Dec 03 2009
“And This will be a sign for you…”
To set up the crib at home can be a simple but effective way of presenting the faith and transmitting it to one’s children. The manger helps us to contemplate the mystery of God’s love who revealed himself in the poverty and simplicity of the Bethlehem cave.
Saint Francis of Assisi was so overwhelmed by the mystery of the Incarnation, that he wanted to present it again in Greccio with the living manger, thus becoming the initiator of a long popular tradition which still keeps its value for evangelization today.
The crib can help us, in fact, to understand the secret of the true Christmas, because it speaks of humility and the merciful goodness of Christ, who “though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor”. (II Corinthians 8:9) His poverty enriches those who embrace it and Christmas brings joy and peace to those who, as the shepherds, accept in Bethlehem the words of the angel: “And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger”. (Luke 2:12)
It continues to be a sign also for us, men and women of the 21st century. There is no other Christmas.
Pope Benedict XVI
Excerpt from Angelus message
Advent 2005
thanks God! Praise the Lord, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Let me use the image for sharing this photo in my blog with your site is also shown and known. Merry Christmas!