The month of November has begun, and our hearts are beginning to feel the desire to relive, as every year, the joyful and peaceful atmosphere of Christmas, renewed in us by the birth of the Baby Jesus.
This year, we will walk this path accompanied by men and women like us, with our doubts, fears, and everyday problems, but who received the great gift of taking part in the most important event in the history of the world: the birth of Jesus.
Indeed, the figures in the nativity scene have much to tell us. Each has a message for us; each speaks of us in some way: the shepherds who keep watch, who do not remain comfortably in their beds at night and are the first to understand that this Child is very special; the ox and the donkey, who unknowingly find themselves in an immense reality and do precisely what is asked of human beings: to obey with docility; the angel, a reflection of God, who reminds us that God also has a message, an announcement, for us; the sleeping shepherd, a symbol of all of us who cannot manage…
As Pope Francis wrote in the Apostolic Letter Admirabile signum: «Before the nativity scene, our minds readily return to the time when we were children and eagerly awaited the moment to begin setting it up. It does not matter how the nativity scene is arranged; it may always be the same or change each year. What matters is that it speaks to our lives. Wherever and in whatever form, the nativity scene tells of God’s love, the God who became a child to tell us how close he is to every human being, whatever their situation. Dear brothers and sisters, the nativity scene is part of the tender yet demanding process of transmitting the faith. Beginning in childhood and then at every stage of life, it teaches us to contemplate Jesus, to feel God’s love for us, and to feel and believe that God is with us and we are with him, all children and brothers and sisters thanks to that Child, the Son of God and the Virgin Mary. And to feel that therein lies happiness».
Each week, one of the figures from the nativity scene will accompany us on our journey to Bethlehem… follow our blog so we can walk together!
