Admirabile signum - The marvellous sign
Apostolic letter Admirabile signum of the Holy Father Pope Francis on the meaning and value of the nativity scene
1) The miraculous sign of the nativity scene, which is so dear to the hearts of the Christian people, never ceases to arouse wonder and amazement. To depict the event of the birth of Jesus means to proclaim the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God with simplicity and joy. The nativity scene is indeed like a living gospel that emerges from the pages of Holy Scripture. When we reflect on the Christmas scene, we are invited to embark on a spiritual journey, to allow ourselves to be drawn to the humility of the One who became man in order to encounter every human being. And we discover that he loves us so much that he unites himself with us so that we too can unite ourselves with him.
With this letter, I would like to support the beautiful tradition in our families of setting up a nativity scene in the days leading up to Christmas, as well as the good custom of putting them up at work, in schools, hospitals, prisons, public places, etc. With truly creative ingenuity, small masterpieces are created from a wide variety of materials that are very beautiful to look at. Even as a child, you grow into it when your father and mother, together with your grandparents, pass on this joyful custom, which draws on a rich folk piety. I hope that this tradition will never disappear; on the contrary, I hope that it can be rediscovered and revitalised in places where it is no longer practised.
2) The origins of the nativity scene can be traced back to some of the details of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem described in the Gospels. The evangelist Luke simply says: Mary "gave birth to her son, the firstborn. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn" (2:7). Jesus is laid in a manger (Latin praesepium), which gives the nativity scene its name.
At his coming into this world, the Son of God finds a place where the animals eat their food. The hay becomes the first resting place for the one who will reveal himself as "the bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:41). St Augustine referred to this symbolism, as did other Church Fathers, when he wrote: "He lay in a manger and became our food" (Sermo 189.4). In fact, the manger contains several secrets of Jesus' life and brings them closer to our everyday lives.
But let's come straight to the origin of the cot as we know it. We travel in spirit to Greccio in the Rieti Valley; Saint Francis stayed there when he probably came from Rome, where he had received confirmation of his religious rule from Pope Honorius III on 29 November 1223. After his journey to the Holy Land, the caves there reminded him in a special way of the landscape of Bethlehem, and it is possible that the Poverello of Assisi in Rome was impressed by the mosaics of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore depicting the birth of Jesus, which are located in the immediate vicinity of the place where, according to ancient tradition, parts of Jesus' manger are kept.
The sources of St Francis give a detailed account of what happened in Greccio. Fifteen days before Christmas, Francis called a local man named John to him and asked him to help him realise a wish: "I would like to commemorate that child who was born in Bethlehem, and I would like to see with my own eyes, as tangibly as possible, the bitter hardship he suffered as a small child, being laid in a manger with an ox and a donkey and being bedded on hay."[1] As soon as he heard this request, the faithful friend set off to prepare everything necessary at the designated place in accordance with the saint's wishes. On 25 December, many friars from different areas came to Greccio, and men and women from the surrounding farms also came with flowers and torches to light up this holy night. When Francis arrived, he found the manger with the hay, the ox and the donkey. The sight of the Christmas scene filled the people who had rushed there with unspeakable joy that they had never experienced before. The priest then solemnly celebrated the Eucharist above the cot, thus visualising the connection between the incarnation of the Son of God and the Eucharist. No figures were used on this occasion in Greccio: those present represented and experienced the manger scene themselves[2].
This is how our tradition was born, when everyone gathered around the grotto, filled with joy and with no distance between the event taking place and those who became participants in this mystery.
The first biographer of St Francis, Thomas of Celano, recalls that in addition to the simple and touching scene that night, there was also the gift of a miraculous vision: one of those present saw the infant Jesus himself lying in the manger. On that Christmas in 1223, everyone "returned home in blissful joy"[3].
3. with the simplicity of this sign, Saint Francis accomplished a great work of evangelisation. His teaching has penetrated the hearts of Christians and remains to this day an authentic way of presenting the beauty of our faith in a simple way. Moreover, the location of the first nativity scene itself expresses and evokes these feelings. Greccio becomes a refuge for the soul, which hides on the rock to allow itself to be enveloped by silence.
Why does the cot move us and amaze us so much? Above all because it reveals God's tenderness. He, the Creator of the universe, comes down to us. The gift of life, in itself always a mystery to us, fascinates us all the more when we realise that he, who was born of Mary, is the source and support of all life. In Jesus, the Father has given us a brother who comes to seek us out when we are disorientated and lose our direction; a faithful friend who is always close to us; he has given us his Son, who forgives us and redeems us from all sin.
