Page 7 - Salesian Bulletin 2014 [01] January-March

• the value of joy,
• the value of tenderness.
These are all values that make those who are born become human!
the dream of being associated in my children’s memory with the image of a Christmas of tenderness and love” (Vittorio Gassman, Knight of the Grand Cross, Italian theatre and film actor and director).
was afraid he mightn’t find any ani- mals worthy of entering the cave next to the Baby .
Nowadays people no longer say the most committed and intelligent priest of the last century, Fr Primo Mazzolari (1890-1959), was exagger- ating when he boldly declared: “If the earth still wants to have free men, ... just men, ... men who live brotherhood, we must not forget the way of the crib”.
Suddenly he saw a donkey and an ox working, head down, in a farmer’s field.
The crib has to be protected, defended, appreciated!
something important that
fifty years ago?” A small child raised its hand and said, “Me!”.
He ran to Mary and said, “Here's the most gentle ox in the world!”
The renowned Italian film director Ermanno Olmi (1931) was always fond of the crib (“the first show of my life!”). Every year, without fail, he built the crib with his wife Loredana and their children. One year, when they were already grown up, to see how they would react, he said casually: “This time, let’s forget it: we won’t make the crib; at most we’ll have a small Christmas tree!” At this, the children - the lad with a beard and the girl already a woman - immediately reacted: “Oh, no! We have to make the crib, you can’t for- get about it!”
didn’ t exist
He called Joseph and whispered: “Here’ s the most humble donkey on earth!”
The crib has to be made, you can- not not make it: it is too precious!
Firstly the lion roared: “I’ll stand at the entrance and tear anyone who comes near the baby to pieces!” The angel said to him, “You're too violent!”
It will not only save the Christian meaning of Christmas, but also the highest values of true humanism.
A sly fox approached and insinu- ated: “For the Son of God, every morn- ing I’ll steal the sweetest honey and the richest milk!” The angel replied, “You're too dishonest!”
CHRISTMAS STARS
• “I’m still nostalgic for the crib. Every year, I join my sister and her children, in preparing a crib like the one in my own home” (Renzo Arbore, Italian TV host).
A peacock came and showed off his magnificent feathers: “I’ll turn that poor hut into a palace!” And the angel said, “You're too vain!”
• "If there is a dream I cultivate, it’s
Then the angel began to worry: he
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• “Christmas is more than just a story: it is a caress, a hug, a smile, it’s a food” (Luigi Santucci, Italian essayist and novelist).
He called them. “Have you nothing to offer?” The ox timidly replied, “We could, from time to time, chase the flies away with our tails...!”
• One day in a class on modern inventions, the teacher asked the children: “Which of you can tell me
At long last the Angel smiled: “You’re the right ones!”
The perfect answer! Children are important! God himself began as a child! British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965) used to say that “there is no finer invest- ment for any community than putting milk into babies.”
The Child Jesus, who had heard everything, opened his eyes and called them over beside him.
THE DONKEY AND THE OX
Lord, we’re about to disappear ... I’ve been told that in Italy there’s only a hundred thousand of us left. It’s true. We’re only donkeys ...
Yet the great Homer sang about us in verse sublime.
And you yourself rode on one of us! Preserve us, Lord,
What would the crib be without an ass?
What would the world be?
There is always a need
for some ass
that pulls ahead in silence,
without appearing on television; there is always a need for some ass who only knows how to give,
never takes, never steals ...
Lord, save these donkeys!
They are the ones who will save the world. <
While Mary and Joseph were going to Bethlehem, the angel gathered the animals to choose which was the most suitable to stay in the cave with the Child Jesus.
Now the first crib was complete!
THE DONKEY’S PRAYER