IN BETHLEHEM, GOD'S INFINITE LOVE FOR MAN IS MADE MANIFEST

VATICAN CITY, JAN 3, 2001 (VIS) - In this year's first general audience, which was held in St. Peter's Square, John Paul II affirmed that "the Christmas period presents Christians once again with the mystery of Jesus and His work of salvation. Before the manger, the Church adores the glorious mystery of the Incarnation."

"In the grotto of Bethlehem, the infinite love that God has for all human beings is expressed with disarming simplicity. In the manger, we contemplate God Who became man for our sake."

The Holy Father recalled that St. Francis of Assisi sought to "convey this message again, through the nativity scene enacted at Greccio on December 25, 1223. ... His intuition is astonishing: the nativity scene is not only a new Bethlehem because it re-evokes the historical event and focusses attention on its message, but it is also an occasion of consolation and happiness: It is the day of joy, the time of exultation."

"The nativity scene celebrates the alliance between God and man, between earth and heaven." In Bethlehem "we see visible testimony of the fraternity that must unite those who are brothers in faith, because they are children of the one heavenly Father."

The Pope concluded by saying: "Comforted by the gift of the birth of the Savior, let us intensify our efforts in these last days of the Holy Year. Let us open our hearts to Christ, the one and universal way that leads to God. Thus we will be able to advance into the new year with solid confidence."

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