The Pope said that the Magi, on the other hand, wanted to worship, but they thought they would find the King in a palace: "They had to discover that what they sought was not in a palace, but elsewhere, both existentially and geographically."
Continuing, Pope Francis said we have to realize that "God wanted to be born where we least expected, or perhaps desired, in a place where we so often refuse him. To realize that in God's eyes there is always room for those who are wounded, weary, mistreated and abandoned."
"That his strength and his power are called mercy. For some of us, how far Jerusalem is from Bethlehem!" Francis emphasized.
"The Magi experienced longing; they were tired of the usual fare. They were all too familiar with, and weary of, the Herods of their own day," the Pope said. "But there, in Bethlehem, was a promise of newness, of gratuitousness. There something new was taking place."
"The Magi were able to worship, because they had the courage to set out. And as they fell to their knees before the small, poor and vulnerable Infant, the unexpected and unknown Child of Bethlehem, they discovered the glory of God."
Following Mass, Pope Francis led around 35,000 pilgrims in the Angelus in St. Peter's Square, speaking about how Jesus is our light: "a light that does not dazzle, but accompanies and gives a unique joy."
"In our life there are several stars," he warned. And it's up to us to choose which to follow. There are many "flashing lights" in our lives, like success and money, which come and go, which may be good, but are not enough, because they do not give lasting peace.
"The Magi, instead, invite you to follow a stable and friendly light, which shall not pass, because it is not of this world," he explained. It comes from "heaven and shines in the heart."
Today, follow the "bright star of Jesus!" he said. Have courage, because the "light of Jesus can overcome the darkest darkness."
This Epiphany, look to the example of the Magi, he emphasized. Go out of yourself and seek: "the Christian life is a continuous journey."
And finding the Child, the Magi worshipped him, entered into "a personal communion of love with Jesus," giving him their most precious gifts.
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Don't give Jesus only your "spare time" or "some thought occasionally," the Pope concluded. "Like the Magi, let us set out, clothing ourselves in light, following the star of Jesus, adoring the Lord with our whole selves."
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.