Saints Innocents, Martyrs de Bethléem (28 décembre)

Sanctus - Saint(e) du Jour

Le 28 décembre, le calendrier liturgique commémore les Saints Innocents, premiers martyrs du Christ, mis à mort à Bethléem lors du massacre ordonné par le roi Hérode. Ces enfants sans défense, morts à cause de la naissance de Jésus, sont honorés par l’Église comme témoins silencieux de la foi chrétienne.  Cette fête bouleversante rappelle que la lumière de Noël est venue dans un monde blessé, marqué par la peur et la violence, mais que Dieu accueille toute vie innocente et la transfigure.  Découvrez l’histoire des Saints Innocents, leur place unique dans l’Évangile selon saint Matthieu, leur signification spirituelle profonde, et le sens de cette dévotion quotidienne célébrée dans toute l’Église catholique le 28 décembre.

Transcript

00:00Today, December 28, the Church commemorates the Holy Innocents, martyrs.

00:07Saint Gaspard del Bufalo is also celebrated, according to the calendars.

00:12As for first names, the most common are Innocents and Gaspard.

00:17The Holy Innocents are children of Becléem, nameless, defenseless,

00:22swept away by blind violence.

00:25And yet, the Church calls them martyrs.

00:28They left, not because they had uttered heroic words,

00:32but because they were struck down for Christ’s sake, very near his birth,

00:37as if the shadow of evil wanted to stifle the light from its very first breath.

00:43The reason this festival resonates so deeply is that it overturns our reflexes.

00:48We would like a simple story, a clear victory, a visible miracle.

00:52But here, first and foremost, there is scandal, loss, injustice.

00:59Christmas is not a sugary tale placed above the world.

01:03Christmas is planted in real soil.

01:06in a world pervaded by fear, brutality, and calculation.

01:11The birth of the Savior triggers a murderous panic in a tyrant.

01:18And the most vulnerable are the first to suffer the consequences.

01:23The Gospel according to Saint Matthew recounts that after the visit of the Magi,

01:28King Herod, feeling threatened by the announcement of a new king,

01:33gives the order to kill the grandchildren of Bethlehem,

01:36in the hope of reaching Jesus.

01:39Joseph, warned in a dream, leaves with Mary and the child to flee to Egypt.

01:46This leak already contains a great deal of mystery.

01:50God does not crush violence through a show of force.

01:55He saves the child, yes.

01:57But he also accepts that humanity reveals its heart, capable of the worst.

02:02And it is precisely here that the sanctity of the innocents is understood.

02:08These children did not choose martyrdom.

02:11like some adult saints who faced a court

02:14or refused to renounce their faith.

02:18Their martyrdom is a martyrdom of the local community.

02:21They died because of Christ,

02:24because he was there, in their city,

02:26in their age, in their fragility.

02:29The Church has honored them since the earliest centuries

02:33and celebrates them on December 28th

02:35such as "holy innocents, martyrs".

02:40And that is a huge message for us.

02:43God does not judge the value of a life by its performance.

02:47He cannot measure the greatness of a soul

02:49to its apparent strength,

02:51to his intelligence,

02:53to its influence.

02:54The innocent proclaim that human dignity is absolute.

02:59even when she didn't have time to speak.

03:03They also proclaim

03:04that evil has no right to rewrite the end of history.

03:09Violence can erupt,

03:11She cannot own it.

03:14It can destroy,

03:15She cannot conquer eternity.

03:18This festival also presents us with a contemporary question.

03:23without a slogan

03:24but with gravity.

03:26How much suffering remains invisible?

03:29because they affect children,

03:31the weak

03:32those who don't know how to defend themselves,

03:35those who have no public voice.

03:38The Holy Innocents are sacred memory

03:40of all the silent victims.

03:43They force us to open our eyes,

03:46to reject indifference,

03:48to protect fragile life,

03:51to console broken hearts.

03:54But be careful,

03:56their memory is not just a cry,

03:59It is also a hope.

04:02Placed just after Christmas,

04:04She told us this.

04:06The light has come.

04:07But she did not come to bypass our darkness.

04:10She came to cross them.

04:13and defeat them from within.

04:16God did not choose a palace,

04:18He chose a daycare center.

04:21And in the wake of this nativity scene,

04:23The cross is already there.

04:25and there is already the promise of resurrection.

04:29That is why the Church calls its children martyrs.

04:33They are like the first sparks of a fire.

04:36which will never go out again.

04:38They announce that Christ has come

04:40to save all of humanity,

04:42including those who were unable to understand,

04:45including those who were unable to speak,

04:49including those who were unable to grow up.

04:51Today you can entrust your needs to their intercession.

04:56everything within you that is vulnerable.

05:00Your old fears,

05:01your childhood wounds,

05:03your regrets,

05:04your anger,

05:05your silences.

05:07You can also entrust them with the children of the world,

05:10the grieving families,

05:12those who experience injustice

05:14or mourning.

05:16Innocent people don't make speeches.

05:19They teach us the most basic form of prayer.

05:22To entrust to God what is beyond our control.

05:25without masking the pain,

05:27but without giving up hope.

05:29Prayer

05:31Lord God,

05:33you who welcomed the Holy Innocents

05:36like the first witnesses of your Son,

05:39receive in your light

05:40all fragile lives

05:42and all the hidden suffering.

05:45Give us a watchful heart

05:47to protect the youngest children,

05:50a firm heart

05:51to reject violence

05:53in all its forms

05:54and a gentle heart

05:56to console

05:57those who weep.

06:00Through the intercession of the Holy Innocents,

06:02Keep our families in peace.

06:05heal what has been wounded within us

06:07and increase trust in our souls.

06:11No tear offered is wasted

06:14and your love

06:15will have the last word.

06:18Amen.

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