¹ Today, dearest brothers, we celebrate the feast of those infants whom the Gospel account tells us were slain by King Herod. Therefore, let our land, the mother of these heavenly soldiers and rich in such great virtues, rejoice with the highest exultation. Behold, the profane enemy could never have benefited these blessed little ones as much through favour as he did through hatred. For, as the most sacred feast of this day makes manifest, the more iniquity abounded against these blessed children, the more the grace of blessing shone forth in them. As we heard a moment ago, when King Herod sought to kill Christ, thousands of fortunate children were slain, as the prophet declares: “Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more”. O blessed mother of triumphant warriors, illustrious homeland of these fighters, rich with so many pledges, you seemed for a moment to be bereaved before your eyes, yet you never need consolation nor do you weep for the children whom, in losing them, you gained to the suppression of sorrow. Blessed are you, O Bethlehem, land of Judah, who endured the cruelty of King Herod in the slaughter of your children, for at one and the same time, you merited to offer to God a radiant host from the innocence of infancy.

² We rightly celebrate the birth of those whom the world has brought forth into eternal life, for they are more blessed than those born from their mothers’ wombs, since they attained the dignity of everlasting life before they could even experience the present one. The death of other martyrs was precious because they earned praise through their confession of faith, but these infants were perfected in their consummation, for at the very beginning of their lives, the very moment of their passing became the start of their glory. The same one who ended their earthly lives granted them the beginning of eternal honour—those infants torn from their mothers’ breasts by the cruelty of Herod. Rightly are they called the “flowers of the martyrs,” for they sprouted amid the cold of unbelief, and the frost of persecution ripened them as the first budding gems of the Church. Therefore, it is fitting that we offer ceremonies of honour, not grief, for these infants slain for Christ, and that we make vows in sacred devotion rather than weeping in sorrow, for He who was the cause of their suffering is also the source of their crown, He who was the reason for their persecution is likewise the giver of their reward. When Herod was planning the slaughter of the little ones, Joseph was warned by an angel to take Christ the Lord into Egypt. Egypt was full of idols, yet after the persecution by the Jews and with the approval of a profane people in their intent to kill Christ, the Lord deemed it worthy to go to the Gentiles, who were devoted to idols, abandoning Judea and making Himself known to a world that did not yet recognize Him.

³ And since we know from the divine Scriptures that good and just men have always endured persecution from the wicked, if we consider carefully, we find that those who commit persecution suffer greater punishment than those who seem to endure it. For every person who persecutes another in the body is first known to endure persecution within his own heart.

⁴ For even if the persecutor takes something from the substance of the one he oppresses, he causes greater loss to himself, for no one gains unjust profit without suffering just loss. Where there is gain, there is also loss—gain in the chest, but loss in the heart. He takes a garment but loses faith; he acquires money but loses righteousness. Yet people do these things because they refuse to consider the last day.

⁵ If they were willing to think constantly about the day of their death, they would restrain their souls from all greed and malice. But because they now refuse to think about it in a way that would be beneficial, they will later have to endure it without any remedy. For the last day will come upon them; the day of judgment will come, when they will no longer be able to increase their wealth nor redeem themselves from eternal death through good works. For the sinner is struck even with this punishment: that in dying, he forgets himself, just as, while living, he forgot God.

⁶ The day of judgment will come, when “the foundations of the mountains will shake, and the earth will burn down to the depths below”, when “the heavens will be dissolved in flames”, when “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven”. Then the wicked and the impious will be cast “into the furnace of fire, and the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever”. “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.

⁷ Therefore, beloved brothers, a time will come when no good person will suffer evil, and no evil person will experience good. The last day will come, I say, when the pious will be separated from the impious, the just from the unjust, those who praise God from those who blaspheme Him. They will be separated so that, as has been said, no good person will suffer harm, and no evil person will find well-being.

⁸ Why, then, is it sometimes one way and sometimes another? Why is it that what is now hidden will then be revealed? Read the divine Scripture, enter with me—if you can—into the sanctuary of God. Perhaps there, if I am able, I will teach you. Rather, let us learn together from Him who taught me: even now, it is not truly well with the wicked, and it is better to be good than to be evil, even though the full happiness of the righteous has not yet arrived, nor has the final punishment of the wicked. If you carefully attend to the law of God, perhaps you will understand with me that it is not well with the wicked.

⁹ I ask you, then, and I inquire of you: why is it that you suffer? You will answer me: poverty oppresses, hardship burdens, perhaps bodily pain afflicts, or fear of an enemy torments you. You believe you suffer because you endure misfortunes, and you think it is well with someone who suffers his own wickedness? There is a great difference between suffering evil and being evil. But you are not what you suffer. You endure evil, yet you are not evil. However, that other person does not suffer evil, and yet he is evil. Do not be deceived, then. It cannot be that you, who suffer misfortune, are in a worse state than one who is wicked. You think that because he does not suffer external evils, he does not suffer at all, when in truth he suffers himself? You suffer because of an external evil that afflicts your body, and yet you think it is well with him who suffers the evil of himself within his soul? You struggle, perhaps, with a difficult life, and yet you think it is well with the one who has a corrupt soul?

¹⁰ Be good, then, since you have what is good. Wealth is good, gold is good, silver is good, families are good, and possessions are good. All these things are good, but only insofar as they allow you to do good. Possess good things that make you good, not those that make you evil. You ask: “What are these things?” Act with justice and righteousness. The things you possess are good—so be good among them. Be ashamed to be wicked while surrounded by good things, unless you perish with them.

¹¹ Thus, the Creator and Governor of all things has distributed gold and silver to humanity in such a way that they are good in themselves by their very nature and kind. Yet, their abundance should neither exalt the good nor should their lack crush them. But for the wicked, wealth blinds them when they receive it and torments them when it is taken away. For when riches are gained, they bring a false joy; when they are lost, they leave behind true sorrow.

¹² Let us therefore learn to love true riches—that is, chastity, righteousness, peace, and mercy. These are called “just riches” because they are given as a reward for good and righteous deeds. They are also called “true riches” because whoever possesses them will never be in need, since, as the Apostle says, “If we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content”.

¹³ It is therefore wrong to consider earthly wealth as true riches, for they do not eliminate poverty. In fact, the more a person loves and accumulates them through greed, the greater their poverty will become. How can they be called riches when their increase only leads to greater want? How can they be true wealth when, the more they abound, they do not satisfy their owners but rather inflame their desires?

¹⁴ Do you call that man rich who would be less needy if he possessed less? As one poet rightly said:

¹⁵ “The love of money grows as much as money itself increases.”

¹⁶ For with the increase of wealth, the madness of greed grows. Indeed, all those who are avaricious or covetous seem to suffer from a kind of dropsy. Just as a person with dropsy becomes thirstier the more they drink, so too does the greedy or covetous person put themselves in danger by acquiring more and is never satisfied in their pursuit of wealth.

¹⁷ But we, brothers, remembering that we are strangers and sojourners in this world, should reserve for ourselves only what is necessary for food and clothing on this journey of life. As much as we can, let us direct our wealth toward eternal happiness by giving alms to the poor. Then, when on the Day of Judgment the greedy and avaricious, for their lack of good works, deserve to hear: “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire”, we may instead be found worthy to hear: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was naked, and you clothed me”.

¹⁸ May the Lord, under His protection, lead us to this blessedness, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.