Telephone Greetings For Churches

As a child I loved to do the crib. Like even now, mind you. But time is short and my manual skills are really scarce.

a child but spent hours arranging the fund with the moss, the best place to find the cabin, polish the mirror to the pond, put the pebbles and the talc to trace the streets of Bethlehem and, above all, place figurines.

Each had its own logic: the lady in the bucket of milk and the other with vegetables had to stay near the hut in order to facilitate the spending of poor Joseph, while the fishmonger and the blacksmith were as far as possible in order not to disturb the sleep of little Jesus statue

But my favorite, the one that occupied my thoughts was the sleeper.

The dilemma was serious theological and puts him away from eating because he sleeps and does not care anything about Jesus or I put it close, so if she wakes up suddenly can become aware of what has happened? I did not want to blame the poor sleeper, but even placing it in pole position ... we'll put it halfway, in a quiet corner, with good view on the hut.

I think back to these reflections of a child and makes me smile.

Perhaps the sleeper is a metaphor for how I feel in myself and around me.

I like to think that Jesus was born for the sleeper that awaits him. And for us, busy, drugged and unable to surprise the advertising in front of that baby Messiah.

His love is stronger and more tenacious of our superficiality and our slumber.

Christmas is the explosion of the gratuity of God, the apex of his fantasy of love.

Ready or not ready, awake or asleep, willing or indifferent, he was born, God has entered history, a man among men.

On this holy day to ask me, for the community, for you dear reader, the gift of wonder. How this would be different if we had Christmas in the heart at least a modicum of wonder of the shepherds that night they ran to the manger!

God wonderful! What a wonder to contemplate the Lord at that puppy of a man caught between his arms trembling Mary ...

Be a Christmas full of wonder.

WISHES. Don Giovanni