Today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, when the church remembers the massacre of innocent children recounted in Matthew’s gospel (2:16–18) in when King Herod ordered the execution of all male children who are two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem, in an attempt to remove any threat to his rule from what he believed to be a new King (Jesus) born in Bethlehem.

The story goes that the three Wise Men visited Jerusalem to ask where the new King of the Jews was to be born. They meet Herod and he directs them to Bethlehem, but asks them to return to him and report back. But they are warned in a dream that Herod wishes to find and kill the child, and so do not do so. Herod is furious at being outwitted, and he gives orders that all boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, are to be killed.

However, the historicity of Matthew´s account is questioned by modern scholars. It is not found in any other gospel, despite the many stories of Herod's misdeeds, including the murder of three of his own sons. It is also argued that, if this were a historical incident, it is surprising that it was not recorded by other historical sources at the time. It also appears that the author has modelled this episode on the biblical story of Pharaoh's attempt to kill the Israelite children in the Book of Exodus.

That said, perhaps because of its name, this day has become associated with remembering innocent people who have lost their lives in times of violence, in our own time, and a chance to pray for children and for an end to injustice. These are the words of the Invitation to Confession we use on this day:

On this day when we recall the murder of innocent lives,
let us stand before our just and holy God,
and remembering the violence and injustice of our world,
confess our sins in penitence and faith.

Picture above: El Mirador de la Memoria, at El Torno near Cáceres in Extremadura, inaugurated in 2009 in memory of the victims of the Spanish Civil War.