Here and Now with Francis 12/19/15 (Christmas, poverty, Jesus, humility)

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From the homily
If you want to find God, seek Him in humility, seek Him in poverty, seek Him where He is hidden: in the neediest, in the sick, in the hungry, in the imprisoned. And when Jesus preaches life to us He says: how our Judgment will be. He will not say you come with Me because you made so many good offerings in the Church. The entrance to Heaven is not paid for with money. He won’t say you are very important. You have studied so much and received so many honors.  Honors do not open the doors of Heaven. [...] What will Jesus say? I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was sick, I was in prison and you came to me .... Jesus is in humility. [full text] 
 From an address
In fact, Jesus did not simply appear on earth, He did not dedicate a bit of His time to us, but He came to share our life, to receive our desires, because He wanted, and still wants to live here, together with us and for us. He has our world at heart, which at Christmas became His world. The Crib reminds us of this: God, because of His great mercy, came down to us to remain stably with us. [...] Moreover, the Crib tells us that He never imposes Himself by force. Remember this well, you children and youngsters: the Lord never imposes Himself by force. To save us, He did not work a grandiose miracle. God does not like the imposing revolutions of the powerful of history, and He does not use a magic wand to change situations. Instead, He makes Himself small, He makes Himself a child, to attract us with love, to touch our hearts with His humble kindness; to shake, with His poverty, all those who are intent on accumulating the false treasures of this world. [full text]

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