By Carol Glatz • Catholic News Service • Posted June 23, 2017

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Jesus loves and reveals himself to those who are meek, defenseless and humble of heart, Pope Francis said.

“He fell in love with our smallness and it is for this reason he chose us. He chooses the smallest, not the greatest, the smallest, and reveals himself to the little ones,” not the wise and learned, the pope said June 23 in his homily during Mass at Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Marking the Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the pope talked about the mystery of this heart that bound itself to us and stayed faithful no matter what.

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“We have been chosen because of love and this is our identity,” he said.

It’s not accurate to believe that “I chose this religion, I chose … No. You did not choose. It was he who chose you, he called you and he bound himself to you and this is our faith.”

“If you want to understand something of the mystery of Jesus, lower yourself” and recognize one’s nothingness, he said.

The reason he calls and reveals himself to the little ones, he said, is because they are willing and open to listening. The little ones are also all those who suffer, are tired and burdened, he added.

God, whose heart is open, is calling to everyone, including the great, but they do not hear “because they are full of themselves” and have made no room for anything else, he said.