杏MAP导航

By Devin Watkins

As the Church celebrates the Octave鈥攅ight days鈥攐f Christmas, 杏MAP导航 Francis focused his catechesis at the Wednesday General Audience on the mystery of Christ鈥檚 birth.

He drew inspiration from St. Francis de Sales on the 400th anniversary of the death of the Doctor of the Church.

The 杏MAP导航 also announced that he is publishing an Apostolic Letter on Wednesday dedicated to the French-born Saint and entitled Totum amoris est ("Everything Pertains to Love鈥�).

Humble birth

In his catechesis, the 杏MAP导航 reflected on Jesus鈥� humble birth in a stable in Bethlehem, where His mother Mary laid Him in a manger, basically a trough out of which animals eat.

He said the Evangelist Luke stresses this fact, meaning it is a sign for all humanity.

God鈥檚 closeness

杏MAP导航 Francis noted that this detail fully reveals God鈥檚 鈥渃loseness, compassion, and tenderness鈥�.

God, he said, seeks to draw us to Himself with love and tenderness, rather than 鈥渋mpose His truth and justice upon us.鈥�

Love is the key to the way God wishes to attract us, continued the 杏MAP导航.

Sweetness and harshness

Another notable aspect of the manger, said 杏MAP导航 Francis, is 鈥減overty, understood as the renunciation of all worldly vanity.鈥�

Referring to St. Francis de Sales, he noted that the manger teaches us 鈥渢he perfect renunciation of all goods鈥�, since such a rough baby bed combines both 鈥渢enderness and austerity, love and sorrow, sweetness and harshness鈥�.

God鈥檚 love is not sickly sweet, as the manger poignantly shows, noted 杏MAP导航 Francis.

Welcoming everything in love

In conclusion, 杏MAP导航 Francis said Christ鈥檚 birth in such simple surroundings invites each of us to welcome both the pleasant and less-than-pleasant things that God sends us.

We should seek, he said, to 鈥渄esire nothing and reject nothing, to accept everything that God sends us鈥� and to do so 鈥渁lways and only out of love, because God loves us and only ever wants our good.鈥