Pope Francis reflects on how, in becoming flesh, God joined with humanity, loving us in all our fragility and inviting us to share everything with him.
By Vatican News staff writer
Pope Francis on Sunday invited the faithful to invite God into their homes, their families, to share their weaknesses and fears with Him, in order to allow Him to change their lives.
Speaking during the Angelus, on the second Sunday after Christmas, the Pope contemplated the tenderness of the Child Jesus in the crib and reflected on the Gospel of John (JN 1: 1) explaining that, especially in the prologue, “tell us about Him before he was born”.
He said that the apostle uses words similar to those used in the Bible with the creation account, but says that today “The one we contemplated at His Birth, existed before: before things started, before the universe. It 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 calls him Logos, that is, the Word.” And the word, he added, serves to communicate: “one does not speak alone, one speaks to someone”.
The fact that Jesus was, from the beginning, the Word, continued Pope Francis, “means that from the beginning God wants to communicate with us, He wants to speak 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 from us the darkness of evil: “He is ‘the life’ who knows our lives and wants to tell us that He 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 forever among us
The Pope explained that thus, as today’s Gospel tells us, Jesus went beyond words and, in fact, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”.
He reflected on St. John’s choice of the word beef, this indicates our human condition in all its weaknesses, in all its weaknesses.
“He tells us that God became fragile so that he could touch our fragility up close,” he said.
“By revealing to the Father the wounds of his flesh,” said the Pope, “Jesus intercedes for us”.
From the moment the Lord became incarnate, Pope Francis explained, nothing in our life is foreign to Him: “There is nothing that He despises, we can share everything with Him”.
“Dear brother, dear sister, God became flesh to tell you that he loves you so, in your fragility; right there, where you’re most ashamed, ”he said.
The Pope went on to detail how God did not retreat: “He did not dress our humanity as a garment that can be worn and undressed”, he never separated himself from our flesh. And He will never be separated from it.
He explained that, as the Gospel says, “He came to live among us. He didn’t come to visit us. “
Open your hearts to the Lord
“What, then, does He want from us?” the Pope asked: “A great intimacy!”
He wants us to share our joys and sufferings with Him, he said, our desires and fears, hopes and sorrows, people and situations.
The Pope concluded by urging the faithful to do just that, to open their hearts to Him and tell Him everything.
“Let us stop in silence in front of the nativity scene to taste the tenderness of God who came, who became flesh. And without fear, we will invite you among us, in our homes, in our families, in our fragilities. He will come and life will change. “
Special greetings from Pope Francis for the New Year
Following 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 get better, with God’s help, if we work together for the common good, “putting the weakest and most disadvantaged at the center”.
“We don’t know what 2021 will bring us, but what each of us and all of us together can do is commit to taking care of each other and of creation, our common home,” he said.
He revealed that he was saddened to read in the newspapers that there have been cases in the past few days where some people have chosen to ignore the blocking rules in order to “have a good vacation” without worrying about others who are suffering the consequences of the pandemic.
The Pope expressed a special greeting, in particular 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 that he is close to families waiting for the arrival of a new baby, saying: “A birth is always a promise of hope!”