Out of Egypt
Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Matthew 2:13-18 – When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him." Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: A voice was heard in Ramah,/sobbing and loud lamentation;/Rachel weeping for her children,/and she would not be consoled,/since they were no more.
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
The following is a meditation from another work.
“There is anguish for us, twenty centuries later, in thinking of the slain babies and their parents. For the babies the agony was soon over; in the next world they would come to know whom they had died to save and for all eternity would have that glory. For the parents, the pain would have lasted longer; but at death they too must have found that there was a special sense in which God was in their debt, as he had never been indebted to any. They and their children were the only ones who ever agonized in order to save God's life…” (Sheed, F.J., To Know Jesus Christ. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1962)
God allows suffering because He can bring an even greater good from it. If we have any question about this we need to look no further than the Cross. Man killed God. This is utterly the worst thing that man could do…yet God makes this very thing the means to man’s salvation. Praised be God forever!
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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