The Birth of Jesus

Caesar Augustus orders a census of the whole world. So Joseph goes up from Nazareth, in Galilee, to Bethlehem, the city of David, because he belongs to David’s house; Mary, his betrothed, who is expecting a child, goes with him. There she gives birth to her firstborn son, wraps him in swaddling clothes, and lays him in a manger, because there is no room for them in the inn. In the nearby fields, shepherds are keeping watch over their flocks by night. An angel of the Lord appears to them, and the glory of the Lord shines around them: “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” The sign? A babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. A multitude of the heavenly host praises God: “Glory to God in the highest!” The shepherds hurry to Bethlehem, find the child, and tell everything they have heard. Mary keeps all these things in her heart. On the eighth day, the child is named Jesus.