By Sr. Emmanuel
In 1223, three years before his death, Francis of Assisi was going to celebrate Christmas night with his brothers and a group of faithful. But because his chapel was too small, he used a natural grotto of Greccio, in the mountain. Inspired by God, his wish was to create a model of the real manger where our Savior was born in the poor grotto of Bethlehem, deprived of any sort of comfort, with its genuine ‘furniture’ of the time: a manger trough with hay, a live ox and a live donkey. Francis may not fully realize he just invented the first live Nativity scene of the world! It is there, in this magnificent scenery of Mount Greccio, that Francis lived the solemn midnight Mass in the presence of all the people of the area, in awe and beaming. Little by little, thanks to St. Francis, the tradition of the Christmas Nativity scene was born! It will be adopted by millions of Christians and become one of their most popular traditions.
Mother Mary said at Fatima: "My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the sure way which will lead you to God." St. Thomas Aquinas said: "The things we love tell us who we are!" With that in mind, I will try to post each day something about Our Blessed Lady, items about the Holy Roman Catholic Church, and public domain Catholic books too! I pray you enjoy my ministry! Below are two albums of pictures that I created: 1. Our grand daughter Adrianna. 2. Tears of Mary!
Friday, December 17, 2010
The Spirit of Medjugorje Online: St. Francis and the Nativity
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