The Holy Innocents

December 28th is the Commemoration of the Holy Innocents. It's a day to remember the slaughter of the male infants of Bethlehem.

From the Divine Hours:

"We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen."

And to that prayer I add my own:

"Lord, forgive our nation for our lack of concern for children. For those who go hungry, for those abandoned or abused, for those not wanted, for those whose tiny lives are terminated before they see the light of day. Give us eyes that see, hearts that love, hands and feet that serve. Lord, for the many women out there contemplating abortion, intervene in their lives. May they find hope in you in the midst of their despair. For those who have had abortions, may repentance and healing come, for You only are the source of true comfort."

The Gloria

I have a series of books by Phyllis Tickle. The series is called The Divine Hours, and she has them for different seasons of the year. The idea of "the hours" is a familiar one to my Catholic readers, but for the rest of us, well...

The hours are set prayers. Ms. Tickle has taken prayers from the Psalms (mostly) but also from the Book of Common Prayer, from hymns, from other Scripture, and from early church fathers. The reader prays these prayers 4 times a day: morning, noon, around dinner time, and before bed. (She also have a book for night prayers...in the wee hours.) This takes about 5 minutes.

I've blogged about the book before. It is one of my best discovered gems, with me always. It has changed the way I think and the way I pray. When you are praying the Psalms 4 times a day every day for a year (well, almost a year...I bought the book last January), it changes your focus. I'm not necessarily the center of things. Imagine!

But I'm writing about this book today for a different reason. For the whole advent season, one prayer has been excluded. It's called The Gloria. Again, for you Catholics, this is familiar territory. But not for the rest of us. (Those of you who saw The Sound of Music at the Wharf in Monterey last summer...the nuns sangs it, but it was in Latin.)

On to my story. Usually two prayers are always included in every "hour," The Lord's Prayer and The Gloria. The Gloria is frequently prayed more than once in a session. Last night, Christmas Eve, the Compline (prayers before bed), included The Gloria again. It was in there twice. When I got to The Gloria, I thought, "oh yes, I love this, I'm glad it's back." But as I read aloud, on the eve of the day the world celebrates God becoming flesh, I can't even begin to explain how my heart just wanted to sing. The words are simple. From repetitive use, they are now mine. I had missed them. Here they are.

"Glory be to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, so it is now and so it shall ever be, world without end. Alleluia. Amen."

There is a reason I love the carol, Angels We Have Heard On High. Someday I will hear, with my own ears, and join the chorus,

"Gloria, in excelsis Deo!"

Mary's Protector

Here's a Christmas thought to ponder.

I have been thinking about Mary lately. After she was told that she would give birth to the Messiah, she went to see her cousin Elizabeth. She went from Nazaerth to the "hill country of Judea." I'm not too sure how far that is, but from Nazareth to Bethlehem (which is in Judea), it's 70 miles. I'm thinking it must have been a similar distance to the parents' of John the Baptist. At any rate, did she make this journey alone? I can't imagine that, but who knows? And then there was the journey to Bethlehem later as she was ready to give birth.

I've been pregnant three times. As any mother to be, my thoughts were always on the welfare of my unborn child. Did Mary have the same concerns? Did she watch what she ate, did she pray for safe passage along the roads she traveled? I assume she must have.

But here's the thing. She may have had fears or concerns for this tiny baby snuggled in her womb. But there was NO WAY this pregnancy would not come to term. If ever there was a mother in God's hands, it was this one. No thief along the way would be able to harm her. No wild animal would endanger her. No force of hell would keep her from giving birth. So as she traveled to see her cousin, she was guarded by the host of heaven, I'm sure.

And here is what gives me pause...and hope. I have no promises that I will get through life unscathed (nor did Mary for that matter). I had no assurances that I would deliver healthy children. But the same God who controlled Mary's destiny, controls mine as well. There is no thief, no wild animal, no force of hell that can harm my soul. It's God's and He's promised to be with me always.

People have, on occasion, disappointed me. I, on even more occasions, have disappointed others. Sometimes bitterly. But God doesn't. His promises are sure, even when mine aren't. Is that not the greatest bit of knowledge?

I love Paul's salutation to Titus...
"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth..."

That's who I want to be. One who contends for the faith of God's elect, those currently His and those who will be one day, and one who shares the knowledge of the truth that God has laid on her heart.

Merry Christmas you all. It's a beautiful thing that God has done.