Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
The question was asked in Mary's home at Nazareth as part of the angel's announcement to her. She asked how she could conceive a child since she had not known a man. The angel answered that the Holy Spirit and the power of the Highest would bring the conception about. His conception was therefore a miracle of God, not the result of a human father. Because of this divine origin the child born of Mary would be holy and called the Son of God.
The question belongs to the mystery of Christ's incarnation, in which His humanity was joined with divinity. His conception and birth in this way set Him apart from ordinary human birth. Mary treasured this announcement as evidence that Jesus was the Messiah and the Sent of God. This divine conception does not mean that Christ had an evil propensity or inclination to corruption.
The question was asked in Mary's home at Nazareth as part of the angel's announcement to her. She asked how she could conceive a child since she had not known a man. The angel answered that the Holy Spirit and the power of the Highest would bring the conception about. His conception was therefore a miracle of God, not the result of a human father. Because of this divine origin the child born of Mary would be holy and called the Son of God.
The question belongs to the mystery of Christ's incarnation, in which His humanity was joined with divinity. His conception and birth in this way set Him apart from ordinary human birth. Mary treasured this announcement as evidence that Jesus was the Messiah and the Sent of God. This divine conception does not mean that Christ had an evil propensity or inclination to corruption.