The Holy Innocents
Feast day: December 28
The Holy Innocents were male infants of the town of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, whose deaths were recorded in Matthew 2:1-18. They were put to death by King Herod the Great after the Magi from the East visited the baby Jesus, then returned home without reporting back to the king. Herod was furious and ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under. An angel warned Joseph of the impending danger and the Holy Family escaped into Egypt. The Holy Innocents have been honored as martyrs since the early centuries.
Collect
O God, whom the Holy Innocents confessed
and proclaimed on this day,
not by speaking but by dying,
grant, we pray,
that the faith in you which we confess with our lips
may also speak through our manner of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
