Collection of Holy Innocents reflections and action ideas

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The tenor of the posts I read yesterday reflecting on Holy Innocents Day and ultimately the deaths of innocent children worldwide through war, famine, neglect, or abuse, still reel with the grief over the Newtown children.

I prayed Lauds yesterday, reaching for the feast day readings and prayers in hope of comfort in some truth, and actually found very little solace, but I think that's because I've never really come to grips with the whole idea of martyrdom.

I finally got to see the Les Miserables movies yesterday and Eddie Redmayne's rendition of "Empty Chairs..." reminded me of a classroom with empty chair and empty tables (not to mention he sang it beautifully) and tears flowed down my cheeks.

Here are some of the stories that circulated on Holy Innocents Day:

• Holy Innocents and violence against children (with a story about a 2010 icon of the feast day), from The Lead at the Episcopal Cafe
• a reflection at Speaking to the Soul at the Episcopal Cafe
• Slate is collecting daily gun death data with 277 killed since Newtown when I looked at their report on Friday.
• Why the world needs that little light of yours, from Jennifer Dukes Lee at Getting Down with Jesus

And this last one actually comes from May. It was my second most popular post of the year -- and it was by guest blogger, Joe Pote at Redeemed, during the Prayer of St. Francis series. His line?

• where there is darkness, light.