Honoring the Holy Innocents

Today we honor the small boys of Bethlehem slain by King Herod in his attempt to kill the infant Son of God and "newborn King." The Gospel tells the story simply: "Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men" (Matthew 2:16). We honor these boys by having in mind all the children who are killed every day all around the world and praying both for the living, that they be kept from all abuse, neglect, murder, and abandonment, and for those already in the grip of death, that they may be welcomed into the Lord's face without hindrance, wearing robes of white.

The practice of praying for and asking God to bless children should also be very redemptive and edifying for the childlover and part of our daily devotions, but especially on this most sad occasion as we remember and honor all the children martyred in their innocence. If you see any child today (or any day), make it a practice to say at least "God, bless this child." You can also say this prayer below, or any heartfelt prayer of blessing for children: 

Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, once You embraced and placed Your hands upon the little children who came to You and said: "Suffer not the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and their angels always see the face of my Father!" Look now with fatherly eyes on the innocence of your children, and bless them this day. In Your grace and goodness let them advance continually, longing for You, loving You, fearing You, keeping Your commandments. Then they will surely come to their destined home, through You, Savior of the world. Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. 

We become better Christians, better childlovers, and better people when we pray for children. If you know any children (young friends perhaps), you can also say this prayer to ask God to bless them, or any heartfelt prayer of blessing:

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, Who begotten in eternity yet willed to he born in time as a child; Who loves the innocence of childhood and lovingly embraced and blessed the little children who were brought to You: anticipate the needs of [this child/these children] with Your tender blessings, and grant that no evil may corrupt [his/her/their] mind, but that advancing in age, in wisdom, and in grace, [he/she/they] may live so as to please You always. You Who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

A small treasury of prayers for children is being compiled here. Suggest one!

Grace and peace be to you, and to all the little children.

Happy International Men's Day!

Don't listen to the naysayers out there who say such outreach is illegitimate or not needed, because every boy deserves the best start in life and every man who wrongfully suffers anywhere in the world is deserving of our concern, but all over the world there are men and boys dealing with violence, suicide, lack of scholastic achievement, lack of male role models, lack of security, higher rates of mental illness, imprisonment, and unemployment, and and who have no supports to turn to. That is why the issues concerning men and boys worldwide are observed every year on November 19th. This year, the theme is "Keeping Men and Boys Safe." Men and boys have a great number of issues that affect them, and so today is about spreading awareness on these issues.

The theme for 2013 is, "Keeping Men and Boys safe". The nominated target areas are:

• Keeping men and boys Safe by tackling male suicide;

• Keeping boys safe so they can become tomorrow’s role models;

• Tackling our tolerance of violence against men and boys;

• Boosting men’s life expectancy by keeping men and boys safe from avoidable illness and death;

• Keeping men and boys safe by promoting fathers and male role models.

The 2013 Press Release asks, "People all over the world are used to relating to men as protectors and providers, but how often do we consider the actions we can all take to protect Men and Boys from harm and provide them with a safe world where they can thrive and prosper?"

Some other issues worth considering on this day: 

1. Reducing male suicide (currently 80% of all suicides).

2. Restoring educational equity to our boys (who achieve 20% below their female peers).

3. Responding to the crisis in men's greater unemployment.

4. Decreasing the gap in reading and writing for boys worldwide. 

5. Decreasing boys' infant mortality rates (which are greater than girls).

6. Decreasing men and boys' over-representation in addictions and mental health.

7. Eliminating the enormous cost of fatherlessness to children and society. 

8. Eliminating the almost total lack of services for male victims of violence.

9. Stopping the exploitation, mutilation, and death of boys used as soldiers worldwide. 

And here are some websites you should check out and spread on this day include: 

International Men's Day (on Facebook)

International Men's Day

International Men's Day 2013

IMD Global

Give boys the best possible start in life! Spread the word!

St. Placid (the Boy Monk) and His Rescuers

God repeatedly reminds us of the dignity of every child and how we are to respect and treat children by the examples of His saints, both young and old alike. The stories told about these people instruct childlovers about how they are to regard and act around children and youths. They show us how we are never to subject them to harm, of course, but are also never to look the other way on children who are already in harm's way. Instead, we are to be their rescuers when they are troubled or in danger. 

One very edifying and uplifting story comes from the early centuries of the Church (the 520s) regarding a young Benedictine monk named Placid, who was only seven-years-old when his father brought him to St. Benedict to be trained for monastic life. In short time, the boy became one of the most respected members of the order. Regarding the boy monk, Pius Parsch in his book The Church's Year of Grace (1953) writes: "Alongside the awe-inspiring figure of the holy patriarch [St. Benedict] stands little Placid, and with the innocent simplicity of a child he does much to soften the austerity emanating from the patriarch of monks."  

Childlovers should see the holiness in that statement: in how children are to reflect the sage guidance of adults and adults the "innocent simplicity" of children, each with his own God-given dignity and yet each one elevating the other with it, as God intends. But that is only the beginning, for we also see from the story of St. Placid and his adult companions yet another beautiful example for how all adults, including childlovers, should regard and behave around children, especially those entrusted to our care, and especially when they are in danger or in times of trouble. This story is quoted from Pope St. Gregory in his Dialogues:

"Once while blessed Benedict was in his room, one of his monks, the boy Placid, went down to get some water. In letting the bucket fill too rapidly, he lost his balance and was pulled into the lake, where the current seized him and carried him about a stone's throw from the shore. Though inside the monastery at the time, the man of God was instantly aware of what had happened and called out to Maurus: 'Hurry, Brother Maurus! The boy who just went down for water has fallen into the lake, and the current is carrying him away!'

