Is religion about  answering questions, all questions? The perfect  Christian, then, would be someone who has the answer to everything.

I was interested in something Pope Benedict XVI said  recently on the subject of God.

“The words of St Ignatius spring to mind: ‘The Christian is not the result of persuasion, but of power.’ We should not allow our faith to be drained by too many discussions of multiple, minor details, but rather, should always keep our eyes in the first place on the greatness of Christianity.

I remember, when I used go to Germany in the 1980s and ’90s, that I was asked to give interviews and I always knew the questions in advance. They concerned the ordination of women, contraception, abortion and other such constantly recurring problems.

If we let ourselves be drawn into these discussions, the Church is then identified with certain commandments or prohibitions; we give the impression that we are moralists with a few somewhat antiquated convictions, and not even a hint of the true greatness of the faith appears. I therefore consider it essential always to highlight the greatness of our faith – a commitment from which we must not allow such situations to divert us.”

It seems to me that the Christmas season, which we’re still celebrating, is about a great mystery of faith. God has sent his Word, become flesh, and he has given us a share in his life. The pope is right, he (and we) don’t have to have all the answers; our first duty is to be humble before the power of God made visible.