Pope Leo’s Angelus Address: The Holy Family and Holy Innocents

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, and the Liturgy offers us the story of their flight into Egypt (cf. Mt 2:13-15, 19-23).

It is a moment of trial for Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Indeed, the bright image of Christmas is suddenly almost eclipsed by the disturbing shadow of a deadly threat, which has its origin in the troubled life of Herod. A cruel and bloodthirsty man, who is feared for his brutality, but precisely for this reason he is deeply lonely and gripped with the fear of being deposed. When he learns from the Magi that the “king of the Jews” has been born (Mt 2:2), feeling this to be a threat to his power, he decrees that all children of the same age as Jesus should be killed. In his kingdom, God is performing the greatest miracle in history, in which all the ancient promises of salvation are fulfilled, but he cannot see this because he is blinded by the fear of losing his throne, riches and privileges. In Bethlehem there is light and joy as some shepherds have received the heavenly announcement and have glorified God before the manger (cf. Lk 2:8-20). But none of this can penetrate the armored defenses of the royal palace, except as a distorted echo of a threat to be stifled with blind violence.

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