Incarnation: Christmas or Annunciation?

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Something that I don’t quite understand is why so little attention seems to be given to the Conception of Jesus whereas His birth seems to be a much bigger deal in the liturgical scope of things. As Catholics we believe that the Incarnation happened at His conception correct? However, advent is celebrated as if Christ’s Incarnation occurred at His birth. Any thoughts?
 
spotty said:
However, advent is celebrated as if Christ’s Incarnation occurred at His birth. Any thoughts?
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When I was growing up, the Annunciation was a holy day of obligation in the United States. Not anymore, and I miss that! I can still attend mass that day, of course, but it’s not the same as attending mass with a much larger group and with music, etc. My son’s school always has the kids go to morning mass that day, even if it’s not one of their regular mass days. But I digress…

The incarnation did indeed take place at the Annunciation. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ – as the chant says, “the nativity (i.e., birth) of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.”

Liturgically there is more emphasis on the Nativity rather than the incarnation. Why? Well, it would have been a little weird to have shepherds and wise men worshiping the child in Mary’s belly.St John the Baptist has that moment of recognition while in Elizabeth’s womb, but let’s consider him an exception, being himself an unborn infant at the time 😃

At that time in history, people hoped for a successful outcome to pregnancy; but it would have been understood that the life of the mother and the child would always be in jeopardy, during the pregnancy and especially at birth and shortly after delivery. And the science of human development in the womb made this time somewhat mysterious, regarding when life began, when the soul and body were united, and so on.

It is no wonder, then, that the Nativity, the visible presence of Christ in the world, would take liturgical precedence over the Incarnation.

Perhaps there is also more for us to consider and apply to our own spiritual lives in the gospel’s birth narratives than in the Incarnation narrative. While I strive to imitate Mary’s fiat, and her Magnificat, I find much more spiritual food, as it were, in considering (for example) making room for Christ in my life; worshiping Him as He reveals Himself rather than how I expect or desire; leaving all behind to seek and find Him; following in obedience and immediacy when God commands (as He did in a dream to Joseph); and so on…

Well, I’m no theologian, and there’s probably just some really simple one sentence answer to your questions :o But this has been a lot of fun for me to consider, so I appreciate you starting this thread.

God bless you!

Gertie
 
There is a tradition, although not a particularly well known tradition, that Jesus died on the same day he was conceived; that Jesus entered and left this world on the same day of the year. (Since Easter is pretty well established as occurring in the spring time, this tradition is thought by some to have inspired celebrating Christmas in the winter, approximately 9 months later.)

Before Christ’s death (and thus before his Conception), we observe the penitential season of Lent, reflecting on our sins and their weight on our savior’s shoulders upon the cross. Mankind was meant to live forever in grace with God; we chose sin, and doomed ourselves to death. Jesus, alone among men, was conceived with the purpose of dying, in order to destroy our death. Thus the close association between the two.

Advent, too, is a penitential season, echoing the Lent, observed in anticipation of the joyful birth of our Lord. We observe a season of penance before each major milestone of Christ’s life.
 
The Annunciation is a solemnity, which places it in the highest class of feasts. It falls in Lent, though Lenten observances are generally suspended on that day. Occasionally it falls in Holy Week or Easter Week, and ends up being transferred to the day after Divine Mercy Sunday.

Annunciation, however, was never a holy day of obligation in the United States.
 
Jews were always longing to see God’s face. The birth of Jesus is the first time in human history that man was able to look upon the face of God.

**That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – **(1 John 1:1)

At Jesus’ birth, God became a living human being, present in the world, able to be touched and heard directly.

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
Jews were always longing to see God’s face. The birth of Jesus is the first time in human history that man was able to look upon the face of God.

**That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – **(1 John 1:1)

At Jesus’ birth, God became a living human being, present in the world, able to be touched and heard directly.

-Tim-
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Right, it prefigures the beatific vision.

Christmas is the time when Christ’s light shines forth into the world, bursting forth from the womb of the Virgin Mary.
 
My very greatest pet peeve with some Catholic pastors, bishops, preachers, and writers is that they equate the Incarnation with the Birth of Jesus (a related peeve is that, like one of those who posted in this thread, they fail to distinguish between Jesus’ Birth and the Epiphany, which occurred later and likely not even in Bethlehem, unless the Holy Family lingered there for weeks). The three feasts, when celebrated properly, present a narrative so beautiful that it makes possible a plethora of Graces that might otherwise be turned aside.

