Dear Brothers and
Sisters: During this holy season it is customary in many places for each home
to set up a Christmas crib, following a tradition begun by Saint Francis of
Assisi. The crib scene invites us to adore the Child Jesus and to contemplate
the mystery of the Incarnation as a revelation of God’s saving love. Devotion
to the Child Jesus can teach us much about our faith. Although the Gospels tell
us little about our Lord’s childhood, we know from experience the message which
all newborn babies bring. By contemplating the Infant Jesus, we come to
understand more fully the meaning of his coming among us. Like every baby, the
Infant Jesus cries out for our attention; he asks us to care for and protect
him. Like every baby, he wants us to smile at him, as a sign of our delight in
him and our sharing in the mystery of his love. Finally, he wants us to play
with him, to enter into his world and to become like a child ourselves, in
order to please him. In these days of Christmas, let us not only gaze upon the
Child Jesus, but also take him into our arms and allow him to give us the joy
and freedom born of the Father’s merciful love.
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims
and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including the pilgrimage groups
from Norway, the Philippines and the United States of America. I thank the
choirs for their praise of God in song. With prayerful good wishes that the the
Church’s celebration of the Jubilee of Mercy will be a moment of grace and
spiritual renewal for all, I invoke upon you and your families an abundance of
joy and peace in the Lord. Happy New Year!
source: http://www.vatican.va