A nativity scene from Peru and a tree from Trentino for Christmas at the VaticanImmersed in early December 2019 in the preparation of a Nativity Scene Contest in the busiest shopping center in the city of Ponce, Plaza del Caribe, we received with special joy the publication of the Apostolic Letter on the meaning and value of the Nativity Scene, with which Pope Francis wants to "to encourage the beautiful tradition of our families who in the days before Christmas prepare the nativity scene, as well as the custom of placing it in the workplace, in schools, in hospitals, in prisons, in squares..."(Admirabile Signum n. 1).
We encouraged families to participate by valuing teamwork and offering the opportunity for the winners to receive their award and a gift from the hands of the Holy Kings of Juana Diaz. In addition, the winning works would be temporarily exhibited in the Museum of the Holy Magi in Juana Diaz, the only one in the world dedicated to these saints. This not only allowed many other people to contemplate these scenes represented in painting or in three-dimensional form, but it would also awaken in the participants themselves concrete purposes of generosity, as we discovered at the conclusion of this year's third edition of the Nativity Contest.
Sofia Valeria, a 16 year old girl who won one of the painting categories with a work full of tenderness, informed us of her desire to donate her valuable work to the Museum. She, like all the participants, was asked to write down on the Registration Form "¿?What is the newborn baby God telling me?", seeding the good advice of Pope Francis that in the making of nativity scenes ".what counts is that it speaks to our life". (Admirabile Signum n. 10). With this work, Sofía Valeria expressed her desire to achieve that "the viewer is able to see and feel the bright and warm light that Jesus emits. A light that embraces us and guides us to God.".
In the case of Maria Paula, another 16 year old who came in second place with a painting of a nativity scene in which she was included with her 7 siblings, she expressed that she placed the 3 youngest ones closer to the Baby God ".since it is the children who are closest to Jesus"and the 4 eldest, who all sing, I draw "on the way to the stable, because for Christmas we have to travel a long road called Advent (...) with masks, which represent the current difficulties that should never hinder our approach to Jesus this Christmas.".
The exhibition of nativity scenes also awakened other expressions in the artisans who were selling outside and to many passers-by. The craftswoman Carmen approached the exhibition to ask: ¿?how can i help?". We told him that his work offered for the fruits of it was enough, but that generous soul came back after a while with one of his beautiful works on paper and donated it: "this is what I know how to do and what I want to donate".
A lady who had entrusted the healing of her son from cancer or his march to Heaven to the Holy Magi came forward to narrate how God granted her a special grace when on the feast of the Three Kings following the death of her son she was able to cross paths with the Magician King Melchior, who stopped before her during a procession and filled her with hope with his attentive and profound gaze.
That more intense look at Bethlehem, capable of filling us with hope and joy, is what we encourage in every family through this beautiful tradition.
Puerto Rico
