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Art that comforts

Vatican Museums. And the Word became Flesh #4

“The depiction of Jesus’ birth is itself a simple and joyful proclamation of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God.” With these few words, Pope Francis captures the task that sacred art is called to do – to reveal the truth of the Good News through beauty. Each day of the Christmas Octave, the Vatican Museums and Pope will offer a masterpiece from the papal collections, accompanied by a reflection from the Popes.

Marco Palmezzano (Forlì 1459 - 1539), Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth and the Infant Saint John; dated 1515; oil on wood; 90 x 66 cm (detail); © Musei Vaticani

© Musei Vaticani
© Musei Vaticani

“This is what we should ask Jesus for at Christmas: the grace of littleness. ‘Lord, teach us to love littleness. Help us to understand that littleness is the way to authentic greatness’. What does it mean, concretely, to accept littleness? In the first place, it is to believe that God desires to come into the little things of our life; he wants to inhabit our daily lives, the things we do each day at home, in our families, at school and in the workplace. Amid our ordinary lived experience, he wants to do extraordinary things. His is a message of immense hope. Jesus asks us to rediscover and value the little things in life. If he is present there, what else do we need? Let us stop pining for a grandeur that is not ours to have. Let us put aside our complaints and our gloomy faces, and the greed that never satisfies! Littleness and the amazement of that little child: this is the message.”

Pope Francis – Christmas Midnight Mass Homily, 2021

Series Editor: Paolo Ondarza

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28 December 2022, 08:30