The First Christmas Crib
"Then was Gospel simplicity resplendent, poverty exalted, humility commended, and Greccio, as it were, a new Bethlehem. The night was bright as if full of daylight, and it was sweet to people and beasts alike. The good folk came and were filled with joy as if for the first time over a whole new mystery. The woods rang with voices, the rocks echoed their festive chorus, the brothers sang choice praises to the Lord, and the whole night seemed to leap rejoicing. The saint of God stood ecstatically before the manger, his spirit trembling with compassion and ineffable love. Then the priest celebrated the solemnity of the Eucharist over the manger and he too experienced a consolation he'd never tasted before." -- Celano, First Life, 84-85
True joy is an energy that fills us to the point of actually experiencing a physical sensation, such as the trembling that Francis experienced. No wonder the "whole night seemed to leap" as Celano describes Francis's joy.
"Then was Gospel simplicity resplendent, poverty exalted, humility commended, and Greccio, as it were, a new Bethlehem. The night was bright as if full of daylight, and it was sweet to people and beasts alike. The good folk came and were filled with joy as if for the first time over a whole new mystery. The woods rang with voices, the rocks echoed their festive chorus, the brothers sang choice praises to the Lord, and the whole night seemed to leap rejoicing. The saint of God stood ecstatically before the manger, his spirit trembling with compassion and ineffable love. Then the priest celebrated the solemnity of the Eucharist over the manger and he too experienced a consolation he'd never tasted before." -- Celano, First Life, 84-85
True joy is an energy that fills us to the point of actually experiencing a physical sensation, such as the trembling that Francis experienced. No wonder the "whole night seemed to leap" as Celano describes Francis's joy.
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