He was made man that we might be made God; and he manifested himself by a body that we might receive the idea of the unseen Father; and he endured the insolence of men that we might inherit immortality. – St. Athanasius
But, brethren, because God’s promises seemed impossible to men equality with the angels in exchange for mortality, corruption, poverty, weakness, dust and ashes-God not only made a written contract with men, to win their belief but also established a mediator of his good faith, not a prince or angel or archangel, but his only Son. He wanted, through his Son, to show us and give us the way he would lead us to the goal he has promised. – St. Augustine
The incarnation teaches us how much God cares for us and what he thinks and feels about us. – St. Bernard
Every one of the emotions which assault human nature can be found in Christ… so that they might be thoroughly subdued by the power of the Word dwelling in the flesh, thereby changing the nature of man for the better. – St. Cyril of Alexandria
Jesus is continually withdrawing into the wilderness, and there he often spends the whole night in prayer, teaching us earnestly to seek such quietness in our prayers, as time and place may confer. For the wilderness is the mother of quiet; it is a calm and a harbor, delivering us from all turmoils. – St. John Chrysostom
When a farmer prepares to till the soil he must put on clothing and use tools that are suitable. So Christ, our heavenly king, came to till the soil of mankind devastated by sin. He assumed a body and, using the cross as his plowshare, cultivated the barren soul of man. He removed the thorns and thistles which are the evil spirits and pulled up the weeds of sin. Into the fire he cast the straw of wickedness. And when he had plowed the soul with the wood of the cross, he planted in it a most lovely garden of the Spirit, that could produce for its Lord and God the sweetest and most pleasant fruit of every kind. – St. Macarius
When a shepherd sees that his sheep have scattered, he keeps one of them under his control and leads it to the pastures he chooses, and thus he draws the other sheep back to him by means of this one. – St. Theodoret of Cyrus
But by suffering out of love and obedience, Christ gave more to God than was required to compensate for the offense of the whole human race. – St. Thomas Aquinas
When [God] took our flesh he dedicated the whole of its substance to our salvation. – St. Thomas Aquinas
The more lowly he seemed by reason of his poverty, the greater might the power of his Godhead be shown to be. – St. Thomas Aquinas
QUOTES BY OTHER FAITHFUL MEN & WOMEN
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, You of little faith, why did you doubt?'” The deliverance was first; then the gentle rebuke; and that probably with a smile on his face and love in his voice. – Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Paul sees the incarnation of Jesus, the perfect union of God and man, as the goal of Israel – Bishop Barron
Jesus becomes sin. That means He enters into the experience of the sinner. He takes upon himself the suffering that’s caused by our sins. – Bishop Barron
God raised Jesus from death, and this can only mean that what contributed to the death of Jesus is under God’s judgment. – Bishop Barron
Jesus the King is meant, above all, to guide his people toward right praise and worship of God. – Brandon Vogt
Jesus has drawn sin to himself, made it his lot, and so revealed what true “holiness” is: not separation, but union; not judgment but redeeming love. – Joseph Ratzinger
God is not some remote highest being, forever inaccessible. He is very close to us; we can call to him; we can always reach him. He has time for me.-so much time that he lay as a man in the crib and remains a man for all eternity. – Joseph Ratzinger
It is not a stranger who judges us but he whom we know in faith. The judge will not advance to meet us as the entirely other, but as one of us, who knows human existence from inside and has suffered. – Joseph Ratzinger
It is he who endured every kind of suffering in all those who foreshadowed him. In Abel he was slain, in Isaac bound, in Jacob exiled, in Joseph sold, in Moses exposed to die. He was sacrificed in the Passover lamb, persecuted in David, dishonored in the prophets. – Melito of Sardis
He rose from the dead, and cried aloud: Who will contend with me? Let him confront me. I have freed the condemned, brought the dead back to life, raised men from their graves. Who has anything to say against me? I, he said am the Christ; I have destroyed death, triumphed over the enemy, trampled hell underfoot, bound the strong one, and taken men up to the heights of heaven: I am the Christ. – Melito of Sardis
Christ reveals himself as God’s Servant, totally obedient to the divine will. In this, Jesus is the devil’s conqueror. – CCC 539
