In my childhood, I viewed Christmas as a mere time of expecting presents. As I got older, I have slowly been drawn to view Christmas and the whole Christmas season as a time of encounter. What does that mean? Well, turn to the year 1223, when a man named Francis of Assisi was in a small Italian town called Greccio. A Franciscan friar named Thomas of Celano records Francis’ time in Greccio in a collection of historical documents known as The Franciscan Sources. The first crèche Fifteen days before Christmas, Francis asked a local townsman named John to help him fulfill his desire. Francis said, “I wish to do something that will recall to memory the little Child who was born in Bethlehem and set before our eyes in some way the inconveniences of His infant needs, how He lay in a manger, how, with an ox and an ass standing by, He lay upon the hay where He had been placed.” John went with haste to prepare all the things Francis had told him. On Dec. 25, many Franciscan friars came to Greccio, along with many others from the local town who prepared with torches to light up the special night. Thomas of Celano records the event in the following way: The people came and were filled with joy over the new mystery. The woods rang with the voices of the crowd By Br. Eliot, MIC Away in a manger 18 Marian Helper • Winter 2022-23 • Marian.org Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
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