800 Years of St. Francis · Day 27 of 31 · Tuesday, October 27, 2026
At Christmas in 1223, in the hill town of Greccio, Francis asked a friend to prepare a manger with hay, an ox, and a donkey in a cave outside the village. People came from the countryside carrying torches. Francis sang the Gospel and preached about the child of Bethlehem so tenderly that, one witness said, he seemed to be seeing the child with his own eyes.
It was the first living nativity scene, and every crèche under every Christmas tree descends from it.
Francis wanted people to see, not just hear, how low God had come. The Word became flesh in a feeding trough, not a palace. God chose the unremarkable. Francis took that more seriously than perhaps anyone in the history of the Church, and it shaped every encounter of his life.
The Franciscan theologian John Duns Scotus later drew out something even more astonishing: the Incarnation wasn’t a rescue plan, God’s response to our failure. It was Plan A. God always intended to come among us, in the ordinary, because God loves the ordinary.
Advent is only a few weeks away. The manger is already waiting.
Notice today: Where might the holy be hiding in something ordinary today, perhaps in the most unremarkable corner of your day?
God chose the feeding trough, not the palace. The ordinary was always the plan.
At San Damiano: Advent Taizé Prayer Service: Living Nativity, with Janèt Sullivan Whitaker, Tuesday, December 22, 7:00 – 8:00 pm. Details
A Spiritual Break Advent series is also on its way. More information coming soon.
Day 27 of 31 · 800 Years of St. Francis: A Daily October Companion · spiritualbreak.com
Reflection © 2026 Michael J. Cunningham OFS.
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