Abbiamo camminato nell’Avvento per celebrare il Natale. Abbiamo celebrato questo mistero unico, dove l’umano e il divino si incontrano, si abbracciano e si baciano con amore di predilezione (cf. Sal 85,10-11). Un incontro che segna la proposta cristiana di una nuova umanità. A partire da questo paradigma fondamentale dovrebbero essere misurati, verificati e strutturati gli altri paradigmi dell’ispirazione umano-cristiana. Il Natale manifesta la predilezione del Dio-della-Vita per la sua creazione e le sue creature, apparendo con il chiaro segnale di volersi coinvolgere nella loro vita, ma con rispetto e profondità, come solo il vero amore sa fare. Predilezione per i più poveri e abbandonati, per i più trascurati e disumanizzati, perché da lì, da quell’apparente insignificanza, possa manifestarsi una luce di speranza come faro guida. La vita cristiana e la riflessione che l’accompagna non possono abbandonare questo luogo teologico fondamentale e il suo paradigma basilare, se vogliono mantenerne non solo il significato, ma anche, e soprattutto, la sua attualità e plausibilità storica. Se l’Avvento ci ha preparato all’attesa immediata e finale, è stato per aiutarci a generare due atteggiamenti semplici ma fondamentali che permettessero al Natale di fare storia nella nostra vita. Cioè, prepararsi all’abbraccio finale con il Dio-della-Vita, abbracciando…

By making the manger this Christmas, we can evocatively express some fundamental truths of our faith. Francis of Assisi started this tradition in Greccio eight hundred years ago, beautifully portraying the closeness of the Incarnate God who became one with humanity and walks alongside us. Indeed, “with the simplicity of that sign, Saint Francis carried out a great work of evangelization”[1]. «Thanks to St Francis, the Christian people were able to perceive that at Christmas God truly became the “Emmanuel,” the God-with-us from whom no barrier nor any distance can separate us. Thus, in that Child, God became close to each one of us, so close that we are able to speak intimately to him and engage in a trusting relationship of deep affection with him, just as we do with any newborn baby»[2]. In that humble manger, nestled between the ox and the donkey, Francis of Assisi invites all to “feel” and “touch” the nearness, poverty, and tenderness of the Child Jesus who has placed “his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14). “God appears as a child, for us to take into our arms. Beneath weakness and frailty, he conceals his power” (Ads 8). Indeed, “in the child Jesus, God…

This year we are celebrating the eighth centenary of the living nativity scene that Francis of Assisi held at Greccio (Italy), in 1223[1]. It is generally considered that this event gave rise to “the enchanting image of the Christmas crèche”[2] and to the “intense spiritual atmosphere that surrounds Christmas”[3]. Sadly, today we have turned Christmas into an excuse for consumerism. Between lights, shopping, and gifts we are losing the ability to contemplate the humility and poverty of the Child Jesus, who calls us to follow in his footsteps by faithfully observing the Gospel. Pope Francis invites us to “encourage” in our society the enchanting tradition “of the Christmas crèche”. He recognizes that it originated in the living nativity scene of Saint Francis in Greccio. This papal recognition does not negate the obvious similarities of that celebration with the medieval tradition of staging the Christmas mysteries. Saint Francis’ crèche was not the first staging of the nativity but its connection to the Eucharist, the way people present felt involved, and the charism of the Saint of Assisi may explain why the popular belief has considered Saint Francis as the initiator and propagator of the nativity scenes. Benedict XVI confirms that “the…