In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi created the very first Nativity crèche in the town of Greccio, Italy. He staged the birth of Jesus, using people to play the role of the biblical characters. His novel idea not only excited the imagination of believers, but it also inspired them and increased their devotion in celebrating Christmas. Within a few years, Pope Nicholas IV (the first Franciscan Pope) commissioned a permanent Nativity crèche to be set up in Rome in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Within a hundred years, every church in Italy had its own crèche.

Beneath the soil of every continent lie buried the ruins of fallen civilizations. The Sumerians, Akkadians, Mayans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Minoans, Romans: all of them, faded memories of past grandeur and glory. History records the collapse of at least 32 major civilizations that once thrived and prospered before our time.

The famous 4th century Greek philosopher Diogenes lived an extremely simple life even to the point of living inside a barrel. He was the archetype of the Cynics, a philosophical school that rejected wealth and promoted self-sufficiency as a means to contentment. One day, the philosopher Aristippus, who had won a place at the court of Dionysius of Syracuse, confronted Diogenes. He said to Diogenes, “If you would learn to compliment Dionysius, you would not have to live on lentils.” Diogenes replied, “But if you would only learn to live on lentils, you wouldn’t have to flatter Dionysius.”

Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher who lived four centuries before Christ, proposed the scientific theory of horror vacui. Based on his observations, he concluded that nature fills every empty space with something, even if it is only air. In his works Gargantua and Pantagruel, the Renaissance priest, doctor and scientist Rabelais popularized this idea with the phrase Natura abhorret vacuum (“nature abhors a vacuum”).

Some days before All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2), Italians, like many other Europeans, begin visiting the graves of their deceased relatives. The cemeteries are crowded with people adorning the graves with fresh flowers and praying for the dead. In some places in Italy, there still survive other traditions that commemorate the departed.

One of the most famous figures of all English literature is the ghost of Hamlet’s father. Three times he appears in Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. He demands that his son settle accounts with his uncle who murdered the dead king. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Julius Caesar and Richard III, ghosts also appear.

On Oct. 7, 1571, Don Juan of Austria led a coalition of Christians against the Ottoman forces seeking to gain control of the Medi­terranean. The Christian fleet was assembled together by the Republic of Venice and the Spanish Empire, along with the Papacy. In the Gulf of Patras near Corinth, Greece, the Christian and the Muslim forces engaged in the battle of Lepanto, one of the most important battles of history. On its outcome hung the fate of Europe. Would it remain Christian or would it become Muslim?

The “everyone-gets-an-award” syndrome has swept across America. Fifty years ago, a student had to work hard and achieve consistently good grades before receiving recognition for academic excellence. Today, for fear of damaging someone’s self-esteem, some schools will not grade below a “C.” One school even handed out honors awards alphabetically so that no student would feel slighted (cf. Michael Sigman, “When Everyone Gets a Trophy,” Huffington Post, June 18, 2012).

For centuries, the Church has faced the challenge of living up to the teachings of Jesus. As a result, she constantly looks to better the lives of the faithful and her own life as an institution. During the Second Vatican Council, the axiom Ecclesia semper reformanda (The Church must always be reformed) became the byword for Church renewal in the 20th century.

Throughout the world, the cross is the universal symbol of the Christian faith. But, for the first four centuries of Christianity, it was not. Christians were being persecuted and put to death for their faith. Crucifixion was only too real for them. Not until Constantine made Christianity legal did Christians begin to make use of the symbol of the cross as a sign and affirmation of their belief in Jesus who died and rose for our salvation.

On the Mediterranean coast, half way between modern Tel Aviv to the north and Haifa to the south, stand the ruins of Caesarea Maritima, the magnificent city that Herod the Great built between 22 and 10 B.C. Herod’s palace, built on a promontory jutting out into the sea, was an engineering marvel. The city’s 40-acre harbor could accommodate 300 ships. The city boasted a hippodrome as well as a theater with a seating capacity of 3,500.

In 1300 A.D., the wealthy merchant Enrico Scrovegni built a chapel adjacent to his palace in Padua. He then commissioned the Italian artist Giotto to decorate it with frescoes. In a series of frescoes, Giotto painted the vices and the virtues. In one of these, Giotto depicted Charity as a woman.

Researchers claim that an average person needs less than 30 seconds to appraise someone at a first encounter. Even before the individual speaks, there is non-verbal communication. Body language such as crossed arms, dilated pupils, and forced smiles send a message. So does one’s clothing. In a day that places a high premium on communication and where even one’s appearance is crafted to evoke a certain response, clothes have become extremely meaningful.

At the very beginning of America’s fight for independence, Thomas Paine published his historic pamphlet Common Sense. In this highly incendiary work, he marshalled arguments to convince the members of the Thirteen Colonies to sever their union with England. He astutely noted that “Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America.” England, therefore, had no claim over the lives of all those in the colonies. Just common sense.

In almost every town in Italy, there is a street named “ Via XX Set­tembre” (September 20th Street). It celebrates the capture of Rome on Sept. 20, 1870. This event brought an end to the Papal States and unified Italy as one country. Prior to that date, the Pope was not merely the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church, but the temporal ruler of several states within Italy.

Alfred E. Smith, a devout Catholic, was elected four times as governor of New York. However, the announcement of his candidacy for president immediately unleashed a storm of anti-Catholicism in 1928. A Protestant minister in Oklahoma City warned his large congregation, “If you vote for Al Smith, you’re voting against Christ and you’ll all be damned.” The Daytona Beach, Florida school board predicted that, if Smith were elected, students would not be allowed to have or read a Bible. Around the country, pamphlets appeared attacking the Catholic Smith. More than 100 anti-Catholic newspapers poisoned the well with their propaganda against Smith for his religion. The anti-Catholic hate was so strong that, within just eight weeks, Smith’s campaign for the presidency ended.

Basic to the American dream is the search for freedom. In the 17th century, Europeans facing persecution for their beliefs fled to America. Since World War II, millions of people have come to the shores of this country. Wars, persecutions, economic distress and political unrest have driven them from their homes to seek a better life. Recent statistics show that there are more than 43.7 million immigrants residing in the United States. They make up 13.5 percent of the total population.

At every military funeral in the United States, the U.S. government dispatches a bugler. As the mourners hush into silence, he solemnly lifts his bugle and sounds Taps. This well-known, 24-note bugle call is actually a revision of a French bugle signal telling soldiers to stop their evening drinking and return to their barracks. Today, it is sounded at dusk at our military posts. The bugle’s plaintive voice announces lights out at the end of the day. How appropriate, therefore, that it is now used at funerals when the light of this life is extinguished by the darkness of death.

Since 2010, world leaders, movie stars, CEOs, artists, and political activists have been meeting annually in New York for the Women in the World Summit. This gathering has become one of America’s most famous forums to foster women’s rights. In 2015, on the eve of launching her presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton gave the keynote address. Her remarks sparked an immediate firestorm of comments and controversy over the endangered right of religious freedom.

The town of Sulmona, Italy has a very unique tradition celebrated on Easter Sunday. It is a dramatic and joy-filled procession celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus. It is called La Madonna Che Scappa (The Madonna who runs). A procession of men bears the statues of the apostles Peter and John. They bring them to Mary. Peter first announces to Mary the good news of the Resurrection. But, she does not believe him. After all, he was known to have lied about even knowing Jesus. John, the Beloved Disciple, who saw the empty tomb and the burial linens neatly folded and immediately believed, then gives the same good news to Mary and she believes.