A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more – Matthew 2:18 (Jeremiah 31:15)
Only a few days after Christmas, one of the high points of the Christian life, and indeed of human history, we find ourselves faced with one of the most tragic commemorations, that of the massacre of the Holy Innocents by Herod. St. Matthew’s Gospel alone narrates this moment, that after the visit of the Magi to the Holy Family, Herod sets out to kill all infant boys under the age of two in order to crush the threat which he faced from the true Ruler of Judah, the Infant King Jesus (Mt 2:16).
One piece of art which represents this event is Léon Cogniet’s Massacre of the Innocents (1824). Compared with the usual depictions of the massacre, the tone of Cogniet’s painting is less on the action and violence, but instead homes in on a haunting scene of a mother grasping her child, shielding him from the approaching guards and soldiers. Off to the side we see an indication of the carnage occurring, as another mother runs down the stairs with a child on her arm to flee from a hazy indication of the oncoming threat. However, the focus is on the woman curled up in a corner. She covers the mouth of her infant, possibly to prevent it making a cry. The mother’s expression conveys a variety of emotions, primarily one of sheer terror and fear, as she looks to the viewer. The child too expresses a look of concern and anguish, perhaps conscious of the atmosphere of dread which surrounds him.
In this way, the mother and child become a kind of haunting mirror of the Madonna and Child, however while the Holy Mother and Son were able to escape, sadly there were many who were left to suffer. Thus, the Holy Innocents became the first martyrs, witnesses to the Divinity and authority of Christ, as they gave their lives in His place. One can only imagine the pain and sorrow which these mothers experienced as their children were slaughtered for almost no reason, left weeping over their sons, unable to comprehend why they and their children were abandoned to such a fate. They mirror the pain and sorrow of the Mother of the Lord when she too lost her Son on the Cross.
One key distinction which can be drawn between the Holy Innocents, and the Holy Innocent, is that the children died for the Infant Christ, the unrighteous for the Righteous One, while Jesus died for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). The Feast of the Holy Innocents serves as a reminder that behind the cosy Christmas images, cute nativity scenes, and post-Christmas sales, there exists an uncomfortable reality to Jesus’ life, one which serves as a strong message that even in this time of great joy, we must continue to bear our cross daily.
Holy Innocents, pray for us.
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