God lived in a family (Pope Francis)

   God, whom we often imagine to be beyond problems, came to live in our life and its problems. This is how he came to us. He did not come as a fully grown adult, but very little. He lived in a family, as the son of a mother and father. He spent most of his time there, growing, learning, in a life made up of ordinariness, hiddenness and silence. And he did not avoid difficulties. Rather, by choosing a family, a family that was “expert in suffering”, he says this to our families: If you are facing difficulties, I know what you are experiencing. I experienced it. I, my mother and my father, we experienced it so we could say to your family too: You are not alone! 

--Pope Francis,
December 31, 2024

Image source: John Everett Millais, Christ in the House of His Parents (1849-1850), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_in_the_House_of_His_Parents. For a fascinating, in-depth exploration of this “scandalous” painting by Fr. Patrick van der Vorst, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LFmUWmJPEE
Quotation source