Thoughts on Christmas Creches

A desription of the origins of the Christmas Creche or Nativity Scene in the Church.

Taken from:  "God's Fool" by:  Julien Green

St Francis had founded a little hermitage on a sheer wall of rock, using, as he habitually did, one of the caves supplied by nature, and transforming it into a chapel.  On his request a manger was installed and generously provided with straw.  An ox and an ass followed, the witnesses demanded by tradition.

In the middle of the night the torches were lit, and the people from all around the region walked up through the trees, torches in hand, making the mountain paths surge like streams of light.  A priest came to say the Mass, which was celebrated over the manger, now become a crib, the presepio Italians are so fond of, and Francis, wearing the dalmatic of a deacon, read the Nativity Gospel.  The crowd was amazed at this rediscover of the great mystery, and they closely followed the least details of the ceremony.  Many believed they saw Francis holding in his arms the Child swathed in light.  Medieval faith, which was nearer to childhood than ours, instinctively translated into visions the religious truths that spoke most strongly to its heart.

That night had an exceptional sweetness, which was never forgotten.  The brothers went singing out into the woods, and the torches glowed almost everywhere, as if to join in that explosion of unexpected good cheer and to respond to the limpid darkness of the sky.  That was the first midnight Mass, full of the poetry that only a Francis of Assisi could have discovered.  A year of dubious battle ended for him on a note of ecsatic joy!

As for St. Clare, she was back in her monastery during this time and it is said she experienced a vision of the holy manger with St. Francis at the very time it happened in the hermitage-cave....    

This a creche, as St Francis envisioned it and as it has it has existed for centuries in the Church!

Christmas Creche, St John Cantius Church,

Chicago, Illinois 

This, however, is not a creche as St Francis envisioned it and as it has it has existed for centuries in the Church! This is an Abomination before the Lord and a scandal to the Faithful!

So-called 'Nativity Scene' of FrancisChurch,

the Vatican 2017

As The Catholic Traveler puts it, this a scene 'starring Dead Baby Jesus, Creeper Guy, Naked Guy, and Dead Guy'

Here's the dead guy, referred to by some as 'Nude Dude'.

According to the official description, all these extraneous figures, cluttering up the scene and detracting from the Holy Family, are intended to represent the Corporal Works of Mercy, and Nude Dude is an example of 'Clothe the Naked'. I'm sorry, but I picture this Work as the clothing of the poor, so poor and starving that they've traded their rags for a bit of food, not some guy who looks as if he forgot his clothes after a porn photo shoot or had them stolen at the gay gym!

There are other pictures in the article linked above. None of them redeem this blasphemous bollocks, but this is what we can expect from FrancisChurch, along with Christ being called a liar, and changing His Words!

However, I'm not sure which is worse, the Vatican 'Nativity Scene' or this one, on display in the Cathedral of St Peter in Belleville, Illinois.

It can only be called a 'hipster nativity'!

A Parishioner at St Peter's commented on it in a letter to the St Louis Post-Dispatch.

The "hipster" Nativity scene fails to demonstrate the true virtues of Joseph and Mary, especially their humility and purity. Even in today's culture, Mary would be dressed in a chaste manner and her blouse would not be half hanging off her, exposing her bra. Joseph in true humility would not be taking a selfie. What Monsignor Myler fails to grasp is if the holy family truly embraced the values of today's culture, there would be no Nativity scene. Joseph would have been too busy advancing his career to foster a child; Mary would have had an abortion to avoid the embarrassment of an unwed pregnancy; and our Lord would have been too selfish to become man and to be crucified on the cross to save us from our sins.

You might notice that the Three Wise Men are Amazon delivery men, arriving on Segways, and the '100% Organic' cow, is probably eating gluten free, sustainably farmed fodder.

But, it's FrancisChurch! Days after his election, I told a number of Catholic friends to buckle up. It's going to be a long, rough ride!