12 Days of Christmas
Day 3 - Holy Innocents
Gospel Story
In Matthew's Gospel we hear about the time when King Herod wanted to secure his power as King and did so by ordering the deaths of all the infants in and around the area of Bethlehem. Jesus escaped this because Joseph was told in a dream that he needed to take his wife and flee to Egypt with the baby Jesus so they left in the middle of the night to make their escape.
The World Today
Unfortunately children of all ages around the world are still being persecuted. Young people trying to survive in war torn places such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria and Cameroon to name just a few. God's peace is for everyone and we must share it with the world.
Prayer for Peace
Lord all your works praise you, and your eyes give you thanks for the joy of a small child, for a mothers love, for a man’s strength, for the fragile beauty of the world. We know that you are always aware of this fragility. We pray you therefore to grant us the courage and the strength to look after our brothers and sisters, to feed the hungry, to have compassion for others and build peace in a world torn by hatred and fear. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus our Saviour. Amen