¹ We read and faithfully hold that from the very beginning of the world’s creation, God made us in His image and likeness in the first man. But behold, on this day, in a wondrous exchange, God has been made in our likeness. First, He bestowed upon us what was better from Himself; then, He took upon Himself what was lower from us. Through tasting the forbidden tree, the reckless frailty of the first man, tempted by the devil’s persuasion, sought to grasp divinity in a damnable ambition, as the devil said, “If you eat from this tree, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods”. Therefore, let us acknowledge the admirable goodness of our merciful Father. Man, through the enemy’s temptation, wished to become God by pride, and God became man through mercy. In a certain way, the image of that ancient and original world is renewed in us today through the divinity of Christ, just as when the first Adam was formed from the dust of the earth. Behold!

² Even now, the second Adam is formed, as it were, from untouched and unworked earth, taking flesh from a virgin. Behold, once again, the laws of nature are suspended, and a new man is brought to a new life by the work of God alone. Thus, the Son of the Virgin is promised through the visitation of the Holy Spirit. What wonder is it if He is born without corruption, since He is conceived in sanctification? For it was fitting that the one who brought salvation to all should also grant the dignity of integrity to His mother alone. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you”. It was indeed fitting that the mother, who was to be honoured by the royal birth, should first be sanctified by the entrance of the heavenly King. Therefore, we must not believe that our Lord and Saviour is merely a man simply because we see that He was born as a man. It is not right to doubt that He is God when God Himself prepared a dwelling for Him as He descended to earth. By the working of divine power, the womb of one who believed was made fruitful, and upon mortal wood, the tree of life was grafted. The One who bears all things in Himself was carried in weakness, and He whom neither earth, sea, nor heaven can contain was received within the limbs of a single body. The Creator of all was born from His own creation, and from His own stream, the great fountain sprang forth. The root of all came forth from His own branch, and the true vine became the fruit of His own shoot.

³ Behold, the most eagerly awaited day has arrived, shining with a twofold grace—illuminated by the radiance of its customary light, yet especially resplendent with the brilliance of a shining womb. Let us first confess that there is one God, our Lord, and there will be no other left whom we might call lesser. For whoever speaks of one as greater and another as lesser must necessarily admit to believing in two gods. Therefore, let us believe in one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—three persons, not three substances; three names, not three dominions. Why one God? Because there is one operation of power, the same harmony of will, one divinity, one eternity, one majesty. And why three persons? Because one is the Father, another the Son, and another the Holy Spirit; yet in the equality of divinity, there is no difference. For in the three, there is one glory, one substance, and their unity is formed by the equality of power, while their Trinity is distinguished by the properties of their names and the number of their persons. Therefore, let us faithfully hold to this truth: our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. Just as He is wholly God from God, so also He is wholly man from man, yet without the stain of sin. According to His divinity, He is equal to the Father; according to His humanity, He is lesser even than the angels and younger than the mother whom He created.

⁴ These are the most solid foundations of our life and hope. It remains, then, that upon these we build the structure of good works, which we will surely achieve by imitating Him who became man from God so that we might be able to imitate Him. We will imitate God by disregarding the world, not seeking vengeance for wrongs, rejecting our own desires, loving the glory of submission, enduring tribulations with courage, avoiding honours, riches, and the pleasures of this body. Therefore, let us reserve all our delight and rest for that future homeland, and let us occupy our minds with desires for what is to come rather than being drawn by the enticements and temptations of the present. Let us sigh for that place daily, present it to our hearts at every moment, fixing our thoughts unceasingly on what “eye has not seen, nor ear heard”, and consider without interruption how we will worthily meet Him at the second coming of His tremendous majesty, when we must give an account of our deeds, words, and thoughts. Let us live and remain in our place as if we were to leave this life every day. O day, new among all days, gain of light and loss of blindness, on which the Eternal One, the Sun, descending from the highest height of the Father’s glory, has opened the entrance of the Virgin’s womb, scattering the darkness of the whole world with His radiant brilliance. Rejoice, faithful ones of Christ, in festive joy! For today a new thing has come to pass for us, something that was long ago promised—that, without any harm to the Virgin’s purity, the breasts of the Mother would nourish the Son.

⁵ This is the new thing foretold by the prophecy of Jeremiah: “The Lord will create a new thing on the earth” and, as if kindling a light in this darkness, he immediately added, “a woman shall encompass a man”. This is the new thing, I say, that the Lord will bring about on the earth—that a woman shall encompass a man. Consider this, brothers, and even anticipate my understanding with your own. He says, “a woman shall encompass a man.” O woman, blessed above all women, who neither knew a man yet encompassed a man in her womb; who was untouched by carnal union yet rejoiced in a fleshly offspring conceived from a spiritual seed! Mary encompassed the man by believing the angel, whereas Eve lost the man by consenting to the serpent. “The Lord will create a new thing on the earth.” So when the time came for this new thing to be revealed, a heavenly messenger was sent ahead to the Virgin. The angel greeted the maiden, who was unacquainted with a man’s greeting. The Virgin was troubled at the novelty of these words, but the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God”. “Do not fear at my presence, O Mother of my Lord. I have come as the servant of your conception. The very one who is to be born from you has sent me to you; he himself announces joy to you through me, for it has pleased him to unite in your womb a mystical marriage with human nature.” You have found favour with God. Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son—not just any man, but the Saviour of the whole world. “Do not be afraid,” he says, “cast away all fear, for you are about to conceive the joy of the world.” Recall, Mary, the prophetic reading, for the knowledge of the divine books cannot have escaped you, since you are to give birth to the very fullness of the prophets. Remember the virgin you read about in the book of Isaiah, and rejoice, for you have been found worthy to be her.

⁶ O blessed infancy, through which the life of our race has been restored! O most welcome and delightful cries, through which we have escaped the gnashing of teeth and our fathers’ lamentations! O happy swaddling clothes, by which we have wiped away the filth of sin! O glorious manger, in which there lay not the fodder of animals, but the food of angels was found!

⁷ Nurse your Creator, Mary; nurse the Bread of Heaven; nurse the ransom of the world. Offer your breast to Him as He eagerly drinks, that He may later offer His cheek to those who strike Him for your sake. Let the child be nourished with the milk of your breasts, that as a man He may drink the vinegar for you. Now let your hands carry Him, that His arms may later be stretched upon the cross for you. Finally, provide Him as His mother with earthly sustenance, that He may grant us—both you and us—eternal life together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.