Sometimes when people talk about putting Christ back in Christmas, they mean a more hands-on approach.

Last Christmas the baby Jesus went missing and was assumed stolen from the nativity scene in front of Corpus Christi church in St. John’s.

But last October the statue was left, like a foundling, on the steps of the church returned just in time for the holidays.

Monsignor Joseph Barton, above, says they were already trying to think of a replacement when the baby Jesus was returned. He doesn’t think there was anything malicious in the theft, saying the statue was well looked after, and he hopes whoever took the statue benefited from it.

He says it’s a blessing that it was returned, and that there’s a larger lesson to be learned.

Monsignor Barton says every year they celebrate Jesus’ birthday because it’s tradition, but he thinks maybe it was a good thing that they missed him, because it makes them better appreciate his presence in their lives everyday.