In these last days of the Christmas season, we reflect on God's desire for us that takes flesh in the person of Christ Jesus. And we recall these words from Pope Francis’ homily for Christmas Eve:
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 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 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."
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Rest on the Flight to Egypt, (detail), oil on canvas, c. 1597, Gallery Doria Pamphilj, Rome.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Rest on the Flight to Egypt, (detail), oil on canvas, c. 1597, Gallery Doria Pamphilj, Rome.