St. Francis Proclaims the Dedication and Love of Jesus at Greccio | Christmas Creche

A detail from a painting by Giovanni Cimabue, in the lower level of the Basilica at Assisi.

The National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi in San Francisco

Francis Proclaims the Dedication and
Love of Jesus at Greccio

Lessons from the Life of Saint Francis of Assisi, Part 6

The spirituality of Saint Francis derives from his clear and constant focus on Jesus Christ, the God who shares our humanity. Francis saw the self-imposed poverty and humility of Jesus as the gateway to our saving encounter with God. This so overwhelmed the poor man of Assisi that he sought to follow, in strictest poverty, the Christ who loved us without limit.

To drive home the astonishing humility with which God embraced the human condition, the Saint decided visually to re-create the Bethlehem experience in a cave among the hills of central Italy. Carrying a small infant in his arms, Francis led the people of Greccio in procession with their various farm animals to a grotto where the Saint made the Christmas liturgy itself a dramatic celebration of the mystery of the Incarnation.

Though Francis considered himself unworthy to be a priest, he had been ordained a deacon so that he could preach the Gospel with the blessing of the Church. At Greccio, wearing the dalmatic, the vestment of a deacon, he proclaimed the Christmas Gospel at Mass and, with his simple gesture of placing an infant in the manger, forever imprinted our hearts and minds with the love of God made flesh in Bethlehem’s tiny child.

Thus Francis began a tradition that persists to this day: the Christmas crèche.

Francis spent the remainder of his life preaching the loving mercy of that God made flesh, supporting his brothers in the Community and praying with the greatest devotion in union with Jesus.

Prayer

Almighty God and Father of Light,
Your Word made flesh came down from heaven
in the silent watches of the night,
and we like Francis are filled with wonder
at the nearness of our God.
Open our hearts to receive Your love
that our lives may be filled with Your peace. Amen.

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