Monday, December 28, 2026 — Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs
The Holy Innocents
Matthew 2:13-18
Readings of the day: 1 John 1:5–2:2; Psalm 124:2-3, 4-5, 7b-8; Matthew 2:13-18.
The Gospel
After the Magi depart, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream: “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 rises at once, takes the child and his mother by night, and flees to Egypt, where they stay until Herod’s death, so that the word of the prophet is fulfilled: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Then Herod, furious at being mocked by the Magi, sends and kills all the boys in Bethlehem and its surroundings, two years old and under. And the prophet’s word is fulfilled again: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because they are no more.”
Reflection
Herod’s sword falls on children who cannot speak, and the Church calls them martyrs, because they died for Christ even before they could confess him. “Behold how this unrighteous enemy never could have so much profited these infants by his love, as he did by his hate,” says St. Augustine, “for as much as iniquity abounded against them, so much did the grace of blessing abound on them.” And he asks us not to doubt their crown: the Lord who had angels to proclaim him and Magi to worship him would not leave unrewarded those who died in his place. When evil seems to have the last word, remember the flight into Egypt: God was already carrying his Son to safety, and the innocent are safe with him.
From the Fathers
“Behold how this unrighteous enemy never could have so much profited these infants by his love, as he did by his hate; for as much as iniquity abounded against them, so much did the grace of blessing abound on them.”
— St. Augustine, Sermon 218, in the Catena Aurea on Matthew 2:13–15
“O blessed infants! He only will doubt of your crown in this your passion for Christ, who doubts that the baptism of Christ has a benefit for infants.”
— St. Augustine, Sermon 373, in the Catena Aurea on Matthew 2:16
Saint of the day
The Holy Innocents, Martyrs. The infant boys of Bethlehem and its surroundings, two years old and under, killed by order of King Herod, who sought to destroy the newborn King. They are honored as martyrs because they died for Christ, shedding their blood for him who would shed his blood for them. The Church has kept their feast since the earliest centuries, and the white-robed army of martyrs praises God in the Te Deum.
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Sources: the day’s readings follow the daily lectionary (USCCB, Lectionary 698). The Gospel text is not reproduced here; read it at the link above. Patristic quotes: Catena Aurea on Matthew 2:13–18, compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by John Henry Newman (1841, public domain).