Holy Innocents
28/December/2007 Filed in:
JottingsNo sooner does Christmas come than we are plunged into a round of lesser feasts: St Stephen, St John, Holy Innocents, St Thomas of Canterbury. Looking at them, one is reminded that the cross is never very far from the crib, that the road from Bethlehem leads to Calvary. That is true of our own lives, too, of course. The murder of Benazir Bhutto will be commented on then slip from the headlines, but more thoughful people will reflect on the ways in which violence begets violence and will struggle to halt this seemingly unending cycle of death and destruction. Our Christmas prayer for peace and goodwill on earth cannot be just sentimental posturing. It has to be wrung from the heart.