"Bethlehem is here!" 

"Bethlehem is here!" With these words St Francis of Assisi inaugurated the first representation of the birth of Jesus in the town of Greccio 800 years ago. This anniversary is not just a Franciscan anniversary. This year the nativity scene in St Peter's Square in Rome is dedicated to this event as a sign for the whole Church. St Francis' idea must also have been an inspiration to St Ignatius Loyola when he invited us to contemplate the birth of Christ in the Spiritual Exercises as if we were there. In a sense, through this contemplation, the birth of Christ is really happening here, even though we are not there.

Our nativity scenes are usually made in an idyllic, baroque style, tidy, warm and cosy. They give the impression of hiding the uncertainty and precariousness of the first Christmas. But it doesn't take more than a minute's reflection to realise that the reality was more dramatic and messier. Thus, in its apparent naivety, the crib is both a reminder of the historical event and the theological message that the new world has already begun. The crib opens three-dimensionally into our living space and makes us members of God's family. There is indeed a lot of theology in these figurines.

Our world is often a spiritual desert, a place of loneliness and apathy, and a cruel war zone where the innocent suffer injustice and violence. But God has made his way through this desert. We have the privilege of being his companions. During my first three months as President, I have visited several places of Jesuit presence in Europe and the Middle East. In these countries, whether they are so secularised that we don't seem to matter, or in crises and wars where we are powerless, we witness the thirst for God in people's hearts and see the sprouts of the Word we sow.

On behalf of the entire Jesuit Conference of European Provincials, I wish you a peaceful Christmas season and a blessed New Year!

Dalibor Renić SJ

JCEP President