Padre Pio loved spending Christmas nights in front of the nativity scene

Padre Pio, the saint of Pietralcina, during the nights preceding Christmas, stopped in front of the crib to contemplate Baby Jesus, the little God. This Child, born in the dead of night, in a cold and humble cave, was the promised Messiah and the Savior of men.

Padre Pio describes the moment of birth of Jesus as a silent and apparently unknown event, but then announced to the humble shepherds by the celestial visitors. The crying of the Baby Jesus symbolizes the first redemption offered to divine justice for our reconciliation.

The birth of Jesus teaches us Christians love and humility. Padre Pio urges us to desire to lead the whole world to the modest cave which is the home of the king of kings, where we can experience the mystery full of divine tenderness only by covering ourselves with humility.

The nativity scene seen as a sign of humility

The birth of Jesus is an event of great humility, in which God chooses to be born among animals and is worshiped by poor, poor shepherds. This demonstrates God's love and invites us to love, renouncing earthly goods and preferring the company of the modest.

The saint from Pietralcina underlines that the Child Jesus suffers in the manger to make suffering something that we too can love. He renounces everything to teach us to renounce earthly goods. Also, the Child Jesus prefers the company of modest to encourage us to love poverty and to prefer simple people and those people who often are invisible for the company.

This birth teaches us to despise what the world loves and seeks and to follow the example of sweetness and humility of the Child Jesus. The saint also urges us to prostrate us in front of the nativity scene and to offer our whole heart without reservation, promising to follow him courses which come from the Bethlehem cave, which remind us that everything in this world is vanity.