TUESDAY, December 29 The Holy Innocents (tr.)

When Herod began slaughtering innocent children, the Holy Family fled to Egypt. They were neither the first nor the last people to flee their homelands and become refugees. The Massachusetts Pilgrims were refugees, and as I write these words, millions are fleeing from Iraq, Zimbabwe, Sudan, and parts of Latin America. Some flee because their governments seek to kill them, some for religious freedom, and some because there is no work at home and the alternative is to watch their children starve.

Refugees are rarely welcome in the nations that receive them. At best, there is an uneasy acceptance of their presence, but often all refugees are perceived as lawbreakers, threats to the culture and stability of their host countries, and competitors for jobs and benefits. These concerns are understandable and often justified, but it is too easy for the fortunate citizens of free and prosperous nations to overlook the dangers and deprivations which drive people to leave everything behind and flee to an uncertain future in an unknown land. Let us not forget that when the Son of God assumed human flesh, it was as a child refugee.

PRAY for the Diocese of Zanzibar (Tanzania)

Ps 124; Jeremiah 31:15-17; Revelation 21:1-7