Talks on the Sacramentals, by Msgr Arthur Tonne - Crib

"You will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." St. Luke, 2:12.

It is Christmas midnight at the church of St. Mary Major in Rome. The tremendous basilica is bulging with eager pilgrims and knowing natives. As a procession crawls snail-pace toward the sanctuary the congregation is all eyes. The clergy are carrying the relics of the crib in which our Lord rested at Bethlehem, carrying it to the main altar where it will remain during the midnight Mass.

Is it really the crib of Christ? Yes, it is at least a part of the crib. Some call it "the relics of the crib"; others call it "the remains of the crib." Actually there are five pieces of board identified as coming from a species of sycamore tree common in the Holy Land. Of the five pieces at St. Mary Major two originally stood upright in the shape of an X. The other three pieces rested upon these two and were supported by the sixth piece, which is now missing. These were the supports of the manger in which Christ lay at Bethlehem.

St. Helena, discoverer of the true cross, also found the true crib. With womanly care she covered it with silver plates and surrounded the sacred cave with slabs of precious marble. There it was venerated until the year 624 when the Mohammedans invaded Palestine and endangered all such holy relics. The crib was brought to Rome and placed in the church of St. Mary Major, which since has been called St. Mary at the Crib.

Knowing this, the stranger and the native experience an understandable thrill when at Christmas midnight those precious relics of the manger are carried affectionately to the high altar, where they remain during the midnight Mass.

Mother Church wants similar sentiments in the hearts of all the rest of us who do not have the privilege of visiting the grotto of the Nativity at Bethlehem or the church of St. Mary at the Crib. The Catholic Church, with a growing number of non-Catholics imitating her, has the beautiful custom of reproducing the scene at the birth of Christ. We call it simply the crib. When blessed it is one of our most attractive sacramentals.

In general there are two types of Christmas crib. One is a simple form consisting of a shed under which are grouped statues of the principal characters of that first Holy Night. The other, more complete, represents not only the stable and the people who were in it, but also the surrounding--the sky, the star, the angels, the shepherds, the animals, the sleeping city.

This more complete type of crib was developed and made popular by St. Francis of Assisi in the first quarter of the thirteenth century. He did not originate the custom, but with his life-like stable at Greccio and by the zeal of his Franciscan followers, he has done more to spread this beautiful Christmas practice than any other single person or group.

The manger must be in our Christmas planning. More than trees or holly or Santa Claus himself, a crib expresses the meaning and spirit of Christmas. Set one up in your home by all means. At least visit the crib in your parish church, kneel before it, and listen to what the crib will tell you.

It tells you that the Lord of heaven and earth chose to be born not to a life of silver and silk, not in the palaces of the powerful, nor in the mansions of the mighty, but in the poorest of poor places-- a stable. He entered this world in that way as a rebuke to the pride and greed and craving for comfort that make men forget God.

Christ was born in a barn at Bethlehem

--to teach us humility. Those who know not and follow not Christ are continually seeking honors and fame and publicity. Here at the crib is the cure for that empty and worm-eaten yearning.

--to teach us poverty of spirit. Not that we are to seek poverty as a good or end in itself, but as the means to a higher good. The poor in spirit are not attached to bank-books and bill-folds. They give their attachments to the Creator of all these things. Ask the Infant Christ for a true spirit of poverty.

--to show us how to deny ourselves for the sake of God and for the sake of our soul. It was cold and uncomfortable in that stable. It was smelly and cramped. What a correction for our constant quest of creature comforts I

But the most important reason Christ chose to be born as a helpless Babe is to draw us to Himself, to win our love. What is more lovable than a child? What human being creates more confidence than a baby? What calls out our affection and the best in us more than a helpless infant? God wants our love. He wants our attention and our affection. He knew He would get it as a little child. He knew that was the best way to draw us closer to the source of all true joy and peace--Himself.

The crib of Christ has been set up in every corner of the earth, in every city and hamlet. Those who kneel before it may be of different color and tongue, but they all know that the crib has but one purpose--to teach the real meaning of Christmas, to teach us in a way we can see and understand, that the Son of God became a tiny Child to win our love.

We need not travel to St. Mary Major in Rome to hear the lessons of the crib. Hear them in the scene beneath your Christmas tree, and in your parish church. See there a little Infant with arms outstretched, outstretched with longing for your heart and your devotion. Give Him your love this Christmas. It is the gift He wants.

And His gifts? Oh, I cannot tell you about them. You must receive them yourself. You must experience them. Kneel before the crib and you will receive those gifts. Amen.