Yesterday I posted regarding the ghastly introduction to the Feast of the Holy Innocents by Universalis.com.
Martin Kochanski has written a reply, and this morning has given me permission to share that reply. He has also substantially rewritten the introduction and encouraged future feedback.
Thank You Mr. Kochanski, and God Bless you for the work of Universalis in bringing the Liturgy of the Hours to so many.
From: Universalis
Subject: Re: Introduction to Holy Innocents
To: Dr. Gerard M. Nadal
Date: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 8:44 AM
Thank you for your email. This was at first puzzling, since this commentary is one that has received particular praise from other people, but looking at it now I think I can see the source of your confusion. Those who delight in the commentary have understood, as you have not, the first paragraphs as referring to the ordinary human reaction to the massacre of the Innocents – ordinary, human, “rational” in a limited human sense – “natural” man untransformed by grace. In short, the reaction of most people living in our contemporary culture and thinking of themselves as reasonable, kind, decent persons in a neutral kind of way. Whether we like it or not, this is the base culture that most of us start from and it is the point from which our own sanctification has to start and the point from which our own spreading of the light has to start also. You are probably right to call it pagan.
Whether you ought to have inferred this context from the tone of the paragraphs in question, or whether the other people who praised the commentary ought not to have made the inference, doesn’t really matter. Clearly clarification is in order and I am sure that something will be done. I am sure that if you look at “About Today” page for 28 December 2010 you will see something rather different from what you saw this year.
- Martin Kochanski.
