Quote of the (12th) Day

“Still, even if the few of Bethlehem have become many, believers in Jesus Christ always seem to be few. Many have seen the star, but only few have understood the message. The scholars of Scripture in the time of Jesus knew the word of God perfectly. They were able to pinpoint without any difficulty the place where the Messiah would be born, but as St Augustine said: 'they became like the milestones (that mark the path): though they gave indications to those traveling the road, they remained inert and immobile.'

Let's then ask ourselves: why do some see and seek, and others don't? What opens their eyes and heart? What's lacking in those who remain indifferent, those who point out the road but don't themselves move along it? We can respond: too much confidence in oneself, the pretense of knowing reality perfectly, the presumption of having already figured out a definitive judgment on things render one's heart closed and unreachable to the newness of God....

In the end, what is lacking in us is authentic humility, which knows to place oneself beneath that which is greater, but also authentic courage, which brings us to believe in that which is truly great, even if it's manifested in a defenseless child. Lacking is the evangelical ability to be childlike in our hearts, to be awed, to let go of oneself so to follow down the path signed by the star, the road of God. The Lord, however, has the power to make us able to see and, thus, to save us. Let us want, then, to ask Him to give us a wise and innocent heart, one which allows us to see the star of his mercy, to walk along its way, to find it and to be filled with the great light and true joy that he has brought into this world. Amen!”

--Homily of Pope Benedict XVI (excerpt)
Mass of the Epiphany
St Peter's Basilica, Rome
6 January 2010

PHOTO: Reuters

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