Let us fix our eyes on the True God:  Holy Father at Christmas Mass

"The wonder of Christmas" is that an infinite God "becomes finite for our sake," said Pope Francis, quoting directly from the Gospel according to St. Luke during the Christmas Mass During the Night, which he presided over in St. Peter’s Basilica.

“While the emperor numbers the world’s inhabitants, God enters it almost surreptitiously. While those who exercise power seek to take their place with the great ones of history, the King of history chooses the way of littleness,” said the Holy Father, citing St.  Luke, who made a point of emphasizing this census.

The emperor’s “census of the whole earth manifests the all-too-human thread that runs through history: the quest for worldly power and might, fame and glory, which measures everything in terms of success, results, numbers and figures, a world obsessed with achievement,” said Pope Francis.

The Pope suggested an alternative approach, which is “not the god of accomplishment, but the God of Incarnation.  He does not eliminate injustice from above by a show of power but from below, by a show of love.  He does not burst on the scene with limitless power, but descends to the narrow confines of our lives.”

Pope Francis urged the faithful to keep their eyes fixed on this “living and true God.”  “In his greatness, he became small.  He revolutionizes history by becoming a part of history and by being the God who so respects us as to allow us to reject him; who takes away sin by taking it upon himself,” he said.

“God so greatly desires to embrace our lives that infinite though he is, he becomes finite for our sake. In his greatness, he chooses to become small; in his righteousness, he submits to our injustice,” said the Holy Father.  (MTV)