Setting up the nativity scene in our homes helps us to relive the story that took place in Bethlehem. Of course, the Gospels always remain the source that enables us to familiarise ourselves with this event and to contemplate it. And yet the nativity scenes help us to visualise the scenes; they arouse our affection and invite us to feel involved in the story of salvation and to experience this event, which is alive and current in the most diverse historical and cultural contexts.
From its Franciscan origins, the nativity scene is in a special way an invitation to "feel" and "touch" the poverty that the Son of God chose for himself when he became human. And so it is implicitly an appeal to follow him on the path of humility, poverty and divestment that leads from the manger in Bethlehem to the cross. It is a call to encounter him in the most needy brothers and sisters and to serve him in mercy (cf. Mt 25:31-46).
4 I would now like to go through the various signs of the nativity scene to emphasise the meaning contained in them. In setting them up, we begin with the background of the starry sky in the darkness and stillness of the night. We do this not only out of fidelity to the Gospel accounts, but also because of the inherent meaning of this setting. Think of how often night surrounds our lives. Now, even in such moments, God does not leave us alone, but comes to us to answer the crucial questions about the meaning of our existence: Who am I? Where do I come from? Why was I born into this time? Why do I love? Why do I suffer? Why will I die? To answer these questions, God became man. His nearness brings light into the darkness and enlightens all who walk through the darkness of suffering (cf. Luke 1:79).
The other structures that form part of the cot and often represent the ruins of old houses and palaces, which in some cases take the place of the grotto of Bethlehem and become the home of the Holy Family, are also worthy of note. These ruins appear to date back to the Legenda aurea by the Dominican Jacobus de Voragine (13th century). This tells of a pagan legend according to which the Temple of Peace in Rome would collapse if a virgin gave birth to a child. These ruins are above all the visible sign of fallen humanity, of everything that perishes, that is corrupt and withered. This scene therefore means that Jesus is the newness in the midst of an old world and that he has come to heal and rebuild, to restore our lives and the world to their original splendour.
5 What joy should fill us when we decorate the manger with mountains, streams, sheep and shepherds! In this way, we remember that - as the prophets promised - the whole of creation takes part in the feast of the coming of the Messiah. The angels and the star are signs that we too are called to make our way to the grotto and worship the Lord.
"Let us go to Bethlehem to see the event which the Lord has made known to us" (Luke 2:15), say the shepherds after the angels' announcement. In its simplicity, this account contains a very beautiful message and lesson for us. Unlike so many people who have a thousand other things on their minds, the shepherds become the first witnesses to the essential, namely the gift of salvation. The humblest and poorest are able to receive the event of the Incarnation. The shepherds respond to God, who approaches them in the infant Jesus, by making their way to him, so that an encounter of love and grateful amazement takes place. It is precisely this encounter between God and his children that takes place in Jesus that gives life to our religion and gives it its unique beauty, which shines through in a special way in the manger.
6 We also usually place many symbolic nativity figures, especially beggars and people who know no other wealth than that of the heart. They too have every right to stand with the baby Jesus, without being singled out or placed away from the cradle. It is designed in such a way that the poor around them do not disturb them at all. On the contrary, it is precisely the poor who are favoured by this mystery and are often those who are best able to recognise the presence of God in our midst.
The poor and simple in the manger are a reminder that God becomes man for those who feel most in need of his love and ask for his presence. Jesus, "kind and humble of heart" (Mt 11:29), was born poor and led a simple life in order to teach us to grasp the essentials and live accordingly. The manger sends a clear message that we must not be deceived by wealth and so many fleeting offers of happiness. Herod's palace stands in the background, closed and deaf to the good news. Through the birth in the manger, God himself begins the only true revolution that gives hope and dignity to the disinherited and marginalised: the revolution of love, the revolution of tenderness. From the manger, Jesus proclaims with gentle power the call to share with the least of these as the way to a more humane and solidary world in which no one is excluded and marginalised.
Children, but also adults, often love to add other figures to the nativity scene that seem to have nothing to do with the Gospel accounts. But such ingenuity wants to express that in this world renewed by Jesus, there is room for everything human and for every creature. From the shepherd to the blacksmith, from the baker to the musicians, from the women carrying jugs of water to the children playing ... All of this symbolises the holiness of everyday life, the joy of doing everyday things in an extraordinary way when Jesus shares his divine life with us.
