His first biographer, the Friar Minor Thomas of Celano, recounts in his Vita Prima, the first account of the Saint’s life, that one day Francis had the flash of inspiration to call, “a certain man by the name of John, of good reputation and even better life, whom blessed Francis loved with a special love…” The Saint said to him, “If you want us to celebrate the present feast of our Lord at Greccio, go with haste and diligently prepare what I tell you. For I wish to do something that will recall to memory the little Child who was born in Bethlehem, and set before our bodily eyes in some ways the inconveniences of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, and how, with an ox and an ass standing by, he lay upon the hay where he had been placed.”
This occurred in 1223, and in that precise moment the popular tradition of the Christmas Crib (or Manger or Nativity Scene) was born.
The biographer recounts that Saint Francis, “over and above all other Solemnities, celebrated with ineffable tenderness the Nativity of the Child Jesus, and called ‘the Feasts of Feasts’ the day on which God, having become a tiny child, sucked at a human breast”.
Thomas of Celano, in a second account of the Saint’s life (Vita Secunda), tells us that on Christmas Day Francis wanted the poor, and animals as well, to have a special treat, “On this day Francis wanted the poor and the hungry to be filled by the rich, and more than the usual amount of grain and hay given to oxen and asses. ‘If I could speak to the Emperor,’ he said, ‘I would ask that a general law be made that all who can should scatter corn and grain along the roads so that birds might have an abundance of food on the day of such great solemnity, especially our sisters the larks’”.
Indeed, the night of Greccio restored to Christianity the intensity and beauty of the Feast of Christmas, and taught the people of God to perceive its most authentic message, its special warmth, and to love and worship the humanity of Christ.
In the General Audience of 23 December, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI said that Francis’ particular approach to the birth of our Lord gave the Christian faith a new dimension. “Easter,” said the Pope, “had focused attention on the power of God who triumphs over death, inaugurates new life and teaches us to hope in the world to come. Saint Francis with his crib highlighted the defenceless love of God, his humanity and his kindness; God manifested himself to humanity in the Incarnation of the Word to teach people a new way of living and loving”.
Thomas of Celano relates that on that Christmas night Frances was granted the grace of a marvellous vision. In the manger he saw a tiny child who was awakened by the Saint’s presence; and Celano adds, “Nor did this vision differ from the events because, through the work of his grace which acted through his holy servant Francis, the Child Jesus was revived in the hearts of many who had forgotten him, and was deeply impressed upon their loving memory”.
Francis was a down-to-earth sort of person, and knew our needs well. He knew that most of us, to believe, need to touch and see.
Let us then rediscover the joy of making Nativity Scenes in our homes – it doesn’t matter whether they are rudimentary or elaborate. It is a simple and very effective way of presenting the faith and transmitting it to our children. The manger, in fact, helps us to contemplate the mystery of God’s love who revealed Himself in the poverty and simplicity of the Bethlehem cave. It makes us understand the true secret of Christmas because it speaks of humility and the merciful goodness of Christ who, “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor”. (2 Corinthians 8:9)
At the Messenger of Saint Anthony we would like to wish a joyful Christmas and a New Year full of blessings to all of you who, being part of the great family of Saint Anthony, have always demonstrated your sensitivity to suffering and poverty in all parts of the world.
Updated on October 06 2016