Quotes of the Day for January 8, 2026 – Thoughts on the incarnation and our salvation
- Michael Haldas
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
“ On the day of Christ’s birth, the regular events of human history began to be penetrated by eternal events: the Incarnation, the redemption on the Cross, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the sitting at the Father’s right hand…the Nativity was not properly the beginning of the Life of Christ, but rather a bodily extension of His eternal spiritual presence. His Incarnation was only the means for His entry into the world in order to carry out the strategy designed by God from eternity past. His life on earth, in other words, had roots stretching back into eternity past and reaching forward to eternity future.” (Matthew the Poor)
“God’s incarnation is the greatest upheaval and the most providential event, both on Earth and in Heaven, for the miracle of miracles has happened. If up until then the creation of the world from nothing was the greatest miracle, the incarnation of God in man has without a doubt surpassed it in its miraculousness. If at the creation of the world the words of God were clothed in matter, then at the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ God has clothed Himself in a body, in matter, in flesh. Therefore the incarnation of God became providential throughout the whole creation—for every individual, for every being, for every creature.” (St. Justin Popovic)
“Christ is the complete incarnation of truth accessible to man. In Him are given, for both the heart and mind of man, clear and joy-inducing answers to all the decidedly torturous and vital questions and inquiries of the spirit. Even His enemies learned and learn from Him. He conquers and captivates the human mind as soon as it rises above the realm of temporality and sensible objects. He acts in the world by convicting hearts, against which all reasonings are powerless. He opens a special path of enlightenment, unusual for natural knowledge—the moral path, purifying and elevating a man’s reason through moral purification and elevation.” (St. John of Riga)
“Our salvation is so much more than merely an escape from punishment, or even from death itself. It is so much more, even, than to dwell in paradise for all eternity. Our salvation is nothing less than to participate in the divine life of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. Not only has He become incarnate on this day, but He also invited each of us sinners to share fully with Him in His incarnation, in this unparalleled theanthropic miracle which has transfigured all creation.” (Igumen Gabriel)
“…just as God’s act of salvation is the continuation of His act of creation, so too the resurrection is the continuation of the incarnation, and the new creation to be inaugurated by God will not be the abrupt discontinuation of creation (this world) but rather will be the continuation of it in a new way. God is not going to create heaven and paradise out of nothing, rather He is going to transfigure and transform what He has already called into existence. God proclaims His revelation: “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). God makes all things new rather than making all new things.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh)