Novena to Christmas

This novena leading up to Christmas is special because it focuses on the figures in the nativity scene, reinterpreted and presented in a way that speaks to people today. Each day of the novena features a meditation - each written by a different author - on one of the nativity figures: Father Dario Criscuoli meditates on the shepherds; Father Luigi Maria Epicoco on the gypsy woman; Father Pietro Cesena on the sleeping shepherd; Father Francesco Buono on the angel; Father Giulio Albanese on the Magi; Father Vincent Nagle on the ox and the donkey; Father Antonello Iapicca on Saint Joseph; Father Renzo Bonetti on Mary; and Father Maurizio Botta on the infant Jesus. The novena brings together these nine meditations - almost as if recorded live, preserving the freshness and immediacy of the spoken word. Costanza Miriano, who organized the initiative, observes that “each of the figures in the nativity scene has a message for us; each speaks to us in some way: the shepherds who keep watch; the gypsy woman, who wants to predict and control the future, just like us; the sleeping shepherd, a symbol of all of us who cannot manage to keep going... Let us read and treasure these words, truly rich and enjoyable at the same time, a distillation of the Church’s multifaceted wisdom.”