Pope Francis reflects on how God, by making himself flesh, united with humanity, loved us in all our weaknesses and invited us to share everything with Him.
By Vatican News Staff Writer
Pope Francis on Sunday invited the faithful to invite God into their homes, in their families, to share their weaknesses and fears with Him so that He can change their lives.
Speaking at the Angelus on the second Sunday after Christmas, the Pope reflected on the tenderness of the Child Jesus in the manger, and reflected on the Gospel of John (Jn 1: 1) which explains that, especially in the prologue, “it tells us about Him before He was born.”
He said the apostle uses words similar to those used in the Bible with the creation account, but says that “The one we considered at His birth existed today — before things began, before the universe. existed before space and time. “In Him was life” (Jn 1: 4), before life appeared. “
God communicates with us
The Pope noted that “Saint John Hem the Logos, that’s the Word.” And the word, he added, serves to communicate: “one does not just speak, one talks to someone.”
The fact that Jesus was the Word from the very beginning, continued Pope Francis, “means that God wants to communicate with us from the beginning, He wants to talk to us.”
The Son of the Father, Pope Francis explained, “wants to tell us about the beauty of being children of God”, he wants to remove the darkness of evil from us: “He is ‘the life’ who knows our life and that want to tell us He has always loved them. “
“Jesus is the eternal Word of God, who has always thought of us and wanted to communicate with us,” he said.
He became flesh to dwell among us forever
The Pope explained that, as today’s gospel tells us, Jesus went beyond words, and indeed, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
He thought about John’s choice of the word meat, that indicates our human condition in all its weakness, in all its weakness.
“He tells us that God became vulnerable so that He could touch our vulnerability up close,” he said.
“He reveals the wounds of His flesh to the Father,” said the Pope, “Jesus pleads for us.”
From the moment the Lord took flesh, Pope Francis explained, nothing in our life is foreign to Him: “There is nothing He despises, we can share everything with Him.”
“Dear brother, dear sister, God has become flesh to tell you that He loves you so, in your weakness; right where you feel most ashamed, ”he said.
The Pope went on to detail how God did not return: “He did not put on our humanity like a garment that can be put on and taken off,” never again detached Himself from our flesh. And He will never be separated from it.
He explained that, as the Gospel says, “He came to dwell among us. He did not come to visit us. “
Open your heart to the Lord
“Then what does He want from us?” asked the Pope, “Great intimacy!”
He wants us to share with Him our joys and sufferings, he said, our desires and fears, hopes and sorrows, people and situations.
The Pope decided to urge the faithful to do just this, to open their hearts to Him and tell Him everything.
“Let us stand silently before the cradle to enjoy the tenderness of God that drew near, that became flesh. And let us fearlessly invite Him among us, to our homes, to our families, to our infirmities. He will come and life will change. “
Special greetings from Pope Francis for the New Year
After the Angelus Prayer, Pope Francis renewed his good wishes for the year that has just begun for everyone. He said that as Christians we know that things will only improve, with God’s help, if we work together for the common good, “putting the weakest and the most disadvantaged at the center.”
“We don’t know what 2021 will bring, but what each of us and all of us can do together is commit to taking care of each other and the creation, our common home,” he said.
He revealed that he was sad to read in the newspapers that there have been instances in recent days where some people chose to ignore the lockdown rules in order to ‘have a good holiday’ without thinking about others suffering the consequences of the pandemic.
The Pope extended his special greetings especially to those “who start the new year with greater difficulties: the sick, the unemployed, those who live in situations of oppression or exploitation”.
He also said he is close to families expecting the arrival of a new baby, saying, “A birth is always a promise of hope!”