At the end and beginning of the year, especially in the Christian sphere, gifts are usually given that prolong and concretize, by manifesting our affection for others, the gift of salvation brought to us by Christ.

We include two "gifts" that can help us to review and deepen the teachings of the Pope in recent weeks: Francis' trip to Thailand and Japan; his apostolic letter Admirabile signum, on the meaning and value of the Nativity Scene.

Pastoral trip to Thailand and Japan

As Francis pointed out in his general audience on November 27, his trip to Thailand and Japan brought him great context and gratitude to God. Although Catholics in that area are very few (about 1%), those countries are an example of peaceful multicultural coexistence, not without serious dangers and threats. The Pope's preaching was imbued with beauty and a positive and encouraging sense.

During the Mass celebrated in the national state of Bangokok, he underlined the beauty of evangelization and its necessity not only for the recipients, but also for the evangelizers themselves, so that they may reach their "truest self" by exercising their missionary discipleship, extending the family of God.

In the same vein, during his meeting with priests and religious, seminarians and catechists, he encouraged them not to be afraid to inculturate the Gospel more and more, moved by gratitude and contemplation of what God has granted to us, and filling us with passion for Jesus and his Kingdom. The Pope's tone can be noted in phrases such as this:

"The Lord did not call us to send us into the world to impose obligations on people, or place heavier burdens on them than they already have, and they are many, but to share a joy, a beautiful, new, surprising horizon."

It is about looking for new symbols and images that resonate and shine the beauty of personal and cultural values. The gaze of Jesus transforms us and allows us to discover and make the best shine in the lives and actions of others. In this way, the evangelizer becomes a living and active sign of God's mercy. 

Francis confirmed to the bishops that evangelization requires fidelity to the Church and to one's own vocation, "learning to believe the Gospel and allowing oneself to be transformed by it. He reminded them that many of these lands were evangelized by lay faithful. "These lay people had the possibility of speaking the dialect of their people, a simple and direct exercise of inculturation, neither theoretical nor ideological, but the fruit of the ardor to share Christ".

In an important meeting with Christian and other religious leaders, he spoke about dialogue and partnership, the reciprocal knowledge and the promotion of an integral humanism that defends human dignity and religious freedom for all. He asked them to react against the tendency to homogenize and standardize young people, typical of a globalizing culture that often does not respect local roots and traditions. On the same day, he personally asked the young people to grow as beautiful and strong trees, rooted in the faith of their elders, rooted in friendship with Jesus Christ.

The motto of the pastoral trip to Japan was "protect all life", especially significant after the triple disaster of 2011: earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant incident.

Protecting life implies possessing "the sense of living". This is very important for the Japanese youth, today threatened by suicide and "bulism". Francis advised them to go out of themselves to meeting to those in need: "To grow, to discover our own identity, our own goodness and inner beauty, we cannot look at ourselves in the mirror. Many things have been invented, but thanks be to God there are still no selfies of the soul".

To the Japanese people - where Christians count "thousands of martyrs" - the Pope wished to be a pioneer for a more just and peaceful world. His words from Hiroshima have resounded throughout the world: "The use of atomic energy for the purpose of war is immoral, just as the possession of atomic weapons is immoral" (Message at meeting for peace, 24-XI-2019).

In a culture marked by the desire for efficiency, performance and success, he exhorted them to develop, instead, "a culture of meeting and dialogue, characterized by wisdom and breadth of horizon," by gratuitous and disinterested love and by harmony between people and the natural environment. To achieve this goal, he proposed that they remain faithful to their religious and moral values and open to the Gospel message.

As for Catholics, he told the Japanese bishops, "the strongest and clearest word you can give is that of humble, daily witness and dialogue with other religious traditions."

The Nativity Scene: a "living Gospel".

With his Letter "The Beautiful Sign of the Crib"(Admirabile signum, 1-XII-2019, on the meaning and value of the crib), Francis says that representing the birth of Jesus is equivalent to "proclaiming the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God with simplicity and joy". It is an "exercise of creative fantasy", full of beauty, which contains in itself "a rich popular spirituality", and which continues to arouse astonishment and emotion. Why, he asks. And he answers with three reasons.

First, because it manifests the tenderness of God. Jesus presents himself as a brother, as a friend, as the Son of God who becomes a Child to forgive us and save us from sin.

Secondly, because financial aid helps us to relive the story that took place in Bethlehem, to "feel involved in the history of salvation, contemporaries of the event that becomes alive and present in the most diverse historical and cultural contexts".

The revolution of love and everyday sanctity

The Pope stops here to show that, if we know how to "contemplate" it, everything in the Nativity scene speaks to us - can speak to us - of our life in relationship with Jesus and with others.

Especially the shepherds, poor and simple, remind us of the message of Christmas: the revolution of love and tenderness that comes from God.  

In this new world inaugurated by Jesus," the Pope observes, "there is room for everything that is human and for every creature". The crib thus also represents holiness for everyone in ordinary life, which is a path to God.

And along this "road" we arrive at the center of the crib, the grotto where Mary, Joseph and the Child are. "God presents himself in this way, as a child, to be received in our arms. In weakness and fragility he hides his power that creates and transforms everything". Showing himself as all children do, "God is disconcerting, unpredictable, continually going beyond our schemes".

In the three figures of the Magi, who following a star have come from afar to adore the Child, we can discover - Francis suggests - the responsibility we have, as Christians, to be evangelizers, to bring "with concrete actions of mercy the joy of having encountered Jesus and his love".

In connection with the latter, Francis explains the significance of the crib for the transmission of the faith, thanks to our parents and grandparents, to whom can be added catechists, priests and in general educators of the faith:

"Starting from childhood and then at every stage of life, (the Nativity Scene) educates us to contemplate Jesus, to feel God's love for us, to feel and believe that God is with us and that we are with Him, all children and brothers and sisters thanks to that Child Son of God and of the Virgin Mary. And to feel that happiness is in this".

And so it is. Putting up the nativity scene is, therefore, a good way to "get into" Christmas with a Christian spirit and show it to others.

At purpose it is worth mentioning that the Fathers of the Church used to say that holiness consists in letting Jesus be born in us continually. Here the Pope reminds us that the Nativity Scene is a good school - a "living Gospel" - to learn it and pass it on.