12.5.1 Christmas

Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ and thus refers to one of the central events in the history of salvation: Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born by the virgin Mary. Through the appearance of Christ on earth, God abased Himself by taking on flesh in Jesus Christ (John 1: 14). The manifold promises in the Old Testament in reference to the expected Messiah were thereby fulfilled. Our commemoration of this miracle of the first coming of the Son of God, which cannot be grasped by the intellect, also reinforces our belief in His imminent return.