Pope Francis reflects on how God has united himself with mankind by making himself carnal, loving us in all our weakness, and inviting us to share everything with Him.
By author of Vatican News staff
Pope Francis on Sunday invited believers to invite God into their homes, their families, to share their shortcomings and fears with Him to allow Him to change their lives.
The pope spoke on the second Sunday after Christmas during the Angelus and considered the softness of the Child Jesus in the manger and reflected on the Gospel of John (Jn 1: 1) and explains that, especially in the preface, “it tells us about Him before He was born.”
He said that the apostle used words similar to those used in the Bible with the account of creation, but said that ‘the one we thought of at his birth still exists today: before things began, before the universe. He existed before space and time. “In Him was life” (Jn 1: 4), before life appeared. ”
God communicates with us
The pope remarked that ‘Saint John calls him the Logos, i.e. the Word. ” And the word, he added, serves to communicate: “one does not speak alone, one speaks to someone.”
The fact that Jesus was the Word from the beginning, Pope Francis continued, “means that God wants to communicate with us from the beginning, He wants to speak to us.”
The Son of the Father, explains Pope Francis, “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’ that knows our lives and wants to tell us that He has always loved them. ”
“Jesus is the eternal Word of God, who always thought of us and wanted to communicate with us,” he said.
He became flesh to dwell among us forever.
The pope explained that Jesus, as the Gospel of today tells us, goes beyond words, and indeed, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
He reflected on the choice of the word of Saint John flesh, it indicates our human condition in all its weakness, in all its weakness.
“He tells us that God became fragile so that He could touch our fragility up close,” he said.
“The pope has revealed the wounds of his flesh to the Father,” Jesus interceded for us.
From the moment the Lord accepted flesh, Pope Francis explained, nothing of our lives is foreign to him: “There is nothing that he mocks, we can share everything with him.”
“Dear brother, dear sister, God has become flesh to tell you that He loves you so much in your fragility; just there, where you are most ashamed, ”he said.
The pope further explained how God did not turn back: “He did not put on our humanity like a garment that we can put on and take off,” but He 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 visit us. ”
Open your hearts to the Lord
“What does he want from us then?” asks the pope: “A great intimacy!”
He wants us to share our joy and suffering with Him, he said, our desires and fears, hopes and sorrows, people and situations.
To that end, the pope encouraged the believers to do just that, to open their hearts to Him and to tell Him everything.
“Let us keep silent before the cradle to enjoy the tenderness of God who has come near, who has become flesh. And without fear, let us invite Him among us, in our homes, in our families, in our weaknesses. He will come and life will change. ”
Pope Francis’ special greetings for the new year
After the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis renewed his good wishes for the year that had all begun. He said that we as Christians know that things will only improve with God’s help if we work together for the common good, and ‘put the weak and disadvantaged at the center’.
“We do not know what 2021 is going to yield, but what each of us and all of us can do together is to commit to caring for one another and creating, our common home,” he said.
He revealed that he was saddened to read in the newspapers that there had been instances in recent days in which some people had decided to ignore lock-in rules to “have a good holiday”, without thinking of others as to the consequences of pandemic.
The pope especially expressed his special greetings to those “who are starting the new year with greater problems: the sick, the unemployed, those living in situations of oppression or exploitation.”
He also said he was close to relatives expecting the arrival of a new baby, saying: “A birth is always a promise of hope!”