Today is the day of the Holy Innocents – the children massacred by Herod. A cowardly man, overcome with fear of losing his own power, slaughtered children in the hopes that this might somehow grant him continued power. We are seeing the same today with the murder of children at our border.

Make no mistake – it does not matter what the cause of death is listed as, every person who dies in the custody of Customs and Border Protection or ICE, who dies on the long trek through the desert, is murdered. We, as a society, have decided to make the trek deadly. We have decided that it would be better to let people die, and have constructed a system that kills people, in order to avoid doing our God-given duty of welcoming the stranger. This is murder.

On this day, let us remember Felipe Gómez Alonzo and Jakelin Caal, who this month were added to the altogether too long list of the Holy Innocents. May we repent and work towards a world where that list never grows longer.

O God, whose beloved Son took children into his arms and blessed them: Give us grace to entrust Felipe Gómez Alonzo and Jakelin Caal to your never-failing care and love, and bring us all to your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.