Treasure The Gift Of The Beloved Son

In his latest document, Pope Francis reflected on the Nativity scene. (Photo: Andreas Böhme)

December is almost over and we have gone from preparation mode to the peace of Christmas.

Maybe our preparation wasn’t so directly for the preparation of the arrival of baby Jesus as for shopping for food and presents, earning what we can by working till the last day, and partying in between.

But we were in preparation mode also on a spiritual level. Lately I read up on the stories of the ancestors of Jesus and their families from the Bible up to Christmas Day, followed by reading about our ancestors in faith till the end of December.

It is sad that many activities in the Church and society seem to end with the feast of the Nativity, rather than continuing until the end of the Christmas season. Some see this as ending with the Epiphany, others with the baptism of Jesus, and others still only after 40 days with the Presentation of Jesus on February 2.

Pope Francis surprised me, and maybe many others, this month with his Advent letter Admirabile Signum, issued from Greccio, the site where St Francis in 1223 created the first Nativity scene—a very original real-life Christmas setting with, to crown it all, a real life “baby Jesus”.

It struck me how Pope Francis goes straight for the bullseye: the arrival of the baby.

An elderly friend recently wallowed in the joy of becoming a grandmother for the second time. A business colleague has travelled overseas, excited by the arrival of a first grandchild.

Don’t babies have a very special way of warming the heart, something that should be celebrated with great joy, irrespective of the circumstances?

This month we commemorated the 16 Days of Activism Against Abuse of Women and Children. Of course that is a positive thing, but at the same time, some women, often young girls, terminate rather than celebrate their pregnancies. Often that is out of desperation—but their babies will never see the light of day.

One pro-life activist reminded me long ago that those babies are blessed, in that they can go straight into God’s eternal light. Could that be a consoling thought for the loss of a baby in a family?

Pope Francis does not make light of the difficult circumstances that surrounded the birth of Jesus.

“The presence of the poor and the lowly in the Nativity scene remind us that God became man for the sake of those who feel most in need of his love and who ask him to draw near to them. Jesus…was born in poverty and led a simple life in order to teach us to recognise what is essential and to act accordingly,” the pope wrote in Admirabile Signum.

“The Nativity scene clearly teaches that we cannot let ourselves be fooled by wealth and fleeting promises of happiness. Herod’s palace in the background is closed and deaf to the tidings of joy.

“By being born in a manger, God himself launches the only true revolution that can give hope and dignity to the disinherited and the outcast: the revolution of love, the revolution of tenderness, the path to a more human and fraternal world in which no one is excluded or marginalised.”

Pope Francis’ conclusion is one of true joy and gratitude: “The Christmas crèche is part of the precious yet demanding process of passing on the faith.

“In childhood and at every stage of our lives, it teaches us to contemplate Jesus, to experience God’s love for us, to feel and believe that God is with us and that we are with him, his children, brothers and sisters all, thanks to that Child who is the Son of God and the Son of the Virgin Mary.

“And to realise that in that knowledge we find true happiness,” the pope wrote.

How can we make this Christmas season, but also every day of the year, into a celebration of that life, that gift of love, of a Father and a most beloved Son?

How can we take that message into our homes and the world which is our home too? December is almost over and we have gone from preparation mode to the peace of Christmas.

Maybe our preparation wasn’t so directly for the preparation of the arrival of baby Jesus as for shopping for food and presents, earning what we can by working till the last day, and partying in between.

But we were in preparation mode also on a spiritual level. Lately I read up on the stories of the ancestors of Jesus and their families from the Bible up to Christmas Day, followed by reading about our ancestors in faith till the end of December.

It is sad that many activities in the Church and society seem to end with the feast of the Nativity, rather than continuing until the end of the Christmas season. Some see this as ending with the Epiphany, others with the baptism of Jesus, and others still only after 40 days with the Presentation of Jesus on February 2.

Pope Francis surprised me, and maybe many others, this month with his Advent letter Admirabile Signum, issued from Greccio, the site where St Francis in 1223 created the first Nativity scene—a very original real-life Christmas setting with, to crown it all, a real life “baby Jesus”.

It struck me how Pope Francis goes straight for the bullseye: the arrival of the baby.

An elderly friend recently wallowed in the joy of becoming a grandmother for the second time. A business colleague has travelled overseas, excited by the arrival of a first grandchild.

Don’t babies have a very special way of warming the heart, something that should be celebrated with great joy, irrespective of the circumstances?

This month we commemorated the 16 Days of Activism Against Abuse of Women and Children. Of course that is a positive thing, but at the same time, some women, often young girls, terminate rather than celebrate their pregnancies. Often that is out of desperation—but their babies will never see the light of day.

One pro-life activist reminded me long ago that those babies are blessed, in that they can go straight into God’s eternal light. Could that be a consoling thought for the loss of a baby in a family?

Pope Francis does not make light of the difficult circumstances that surrounded the birth of Jesus.

“The presence of the poor and the lowly in the Nativity scene remind us that God became man for the sake of those who feel most in need of his love and who ask him to draw near to them. Jesus…was born in poverty and led a simple life in order to teach us to recognise what is essential and to act accordingly,” the pope wrote in Admirabile Signum.

“The Nativity scene clearly teaches that we cannot let ourselves be fooled by wealth and fleeting promises of happiness. Herod’s palace in the background is closed and deaf to the tidings of joy.

“By being born in a manger, God himself launches the only true revolution that can give hope and dignity to the disinherited and the outcast: the revolution of love, the revolution of tenderness, the path to a more human and fraternal world in which no one is excluded or marginalised.”

Pope Francis’ conclusion is one of true joy and gratitude: “The Christmas crèche is part of the precious yet demanding process of passing on the faith.

“In childhood and at every stage of our lives, it teaches us to contemplate Jesus, to experience God’s love for us, to feel and believe that God is with us and that we are with him, his children, brothers and sisters all, thanks to that Child who is the Son of God and the Son of the Virgin Mary.

“And to realise that in that knowledge we find true happiness,” the pope wrote.

How can we make this Christmas season, but also every day of the year, into a celebration of that life, that gift of love, of a Father and a most beloved Son?

How can we take that message into our homes and the world which is our home too?