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 girl in 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.
So Mary traveled to a town in Judea
to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was also miraculously with child.
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 joy!
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices 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 forthwith
in the towns and cities of their ancestral birth.
And Mary went to Bethlehem in Judea
to register with Joseph her betrothed.
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 when an angel of God appeared to them
and the glory of God was shining around them.
This very day in David's town, your Savior was born,
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 virgin mother and the Savior's birth.