7 The nativity scene gradually leads us to the grotto, where we find the figures of Mary and Joseph. Mary is a mother who looks at her child and shows him to those who come to visit him. Her figure reminds us of the great mystery in which this girl was involved when God knocked on the door of her immaculate heart. To the angel's message asking her to become the Mother of God, Mary responded in full and unconditional obedience. Her words: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38) are a testimony to us all of how we can surrender to God's will in faith. Through this "yes", Mary became the mother of the Son of God. Her virginity was not lost, but was sanctified thanks to the Son. We see in her the Mother of God who does not keep her Son for herself alone, but invites everyone to follow his word and put it into practice (cf. Jn 2:5).
St Joseph stands next to Mary in the posture of protecting the child and his mother. He is usually depicted with a stick in his hand, sometimes he is also holding a lamp. St Joseph plays a very important role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He is the protector who never tires of looking after his family. When God warns him of the threat posed by Herod, he does not hesitate to set off and emigrate to Egypt (cf. Mt 2:13-15). And when the danger is over, he brings the family back to Nazareth, where he will be the first educator of the child and the growing Jesus. Joseph carried in his heart the great mystery that surrounded Jesus and Mary, his fiancée, and as a righteous man he always entrusted himself to God's will and put it into practice.
8 When we place the figure of the baby Jesus in the manger at Christmas, the heart of the manger begins to beat, as it were. God shows himself in this way, in a child, so that we can embrace him. In his weakness and fragility, he hides his all-creating and transforming power. It seems impossible, but it is so: In Jesus, God was a child and in this form he wanted to reveal the greatness of his love, which is shown in a smile and when he stretches out his hands to everyone.
The birth of a child awakens joy and wonder, because it confronts us with the great mystery of life. When we see how the eyes of a young couple light up at the sight of their newborn child, we understand the feelings of Mary and Joseph, who perceived the presence of God in their lives when they looked at the baby Jesus.
"Life has appeared" (1 John 1:2): This is how the apostle John summarises the mystery of the Incarnation. The nativity scene allows us to see and touch this unique and extraordinary event that changed the course of history and also became the starting point for our chronology of the years before and after the birth of Christ.
In a way, God's behaviour stuns us, because it seems impossible that he would renounce his glory in order to become human like us. What a surprise to see how God accepts our behaviour: He sleeps, drinks his mother's milk, cries and plays like all children! As always, God is amazing, he is unpredictable and constantly transcends our categories. The cot thus shows us God as he came into the world and challenges us to reflect on our lives, which are taken into the life of God; it invites us to become his disciples if we want to achieve the ultimate meaning of life.
9 As the Feast of the Epiphany approaches, the figures of the Magi are placed by the manger. When these wise and rich men from the East saw the star rise, they set off for Bethlehem to meet Jesus and offer him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. These gifts also have an allegorical meaning: with the gold, they honour Jesus' kingship; with the frankincense, his divinity; with the myrrh, his sacred humanity, which was to be granted death and burial.
When we look at this section of the nativity scene, we are called to reflect on the responsibility that every Christian has for spreading the Gospel. Each of us becomes a bearer of the Good News to all those we meet when we bear witness to the joy of our encounter with Jesus and his love through concrete acts of mercy.
The Magi teach that one can come from far away to reach Christ. They are rich men, wise strangers thirsting for infinity, who set off on a long and dangerous journey that leads them to Bethlehem (cf. Mt 2:1-12). They are filled with great joy at the sight of the royal child. They are not offended by the poor surroundings; they do not hesitate to bend their knees and worship him. As they stand before him, they realise that God, who orders the course of the stars with infinite wisdom, also directs the course of history by humbling the mighty and exalting the lowly. And they will certainly have recounted this surprising encounter with the Messiah after returning to their country. This was the beginning of the Gospel's journey to the Gentile nations.
10. in front of the cot, we like to return in our minds to our childhood, when we impatiently awaited the time to set up the cot. These memories make us realise again and again the great gift that we have been given through the transmission of faith. At the same time, they remind us of our joyful duty to share this same experience with our children and grandchildren. It doesn't matter how you set up the nativity scene; it can always be the same or different every year - what matters is that it speaks to our lives. Wherever and in whatever form, the cot tells us about the love of God, the God who became a child to tell us how close he is to every person, no matter what situation they find themselves in.
Dear brothers and sisters, the nativity scene is part of the beautiful and demanding process of transmitting faith. From childhood, it educates us at every age to contemplate Jesus, to feel God's love for us, to feel and believe that God is with us and we are with him and that thanks to this child, the Son of God and the Virgin Mary, we are all children and brothers and sisters. And to feel that this is where happiness lies. In the school of St Francis, let us open our hearts to this simple grace; let us allow a humble prayer to arise from our amazement: our "thank you" to God, who wanted to share everything with us so as never to leave us alone.
FRANCISCUS
Given at Greccio, in the Shrine of the Nativity Scene, on 1 December 2019
