43. The crib at Greccio

Closely associated with Francis' love for all the creatures of God is the way he prepared to celebrate the feast of Christmas at Greccio. Francis explained to a man named John, his friend, that he wanted to celebrate the Christmas mass in a way that reproduced as literally as possible the crib in Bethlehem. Francis added that he also wanted to see an ox and an ass standing by the crib. The mass was celebrated with many people attending and rejoicing with the saint who preached the homily. We are familiar with building and putting a crib at Christmas in every Church but when Francis did this it was something new. For doing this we owe Francis a debt. The feast of Christmas is a feast we celebrate with ease because, as well as its family aspect with the birth of the child Jesus, the crib makes the feast more homely and easier to understand and enjoy. Francis had his crib built in a cave on the side of the mountain that overlooks Greecio. In itself this was a humble and poor setting for a Christmas Eucharist but it was surely a setting that fitted so well with Francis' meeting with the leper when he experienced the Lord in the poverty of a leper. More than that, Francis who praised God in his Canticle of the Creatures was at ease in a cave with animals. Here he wanted to celebrate the birth of the Lord to whom he had given his life.