This
is the revelation of the mystery, this is the emptying out of the
divine nature, the union of God and man, and the deification of the
manhood that was assumed. This radiant and manifest coming of God to
men most certainly needed a joyful prelude to introduce the great
gift of salvation to us. The present festival, the birth of the
Mother of God, is the prelude, while the final act is the
fore-ordained union of the Word with flesh. Today the Virgin is born,
tended and formed and prepared for her role as Mother of God, who is
the universal King of the ages.
--
Saint Andrew of Crete
