(Meredith Gould has a Ph.D. in sociology and is an award winning writer, a regular columnist for Faith & Family, and the author of many books. Her newest book, Why is There a Menorah on the Altar? will be published this fall. This interview was originally published in the December 2006 issue of Secretum Meum Mihi.)

Q. Tell me about your early faith experiences.
A. Both my parents were Brooklyn Jews at a time when ethnic-religious boundaries were fairly blurred. Italian and Irish Catholic neighborhoods were in close proximity to Jewish neighborhoods. My mother tells stories about going to Catholic church when public schools were closed for Jewish holidays.  She once attended  ‘confession,’ although the details are somewhat murky.  My father considered himself a Jewish atheist even though his grandfather was a rabbi and one of his four brothers remained an Orthodox Jew. 
 

Eager to make the gospel story of the nativity vivid, St. Francis built an outdoor tableau at Greccio in 1223. He filled a real manger with straw, and installed a life-sized figure of the Christ-child, flanking the crib with living animals and people. During the Mass that followed, legend says that the Infant came to life in his arms.

St. Francis' example and his emotive spirituality stimulated people's desire to picture, touch and re-enact the mysteries of salvation. However, he might be shocked at the enormous industry surrounding creche sets today.