Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas: The Holy Innocents

By Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas, The Catholic Thing, December 29, 2025

Father Peter Stravinskas holds doctorates in school administration and theology. He is the founding editor of The Catholic Response and publisher of Newman House Press. Most recently, he launched a graduate program in Catholic school administration through Pontifex University.

The Church, “expert in humanity” (as Pope Paul VI put it), knows that the mystery of Christmas (like that of Easter) is so great that it cannot be adequately plumbed – let alone celebrated – in a single day.  And so, taking a page out of our Jewish liturgical heritage, the Church gives us an octave observance – eight full days to consider the central doctrine of the Incarnation, enabling us to reflect on it from a variety of perspectives, not unlike holding a diamond up to the sun to appreciate its beauty from many different angles.

Throughout the Christmas Octave, we encounter a number of saints’ feasts.  Do these commemorations serve as distractions from the central mystery of the Octave?  Not at all – because, as St. Paul teaches us, “God is glorious in His saints.” (2 Thessalonians 1:10)  Indeed, we can say that the very first fruits of the Incarnation are saints, the comites Christi (the companions of Christ), and in this week, the majority of them are martyrs – privileged “witnesses” to Christ: Stephen, the so-called “proto-martyr” (Dec. 27); Thomas à Becket, the medieval defender of the freedom of the Church (Dec. 29); and also, the Holy Innocents, really the first to shed their blood for Christ. …

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