To answer the often repeated objections to a full-blown celebration of the Conception of Jesus –
Code: 
 that the setting is so simple and that Jesus is "not in the picture."  This is to plead a lack of basic imagination.  On the contrary, the "picture" includes the Father as the One Who has given us His Son; the Holy Spirit, who becomes the Spouse of the Virgin; the holy Archangel Gabriel, who has been assigned the enviable task of delivering the message that has been awaited for centuries and who receives the "Yes" that makes the whole of the Redemption possible; and Jesus -- He actually is there, though hidden.

that because the Annunciation many times occurs during Lent and indeed during Holy Week we should not show joy.  Again, on the contrary, Holy Mother Church gives us that Day to go outside of the penitential season, so that we may properly welcome Jesus as He comes into the world.  Whether in Lent or not, a "proper" celebration includes music (Christmas hymns, perhaps), flowers, processions, candles, con-celebrations -- everything done on Christmas, and, to my mind, more so.
In recent times, speakers and writers have focused on Mary’s role in the Annunciation, presumably because we have also been assigning the celebration of Jesus’ Incarnation to the Feast of Christmas. What is more important: Mary’s “Yes” or the fact that God has become Man, fulfilling the Promise made so long before? This is not to attempt to take anything from the glory of Mary’s role; but I think that She Herself gladly steps back in awe at the Mystery of the Coming of Her Son.

It is simple to preach and write about the “Incarnation” in the presence of a manger scene, lighted trees, overflowing Masses, and, most of all, a fully-developed Baby. The quiet of the scene at the Annunciation is the stuff of great homilies only when there is enough Faith. It is sad to see Masses on that Day that are like any other weekday, except for the facts that there is an extra reading and we genuflect during the Credo. We can do much better and it would be to our infinite benefit to do so.

One final word – Our Archbishop has boldly declared that “And the Word was made Flesh” refers to Christmas. Heresy? I wonder.
 
Brownginger said:
One final word – Our Archbishop has boldly declared that “And the Word was made Flesh” refers to Christmas. Heresy? I wonder.
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Well, it certainly does. It’s the natural completion of the Incarnation in a way. Christ becomes visible for us, prefiguring our birth into heaven, into the beatific vision.

The Catechism (526) and the Liturgy of the Hours both say the following in reference to Christmas:

O marvelous exchange! Man’s Creator has become man, born of the Virgin. We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share our humanity.

The sharing of our humanity–the Incarnation–is in direct reference to Christmas.
 
CrossofChrist said:
Well, it certainly does. It’s the natural completion of the Incarnation in a way. Christ becomes visible for us, prefiguring our birth into heaven, into the beatific vision.

The Catechism (526) and the Liturgy of the Hours both say the following in reference to Christmas:

O marvelous exchange! Man’s Creator has become man, born of the Virgin. We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share our humanity.

The sharing of our humanity–the Incarnation–is in direct reference to Christmas.
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Certainly not to deny the importance of the Annunciation. But the Church has Christmas as a major season within the Church.
 
Of course the Incarnation includes Christmas – the Birth of Christ – as well as every other event (mystery) in Christ’s life. However, when one makes specific reference to that phrase – “and the Word was made Flesh” – vis-a-vis Christmas without acknowledging that it was at Jesus’ Conception that He “was made Flesh,” there is an implied denial of the perfection of His humanity since the moment of His Conception. This implication is heightened when it is the basis of the Christmas message and is emphasized by the qualification that “it was on this Day that Jesus became Man.”

Christmas is not the “completion of the Incarnation.” How unusual that you should think that. Does your birth complete your humanity? Are you not completely human at your conception? Do you not remain completely human until your death? Otherwise, I guess abortion is not all that bad.

I am not wise enough, or that well educated, to interpret the Liturgy of the Hours; but were I ever to be asked, I would re-place the prayers of Advent to the period preceding the Annunciation, as they clearly refer to that mystery. As you say, we have reason for great joy on the occasion of the Birth of Jesus; but we do not need to see Him to know that He is there. It is not for me to sadden the Blessed Virgin with the news that Her Son is acknowledged only when we poor humans have eyewitness evidence of His presence. We all love the Baby Jesus; can you not love your invisible King?
 
spotty said:
Something that I don’t quite understand is why so little attention seems to be given to the Conception of Jesus whereas His birth seems to be a much bigger deal in the liturgical scope of things. As Catholics we believe that the Incarnation happened at His conception correct? However, advent is celebrated as if Christ’s Incarnation occurred at His birth. Any thoughts?
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Correct, Jesus incarnated the very moment of his conception. But I think a bigger deal is given to his birth because it is the savior first arriving into the world. He was no longer inside the womb of his mother! No, now he was truly in the world where he would be baptized, completed his ministry, be killed horribly for our sins, rise again, and ascend into heaven. But I do agree that a huge importance should be given to his conception. I mean… it was the moment God became a human! God emptied himself and took on the form of a slave! He did this so he could die for our sins! Amen! 🙂 So maybe awareness should be given for people to start putting an emphasis on God becoming flesh!

