Botticelli, "Mystical Nativity" c. 1500-1501
"It is only the Child lying in the manger who possesses the true secret of life. For this reason, he asks us to welcome him, to make room for him within us, in our hearts, in our homes, in our cities, and in our societies... Let us endeavor to be among those who welcome him. Before him one cannot remain indifferent. We too, dear friends, must continuously take sides. What will our response be? With what attitude will we welcome him? The simplicity of the shepherds and the seeking of the Magi who scrutinized the signs of God by means of the star come to our help. The docility of Mary and the wise prudence of Joseph serve as an example to us...
"The love that Jesus, born in Bethlehem, brought into the world binds to himself in a lasting relationship of friendship and brotherhood all who welcome him. Saint John of the Cross says 'in giving us all, that is, his Son, in him God has now said all. Fix your eyes on him alone... and you will find in addition more than you ask and desire.'"
-- Pope Benedict XVI
"It is not enough to say that Jesus is the name we give to the Truth. Jesus is the man who is the incarnation of the Truth... We do not seek solutions to problems in life derived from religious sentiments, spiritual approaches, or philosophical convictions... In each circumstance of life, whatever it is, we seek not an answer but a Presence, the human presence that is the way to the 'Answer,' to the Truth. We do not come together as a Church to find intellectual answers to our questions about the meaning and purpose of life. This is to reduce the Church to an ideology... The Church is not 'our way' of finding answers to our religious quest for the Truth; it is the method through which the Truth becomes humanly present to us... We come together as a Church to learn how to recognize the fact of this Presence, and to witness to it any circumstance of life, especially when there are no answers. Jesus Christ is the way to the Answer. In him, way and answer coincide."
-- Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete
"The love that Jesus, born in Bethlehem, brought into the world binds to himself in a lasting relationship of friendship and brotherhood all who welcome him. Saint John of the Cross says 'in giving us all, that is, his Son, in him God has now said all. Fix your eyes on him alone... and you will find in addition more than you ask and desire.'"
-- Pope Benedict XVI
"It is not enough to say that Jesus is the name we give to the Truth. Jesus is the man who is the incarnation of the Truth... We do not seek solutions to problems in life derived from religious sentiments, spiritual approaches, or philosophical convictions... In each circumstance of life, whatever it is, we seek not an answer but a Presence, the human presence that is the way to the 'Answer,' to the Truth. We do not come together as a Church to find intellectual answers to our questions about the meaning and purpose of life. This is to reduce the Church to an ideology... The Church is not 'our way' of finding answers to our religious quest for the Truth; it is the method through which the Truth becomes humanly present to us... We come together as a Church to learn how to recognize the fact of this Presence, and to witness to it any circumstance of life, especially when there are no answers. Jesus Christ is the way to the Answer. In him, way and answer coincide."
-- Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete
