Birth of Jesus

I am writing to you, dear Theophilus, an orderly account of the things that have taken place among us, so that you may know the absolute truth about everything. In the days when Caesar Augustus was emperor of Rome, and when Herod the Great was king of Judea, God sent the angel Gabriel to visit a virgin of the city of Nazareth. And the virgin's name was Mary. Fear not Mary, for you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a Son and you will call His name "Jesus." How can this be? I am a virgin. The Holy Spirit will come upon you. For this reason the Holy Child will be called the Son of the Most High God. His kingdom will never end. Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was too old to have a child. But by a miracle, God enabled her to become pregnant. Elizabeth! Mary! Cousin Mary! You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the Child you will bear. For as soon as I heard your greeting, the baby within me jumped with gladness. My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. From now on all generations will call me blessed. Know, all men of Nazareth, that by command of Caesar Augustus, there will be conducted a census of the subject territories of Galilee and Judea. All men must register in the town or city where their ancestors were born. So Joseph went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea to register with Mary, to whom he was engaged. But there was no room for them in Bethlehem. And the only lodging they could find was a humble stable. Now there were some shepherds in that part of the country who were taking care of their flock at night. Suddenly, an angel of God appeared to them and the glory of God shone about them. This very day in David's town your Savior was born. He is Christ the Lord. The shepherds hurried to see the newborn Babe in the manger, and were the first to spread the Good News or "Gospel" of the the Savior's birth.