Francis on Christmas Eve: “Jesus, the Son who makes me a son”

Vatican City

The Pope began the homily by emphasizing the joy and the changes that the arrival of a child generates in families: “It is something extraordinary, which changes everything, which sets in motion unthinkable energies and helps overcome fatigue, discomfort and nights. insomnia, because it brings indescribable happiness, in front of which nothing weighs more ».

Then, he drew the parallel with the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus: “the birth of Jesus is the novelty which allows us each year to be reborn internally and to find in Him the strength to face each test”, says Pope. Then, the Pope clarified that the word “ for ” is repeated several times in the biblical texts which are read today and he elaborates on this:

But what is this for us? May the Son of God, blessed by nature, come and make us children blessed by grace. Yes, God comes into the world as a son to make us children of God. What a wonderful gift! Today God surprises us and says to each of us: “You are wonderful”. Sister, brother, do not be discouraged. Are you tempted to feel out of place? God tells you, “No, you are me son! “. Do you have the feeling of not reaching it, the fear of not being up to it, the fear of not leaving the tunnel From the test? God says to you: “Have courage, I am with you.” He does not say it to you in words, but to make you a son like you and for you, to remind you of the starting point for you to start over: to recognize yourself as son of God, as daughter of God.

The Pope emphasizes that: “It is the indestructible heart of our hope, the burning core that sustains existence: beyond our qualities and our faults, stronger than the wounds and failures of the past, than the fears. and concerns. for the future this truth is found: we are beloved children. And God’s love for us does not and will never depend on us: it is free love, pure grace ”.

The Father gave us his Son

“The Father did not give us anything, but his own only begotten Son, who is all his joy”, says Francis and opposes the generosity of God to our response: “if we look at the ingratitude of man towards God and injustice towards so many people our brothers, a question arises: has the Lord done well to give us so much, does he do well to continue to trust us? Aren’t you overestimating us? Yes, he overestimates us, and he does it because he loves us to the extreme (…) He is like that, so different from us. He still loves us, more than we would be able to love ourselves “, insists the Pope, who then affirms:” Only the love of Jesus transforms life, heals the deepest wounds and frees us from vicious circles. dissatisfaction. , anger and lament ”.

The king born in poverty

Francis asks himself: “Why was he born at night, without decent housing, in poverty and rejection, when he deserved to be born as the greatest king in the most beautiful of palaces?” Because? ”To this he replies:“ The Son of God was born forsaken to tell us that every rejected person is a son of God. He came into the world as a child comes into the world, weak and fragile, so that we can embrace our weaknesses with tenderness ”.

God does great things out of our poverty

The Pope stops his gaze on the manger, on the place where Jesus rests, just after his birth and says: “He has put all our salvation in the manger of a stable and he is not afraid of our poverty. May his mercy transform our miseries! “

Jesus was born for us

Francis invites us to fix our gaze on who was born for Jesus? The first answer is for the shepherds, who identify in this child the presence of God. The Pope, looking at us, said:

This sign, the Child in the manger, is also for us, to guide us in life. In Bethlehem, which means “House of Bread,” God is in a manger, reminding us that we need it to live, like bread to eat. We must let his love pass free, indefatigable, concrete. How many times on the contrary, hungry for entertainment, success and worldliness, do we feed our lives with foods that do not fill and leave a void within. The Lord, through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, laments that if the ox and the donkey know their manger, we, his people, do not know him, the source of our life (cf. East 1,2-3).

It’s true, says Francisco: “insatiable to own, we throw ourselves into so many vanity eaters, forgetting the Bethlehem crib. This manger, poor in everything and rich in love, teaches us that the nourishment of life is to allow ourselves to be loved by God and to love others ”.

God was born as a child to encourage us to take care of others

“God was born as a child to encourage us to take care of others. His tender cry makes us understand how useless our many whims are. His powerless love, which disarms us, reminds us that the time we have is not to feel sorry for ourselves, but to console the tears of those who suffer ”, Francis emphasizes, adding:“ God comes to live among us. , poor and needy, to tell us that serving the poor we will love. Since tonight, as one poet wrote, “God’s residence is with me. Decoration is love ”(E. Dickinson, Poems, XVII) ”.

The Bishop of Rome concluded the homily by joining his voice to the voice of so many consciences that await in the Child Jesus: “A son has been given to us. It is you, Jesus, the Son who makes me a son. You love me as I am, not as I dream of myself. Hugging you in my arms, Child of the nursery, I embrace my life again. To welcome you, Bread of life, I also want to give my life. You who save me, teach me to serve. You who do not leave me alone, help me to console your brothers, because because you know that since this evening, everyone is my brother. “