God Bless! 🙂
 
Your latest post is remarkable for more than one reason. I believe it is terminology more than anything else that separates us. Jesus “arrived in the world” at His Conception. Mary represents the whole human race in the Incarnation narrative. When She conceived, She KNEW. Thus began His Life: the next item on the “list” was His Birth, the sharing of His Coming with the Jewish population. Then the Epiphany, the sharing of the Good News with the Gentiles. All of these extremely blessed people represent others throughout the ages. I believe you condition subsequent events, e.g., that Jesus was Baptized and Crucified, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven, on the fact that first He was born. No. They are conditioned on the fact that He was Conceived! Jesus’ Birth is first on the “list” of events that happened because He was Conceived.

PEOPLE SHOULD START PUTTING AN EMPHASIS ON GOD BECOMING FLESH! Yes! And the Church should consider that it is confusing the world by the placement of the Advent Season. If Advent were celebrated in the days preceding the Annunciation, all of the lack of emphasis would be eliminated and we could prepare a proper welcome for Our Savior. Would it be so impossible for Catholics to ponder two Mysteries at the same time? Is it too disconcerting to meditate on the Coming of the Christ and His Death at the same Mass? Could we not light the candles of the Advent wreath while we prepare the scaffold of the Cross?

We have a finite number of days in a year in which to squeeze all of the Mysteries. It is a daunting task. Even so, were we to combine Advent and Lent, it would leave a gap between the two great Feasts. So they have been separated to give balance to the liturgical calendar. Is that reason good enough to justify the confusion, the failure rightly to teach the realities of Jesus’ Life, and the ease created thereby of deemphasizing the Annunciation and its concomitant flood of Grace?
 
“and by the Holy Spirit
was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” the Nicene Creed

This took place at His conception.

This is our proclamation of faith. This is what we believe.
 
spotty said:
Something that I don’t quite understand is why so little attention seems to be given to the Conception of Jesus whereas His birth seems to be a much bigger deal in the liturgical scope of things. As Catholics we believe that the Incarnation happened at His conception correct? However, advent is celebrated as if Christ’s Incarnation occurred at His birth. Any thoughts?
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Do you celebrate your birth day or your conception day?
 
Brownginger said:
Christmas is not the “completion of the Incarnation.” How unusual that you should think that. Does your birth complete your humanity? Are you not completely human at your conception? Do you not remain completely human until your death? Otherwise, I guess abortion is not all that bad.
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Poor phrasing on my part…I didn’t mean for it to come across how it did.

Here’s Joseph Ratzinger:

If Easter alludes to the breaking away from the world that should become a reality in the life of every Christian as a result of Christ’s Cross and Resurrection, then Christmas points to God’s taking root in the world: he assumed a real human nature and “pitched his tent” among us, and in his saints and his Church he still dwells in the world today. (Dogma and Preaching: Applying Christian Doctrine to Daily Life, p. 49-50)

So we can see a more immediate connection between Christmas and the Incarnation.
 
Do you know your conception day? If you did, you might celebrate it! In the case of Jesus, we do know. It might be a nice tradition for you were it not to embarass your parents! In any event, with all due respect, the whole population was not awaiting the news that you had come into the world – or I could be wrong.
 
spotty said:
However, advent is celebrated as if Christ’s Incarnation occurred at His birth. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
FYI, the celebration of Advent is really a preparation of the Second Coming.

“O Come, O Come Emanuel” is a prayer for the end of the world 😛
 
The quote from Ratzinger (If Easter alludes to the breaking away from the world that should become a reality in the life of every Christian as a result of Christ’s Cross and Resurrection, then Christmas points to God’s taking root in the world: he assumed a real human nature and “pitched his tent” among us, and in his saints and his Church he still dwells in the world today.)

I have often been puzzled, and humbled, by the words of theologians on this subject. I believe that sometimes they are speaking and writing to the way things have become and not the essence of the matter. It is much simpler to find an audience if one speaks in terms of Easter and Christmas – the point is made and everyone can understand it.
 
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