Pope Francis on Saturday night (Manila time) reassured the public that God is present in the most difficult times, even as the world is consumed by greed.

During his homily for the Night for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Pope Francis said Jesus' manger symbolizes "rejection and refusal," noting conditions for “greed for consumption."

“While animals feed in their stalls, men and women in our world, in their hunger for wealth and power, consume even their neighbors, their brothers and sisters," the Pope said, as translated by Vatican News.

He noted the presence of wars and inequality and how this affects children. Christ's birth in the manger though shows that God is there even in the worst human situations possible.

It is also a reminder "that God truly became flesh.”

God's love, the Pope said, "feeds us" and makes us humble.

This was why people can take comfort in the thought that God is near even during our sufferings.

“[There is] no evil nor sin from which Jesus does not want to save us. And He can. Christmas means that God is close to us: let confidence be reborn!" Pope Francis said.

“The poverty of the manger “shows us where the true riches in life are to be found: not in money and power, but in relationships and persons.”

While the image of poverty resonates in Jesus' humble birth in the manger, true wealth, according to the Pope, is through Him.

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