the incarnation:

After long ages of preparation, heralded by the Law and the Prophets, the Word of God became incarnate in the womb of the Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary (Luke 1) and was born in Bethlehem of Judea (Luke 2) during the reign of Augustus Caesar and of Quirinus the Governor (this would have been between 2 BC and 4 AD).

From all eternity, God the Son is begotten of God the Father, co-equal in divinity, glory, and power, receiving from the Father the same divine essence. The Son “reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). “He is the image of the invisible God. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:15, 17, 19).

At the moment of his incarnation, God the Word, Jesus Christ, took to himself a human nature without mingling or confusion with his divine nature in a union of one person. Christ, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7). He became “as we are, yet without sinning” (Hebrews 4:15). By uniting himself to a perfect human nature, Christ undid the curse of Adam and restored human nature to its original innocence. Where Adam was disobedient, Christ was obedient. Where Adam was led astray by his appetites, Christ exhibited self-control (Matthew 4). Where Adam asserted his own will, Christ said, “not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). Though “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9), he became subject to the frailty, poverty, and weakness of our nature, emptying himself out so that we might be filled with his light and life.

By his incarnation and perfect life, Christ heals our infirmities, tames our passions, and restores the likeness of God in our nature. During his earthly ministry, Christ healed the sick, proclaimed the good news, (Matthew 4:23) and revealed to us the hidden mysteries of his divine life, with which humanity lost contact after the fall.