CHRISTMAS WITH SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI
On Christmas Night, the clergy and people of Greccio were invited by Saint Francis to keep Christ's Nativity with him. An ox, an ass, and a manger with straw had been brought into a rustic cave where solemn Mass was sun. Then Francis spoke devoutly to the people about the birth of Jesus, after which some saw a little child asleep in the manger who woke up when the saint took him in his arms (From the Little Flowers of Saint Francis).
The First Creche
In 1223, just three years before his death, Francis traveled for Christmas to Greccio, Italy. According to Thomas of Celano, his first biographer, Francis was inspired to recreate the scene of the birth of the Christ child. In "The First Life of Saint Francis", Thomas of Celano writes:
"Saint Francis said: '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 way the inconveniences of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger with an ox and an ass standing by, how he lay upon the hay where he had been placed.' When the good and faithful man heard these words, he ran with haste and prepared in that place all the things Francis had requested."
"As Christmas, the day of joy, drew near, the time of great rejoicing came. The brothers were called from their various places. Men and women of that neighborhood prepared with glad hearts, according to their means; candles and torches to light up that night which has lighted up all the days and years with its gleaming star."
"At length, Francis arrived and found all things prepared. He saw the first creched and was glad. The manger was prepared; the hay had been brought; the ox and ass were led to the scene. Simplicity was honored, poverty was exalted, humility was commended, and Greccio was made into a new Bethlehem!"
"The night was lighted up like the day! The scene delighted everyone: man and beast alike. The people came and were filled with joy over the new mystery. The woods rang with the angelic voices of the crowd and the rocks made answer to their jubilation. The brothers sang their praises to the Lord! The whole night resounded with their rejoicing! Finally, Francis stood before the manger, uttering sighs, overcome with love, and filled with a wonderful happiness!"
Following this first recreation of the setting of Jesus' birth, Francis began referring to Christmas as the "feast of feasts" because he believed that through his incarnation, God brought his boundless love into the world for the first time. God brought his boundless love into the world as child born in a stable: humble, needy, and poor.
Last evening, during Christmas Eve Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI said: "In 1223, when Saint Francis of Assisi celebrated Christmas in Greccio with an ox and an ass and a manger full of hay, a new dimension of the mystery of Christmas came into light. Saint Francis of Assisi called Christmas 'the feast of feasts' above all other feasts and he celebrated it with 'unutterable devotion'...Francis loved the child Jesus, because for him it was in this childish estate that God's humility shone forth. God became poor. His Son was born in the poverty of the stable. In the child Jesus, God made himself dependent, in need of human love, he put himself in the position of asking for human love, our love."
Eight centuries later, families throughout the world continue the tradition founded by Saint Francis at Greccio. When we look at our family's creche, let us be mindful, as Francis was mindful, that the Son of God was not born in a palace. Let us be mindful, as Francis was mindful, that the Son of God was not born into affluence, comfort, or wealth. Let us be mindful, as Francis was mindful, that the Son of God was born in a stable. He was warmed by the humble swaddling clothes into which he was lovingly wrapped by his mother. He was warmed by the touch of his devoted father. And he was warmed by the breath of an ox, the breath of an ass, and by the songs of angels.
During a time when Christmas is all too often a celebration of riches and worldliness, let us model our own celebrations upon the model at Greccio. Like Francis, let us pursue humility, simplicity, and poverty of spirit. Like Francis, let us be overcome with love at the sight of the Christ child's birth in a stable! Let us be filled with a wonderful happiness at the holy goodness of the Holy Family! Let us sing with all the choirs of angels: Glory to God in the highest! Peace on Earth! Goodwill to all!
May the Lord give you peace at Christmas!
Saint Francis, pray for us!
Saint Clare, pray for us!
Saint Anthony, pray for us!
Holy Men & Women of Assisi, pray for us!
