This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
Herod’s blanket murder of all the little children in Bethlehem in the hope of catching the anointed Messiah in this grotesquely broad net is repulsive to the point of revulsion.
Yet, hard as it may be to comprehend, the theme of today’s Mass–the Holy Innocents killed in Herod’s hunt for Christ–is not a Mass of mourning, but of celebration.
For the context of this celebration, the gravity of Original Sin and its implications must be underscored. In the mysterious economy of sin and salvation, when Adam and Eve knowingly and with determination disobeyed God, they made a definitive choice for all of their progeny–for us–the choice to reject God. The consequences of this choice are inherited by all in our race, and every child of Adam born into the world is born into a state of de facto rejection of God. Only baptism, by which the grace of the Savior Jesus Christ is immediately and effectively applied, suffices to replace the inherited state of rebellion with a state of purity and friendship with God as restored through Jesus’ saving act.
So, every unbaptized infant–including those we celebrate today–is born into a state of inherited rebellion against God.
And the children described in today’s Gospel passage were violently slain while within that state. So, what is there to celebrate?
The Church has declared that, while sacramental baptism is necessary for salvation, and even though Jesus’ saving act was not complete, God–who dwells outside of time, and who can traverse time in any direction at His pleasure–applied the future saving act of His Son as a special gift to these children, who in effect died in His stead. Yes, in the stead of Him who ultimately would die in the stead of all of us, of every human, to take on our punishment for sin. One may imagine that God the Father could not help but see a reflection of His Son’s own vicarious death in the vicarious death of these infants.
The Church has declared that every one of those children slain in the hunt for Christ is enjoying the beatific vision of God in Heaven.
This is cause to celebrate.
It begs the question: What about all other children, who die before or after birth without baptism? These certainly are not slain in an explicit pursuit of the death of Christ. What is their fate? By the logic of the doctrine of original sin and its gravity, they should go to Hell. However–although we understand that Hell is a reality for many, indeed, for all who turn down the invitations of God to the transformative work of His Son’s salvation–it is repulsive to think that this cold logic condemns forever to Hell children who never had the chance to choose.
Furthermore, the Church teaches that upon creating him or her, God intends the destiny of salvation for each human person in light of His Son’s saving act. Only the misuse of human freedom keeps people from reaching that destiny. This doctrine, too, makes it hard to imagine the condemnation of unbaptized infants to Hell.
In humility, the Church to date recognizes that this whole question remains a mystery and is difficult to fit into the human mind, given the different realities at play–but that there are reasons to hope that there may be a path to salvation for such children that is not fully revealed.
This too is a great reason for celebration on this feast of the Holy Innocents. In declaring this hope, the Church points explicitly to this day–showing how God found a path for these particular children without sacramental baptism. While we must baptize our children with all diligence, there is reason to hope in the hidden paths of the mercy of God relative to the destiny of unbaptized infants. (Cf. “The Hope of Salvation for Infants who Die Without Being Baptized,” January 19, 2007)
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Each of us experiences the frustrating reality of sin in our lives. Sometimes we wonder how we can ever be saved. Arguably, his inability to cope with this dilemma ultimately contributed to Martin Luther’s separation from the Church. But “where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more.” (Rm 5:20) With all the clarity that Church doctrine provides on sin and salvation–including the sobering reality of Hell–there remain great areas of mystery which, ultimately, are areas where God’s power and mercy reign supreme. When faced with the discouraging reality of sin and its consequences, it is never an error to lean hard and trustingly on confidence in God’s mercy for our destiny, as long as we strive to choose Him with all our hearts every day.
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