"What followed was remarkable indeed, and unheard of since the time of Peter the Apostle! Maurus asked for the blessing and on receiving it hurried out to fulfill his abbot's command. He kept on running even over the water till he reached the place where Placid was drifting along helplessly. Pulling him up by the hair, Maurus rushed back to shore, still under the impression that he was on dry land. It was only when he set foot on the ground that he came to himself and looking back realized that he had been running on the surface of the water. Overcome with fear and amazement at a deed he would never have thought possible, he returned to his abbot and told him what had taken place.

"The holy man would not take any personal credit for the deed but attributed it to the obedience of his disciple. Maurus on the contrary claimed that it was due entirely to his abbot's command. He could not have been responsible for the miracle himself, he said, since he had not even known he was performing it. While they were carrying on this friendly contest of humility, the question was settled by the boy who had been rescued. 'When I was being drawn out of the water,' he told them, 'I saw the abbot's cloak over my head; he is the one I thought was bringing me to shore.'"*

The heroic and ultimately humble actions of these good men on behalf of the life of this boy seem morally obligatory to us now, but let's remember that in ancient times, the lives of children were generally considered secondary, or there normally would've been no special emphasis on saving this boy in the outside culture of the day, especially since he was not the direct son of his rescuers. His rescuers therefore had no absolute necessity (from the world) to save his life, but in doing exactly that (by the graces of God), they show us that it has always been God's will that we see the dignity in every human life, children included, and that we should not only avoid harming them, but also rescue them when they are in harm's way.

Childlovers who never put children in harm's way or ignore children in need of rescue are no doubt a blessing from God to God's children, whether they are recognized by others for their heroic charity or not. By contrast, Childlovers who put children in harm's way or even just approve of children being put into harm's way (in child pornography for instance) are no doubt an abomination to God. The role of the Christian Childlover is always to oppose anything that harms a child directly or indirectly or even just approves of that which does, because those who even just "look the other way" on children in peril, or gratify themselves from it, are not following the Godly and heroic example of St. Maurus and St. Benedict in rescuing little St. Placid.

Grace and peace be to you. 

*(From The Life and Miracles of St. Benedict by Pope Gregory the Great, translated by Odo Zimmermann, O.S.B. and Benedict Avery, O.S.B.)

Honoring St. Tarcisius, Boy Saint and Martyr

Even youth can become great saints. In child saints, we see the true dignity that every human soul is given, no matter what age, and the holiness we are all called to aspire towards, whether we be young or old. One saint of importance to Childlovers is St. Tarcisius, a youth of about twelve years of age, who lived during the bloody Roman persecutions of the Christians under Emperor Valerian in the third century. 

This was a time when Christians had to hide in the catacombs beneath the cities of Rome where they secretly gathered to celebrate the Mass, lest they be found and killed. Every day a deacon would secretly be sent to the prisons to carry the Eucharist (the consecrated host, being the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord) to Christians who were condemned to die. On one of these days, it is said that there was no deacon, so the young acolyte Tarcisius was sent to carry the consecrated host of our Lord to those who were condemned to die. 

While on the way, he was stopped by other boys who knew him and knew that he liked to play games. When they asked him if he wanted to join their games, he said no and continued on his way, but the other boys saw that he had something with him. They soon realized that Tarcisius was a Christian and began to taunt him, trying to view the consecrated host to desecrate it. This taunting quickly turned into outright thrashing, as the other boys beat on him as he walked and soon overcame him with blows. Their beatings were so bad that another Christian had to run to the boy's aid and drive the other boys off. His broken body was carried back to the catacombs by this unknown Christian, but sadly the boy died before he made it.

About a hundred years after his death, Pope St. Damasus called him the "boy-martyr of the Eucharist," and wrote that like the blessed martyr St. Stephen (one of the first to be stoned to death for the sake of the faith), St. Tarcisius also went to his death to protect the faith and also preferred to suffer a violent end than hand the consecrated host of our Lord over to what Pope St. Damasus called the "raging dogs." 

For this great service, the twelve-year-old St. Tarcisius is honored every August 15th with a historical feast day, and is also the patron saint of altar boys (and servers). He shines as an example of the courage and heroism that all are called to emulate, even in his youth. For Childlovers, he exemplifies the true dignity that every child possesses that he would be counted worthy (as a youth and as an acolyte) to bear the consecrated host of our Lord on his person. His trial also exemplifies the absolute necessity that Childlovers treat all children not as the other boys who sought to defile this youth's way but as the good Christian who came to the boy's aid when he was in grave need. 

Pray on the intercession of St. Tarcisius that all youth who serve the Lord may be kept safe from all harm and distress by the protection of God. Pray also for all children of faith that in times of persecution they may not be shaken but persevere with the courage exemplified by St. Tarcisius, the boy saint:

Adapted from the Prayer of Altar Servers:  

O God, You have graciously called Your children to serve You upon Your altar. Grant them the graces that they need to serve You faithfully and wholeheartedly. Grant too that while serving You, they may follow the example of St. Tarcisius, who died protecting the Eucharist, and walk the same path that led him to Heaven.  

St. Tarcisius, pray for all altar servers, and for all children of faith, that in time of persecution or struggle, they may not be shaken. In Jesus' name, Amen.  

Grace and peace be with you.