A radical idea from Benedict XVI's Christmas homily:
The Resurrection presupposes the Incarnation.
For God’s Son to take the form of a child, a truly human child, made a profound impression on the heart of the Saint of Assisi, transforming faith into love. “The kindness and love of God our Savior for mankind were revealed” this phrase of Saint Paul now acquired an entirely new depth. In the child born in the stable at Bethlehem, we can as it were touch and caress God.
And so the liturgical year acquired a second focus in a feast that is above all a feast of the heart. This has nothing to do with sentimentality. It is right here, in this new experience of the reality of Jesus’ humanity that the great mystery of faith is revealed.
Francis loved the child Jesus, because for him it was in this childish estate that God’s humility shone forth. God became poor. His Son was born in the poverty of the stable. In the child Jesus, God made himself dependent, in need of human love, he put himself in the position of asking for human love, our love.
(Photo: A sick newborn, May 9, 2009 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. In the North of Kabul, the Charahi Qambar camp shelters refugees from Helmand province, where the International Security Assistance Force operates. By Reza/Getty Images.)
The Dish 