Christmas greeting

This is the day,
that the Lord has made,
Let us rejoice and be glad in him.
For the most holy, beloved child is given to us
and born for us along the way
and placed in a manger,
because there was no room in the hostel.
Glory to the Lord God in the highest heights
and on earth peace to men of good will.

Passion Office of St. Francis, Ps. 15

We are approaching Christmas, the feast of the birth of the Lord. Our Christmas picture comes from
the chapel of Santa Maria degli Angeli on Mount La Verna. We would like to draw your attention in particular to St. Francis, who stands in amazement before the work of the Triune God in the Incarnation and contemplates the poverty of the child in the manger. He always wanted to be as poor as this child in the manger. The fact that God does not come into our world with power and violence was a source of great joy and an incentive for him.
St. Francis and St. Anthony on the opposite page are both very close to the action and immersed in longing, adoring wonder. They also invite us to look, marvel
and worship.
These days, we too are on our way to the crib. We are passing through light and dark areas. We are traveling together as a community of believers together with all the seekers of our time.
As believers and those who hope, we do not lose sight of the light, the light that shines for us in the beauty of creation, in the eyes of our fellow human beings who have already found something, in God’s Word
and in the light from the crib. Here we can find, like Francis and Anthony, and dwell
in looking, marveling and worshipping. Strengthened, we can move on as pilgrims of hope
into the Holy Year, which Christmas. Let us approach the incarnate God with a hope that is not a hope that does not disappointed.