J.M.J. Did you see any excerpts from the Homily of Pope Francis during the Midnight Mass?
"On this holy night, while we contemplate the Infant Jesus just born
and placed in the manger, we are invited to reflect. How do we welcome
the tenderness of God? Do I allow myself to be taken up by God, to be
embraced by Him, or do I prevent Him from drawing close? “But I am
searching for the Lord”--we could respond. Nevertheless, what is most
important is not seeking Him, but rather allowing Him to seek me, find
me and caress me with tenderness. The question put to us simply by the
Infant’s presence is: do I allow God to love me?
"More so, do we have the courage to welcome with tenderness the
difficulties and problems of those who are near to us, or do we prefer
impersonal solutions, perhaps effective but devoid of the warmth of the
Gospel? How much the world needs tenderness today! The patience of God,
the closeness of God, the tenderness of God.
"The Christian response cannot be different from God’s response to our
smallness. Life must be met with goodness, with meekness. When we
realize that God is in love with our smallness, that He made Himself
small in order to better encounter us, we cannot help but open our
hearts to Him, and beseech Him: 'Lord, help me to be like You, give me
the grace of tenderness in the most difficult circumstances of life,
give me the grace of closeness in the face of every need, of meekness in
every conflict'.
"Dear brothers and sisters, on this holy night we contemplate the
Nativity scene: there 'the people who walked in darkness have seen a
great light' (Is 9:1). People who were unassuming, people open to
receiving the gift of God, were the ones who saw this light. This light
was not seen, however, by the arrogant, the proud, by those who made
laws according to their own personal measures, who were closed off to
others. Let us look to the crib and pray, asking the Blessed Mother: 'O
Mary, show us Jesus!'."
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