The second and third articles of the Apostles’ Creed are: I believe “in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.”

Jesus is Our Lord because He is God, our Creator, our merciful Redeemer, and our future Judge.

Christ is not only a messenger of God the Father. Christ Himself is the message. He comes to give us the truth and the grace to practise the truth.

What? Why? How?

Each year Catholics all over the world celebrate three major feasts: Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost. Christmas is about the mystery of the Incarnation, Easter is about Redemption, and Pentecost is about the Church.

When we explore these three important mysteries, we can begin by asking the simple six questions: What? Why? How? Who? When? Where?

What is Incarnation? The definition of “Incarnation” is “God the Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, retaining His divine nature, took to Himself a human nature, that is, a body and soul like ours, and united it in His own Person to His divine nature.” In short, Incarnation means “the Son of God became man.”

Why did the Son of God become man? We recite the answer to this question on Sundays when we say the Nicene Creed: “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven.” The Son of God became man to save us from sin and death. The name “Jesus” means “Saviour.” The name “Christ” means “Messiah” or “the Anointed One.”

How did the Son of God become man? We find the answer in the Creed: “He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.” Jesus has no human father, but only a human mother. On earth, Our Lady was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ. St. Joseph was the guardian or foster father of Christ.

Who? When? Where?

Who was incarnated? The Son of God was incarnated, and received the name “Jesus.” A “person” is “who someone is,” and a “nature” is “what someone is.”

In Jesus Christ there is one person and two natures. Jesus Christ is the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Jesus Christ has two natures: the nature of God and the nature of man. He is truly God, and thus whatever He did on earth had infinite value. He is truly man, and thus He can truly represent us.

When did the Son of God become man? The Son of God became man on Annunciation Day. It was the day when the archangel Gabriel announced to Our Lady that she was to be the Mother of God. Jesus was born nine months later on Christmas Day.

Each year the Church celebrates Annunciation Day March 25, and Christmas Day Dec. 25. Catholics are encouraged to commemorate the Annunciation by reciting the Angelus three times a day.

Regarding the “When,” it is also important to remember that the Son of God was not always man, but became man at the time of the Incarnation.

Where did the Son of God became man? The Son of God became man on Annunciation Day in Nazareth. He was born on Christmas Day in Bethlehem.

“Bethlehem” means “House of Bread.” Baby Jesus was laid in a manger, from which animals ate their food. He was to become our daily bread of life in the Holy Eucharist.

宗徒信經的第二和第三信條：「我信父的唯一子、我們的主耶穌基督。祂因聖神降孕，由童貞瑪利亞誕生」

耶穌是我們的主，因為祂是天主，我們的創造者，我們慈悲的救贖者，又是我們將來的審判者。

基督不單是天父的傳訊者，祂本身就是天父的訊息。祂來是帶給我們真理和聖寵；聖寵給我們力量去實踐真理。

何物？為何？如何？

每年全世界的天主教徒慶祝三個最重要的節日：聖誕節，復活節和五旬節(聖神降臨)。聖誕節是有關聖子降生的奧蹟，復活節有關救贖，而五旬節有關教會。

當我們要學習這三項奧蹟時，可從六個問題開始：何物？為何？如何？何人？何時？何地？

「降生」是何物？「降生」的定義是天主之子，聖三的第二位，保留著祂的天主性，攝取了人性(肉體和靈魂)，使之與其天主性在一位格內結合。概括言之，「降生」是「天主聖子成人」。

為何要「降生」？這答案在我們每星期日誦念的尼西亞信經中：「祂為了我們人類，並為了我們的得救，從天降下」。天主聖子成人，是要把我們從罪惡和死亡中拯救出來。「耶穌」一名解說「救世者」。「基督」一名解說「默西亞」或「受傅者」。

天主聖子如何「降生」呢？我們在宗徒信經中找到答案：「祂因聖神降孕，由童貞瑪利亞誕生」。耶穌沒有人性的父親，但只有一個人性的母親。在耶穌出生前後，聖母都是童貞女。聖若瑟是耶穌的守護人或養父。

何人？何時？何地？

降生成人的是誰？降生成人的天主聖子，接受了「耶穌」的聖名。「位格」是指那人是誰，而「本性」是指那人是什麽。耶穌基督是一位二性。祂是天主聖三中的第二位，並有兩個本性：天主性和人性。祂是真天主，所以祂在世上所做的都有無限的價值；祂又是真人，所以祂可以真正地代表我們。

天主聖子何時成人？天主聖子，在聖母領報日成人。那一天是天使加俾厄爾向聖母報告說她將會成為天主之母。耶穌九個月後在聖誕日誕生。每年我們於三月二十五日慶祝聖母領報，並於十二月二十五日慶祝聖誕節。教會鼓勵教友們每天誦念三鐘經三次以記念聖母領報。

關於「何時」，天主聖子不是從永遠就是人，而是在時間內，在聖母領報日成人。

天主聖子在何地成人？天主聖子在聖母領報日於納匝肋降孕成人。祂在聖誕日於白冷出生。

白冷意思是「麵包屋」。耶穌出生的時候是被放在馬糟內。馬糟是盛放牲畜食物飼料的器具。祂將來要藉聖體聖事，成為我們的日用糧。

聖母把嬰兒耶穌裹在襁褓內，放在山洞中的馬糟內。多年後，耶穌死後，屍體裹在殮布中，放在山洞中的墳墓內。

「每一個人都為生存而誕生，主耶穌卻為死亡而誕生。」