pain and build a world more in the image of you who made us. Amen.