“When someone approaches me and asks me difficult questions – ‘but Father, why do children suffer?’ – I really do not know what to answer”. Pope Francis said this speaking off the cuff during the first audience of 2017 in the Paul VI Hall. The Pontiff cited Jeremiah’s passage in which Rachel weeps for her children, which will later inspire Matthew’s account of the Massacre of the Innocents, recalling that such text “puts before our eyes the tragic killing of defenceless human beings, the horror of power that shows contempt for life and suppresses it. The children of Bethlehem died because of Jesus. And He too, the innocent Lamb, will then die for all”. “The Son of God entered human suffering, He shared in it and accepted death”, the Pope continued. “His Word is the final word of consolation, because it is born from tears”. “Do not forget this”, the Pope continued off the cuff, addressing the faithful. And when confronted with questions about innocent suffering, the Pontiff “only” gives this suggestion as a reply: “Look at the Crucified, God has given us His Son and He has suffered, there you may find an answer. But here there is no answer. It is only by looking at the love of God who gives up His Son, who gives up His life for us, that we may find some consolation. This is why we say that God entered human suffering”. “And on the Cross, it is He, the dying Son, who will give new fruitfulness to His Mother, by entrusting the disciple John to her, thereby making her the mother of the people of believers”, Pope Francis concluded. “Death is conquered, and Jeremiah’s prophecy is fulfilled. Even Mary’s tears, like Rachel’s, have generated hope and new life”.