“They bring together two opposites: the Word and the flesh,” he said.
“‘Word’ indicates that Jesus is the eternal Word of the Father, infinite, existing from all time, before all created things; ‘flesh,’ on the other hand, indicates precisely our created reality, fragile, limited, mortal.”
The pope said that these “two separate worlds” were united in Jesus.
“Faced with our frailties, the Lord does not withdraw. He does not remain in his blessed eternity and in his infinite light, but rather he draws close, he makes himself incarnate, he descends into the darkness, he dwells in lands that are foreign to him,” he commented.
“And why does God do this? Why does he come down to us? He does this because he does not resign himself to the fact that we can go astray by going far from him, far from eternity, far from the light. This is God’s work: to come among us.”
“If we consider ourselves unworthy, that does not stop him: he comes. If we reject him, He does not tire of seeking us out. If we are not ready and willing to receive him, he prefers to come anyway. And if we close the door in his face, he waits.”
“He is truly the Good Shepherd. And the most beautiful image of the Good Shepherd? The Word that becomes flesh to share in our life. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who comes to seek us right where we are: in our problems, in our suffering… He comes there.”
The pope challenged pilgrims to allow God to enter into “inner spaces” habitually denied to him.
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“Today I invite you to be specific,” he said. “What are the inner things that I believe God does not like? What is the space that I believe is only for me, where I do not want God to come?”
He added: “Everyone has their own sin — let us call it by name. And He is not afraid of our sins: He came to heal us. Let us at least let Him see it, let Him see the sin. Let us be brave, let us say: ‘But, Lord, I am in this situation but I do not want to change. But you, please, don’t go too far away.’ That’s a good prayer.”
He also urged people to stop in front of nativity scenes during the Christmas period and “talk to Jesus about our real situations.”
“Let us invite him officially into our lives, especially in the dark areas,” he said.
After praying the Angelus, Pope Francis greeted pilgrims from Rome and further afield. He pointed out flags in the square below from Poland, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, and Venezuela.
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