Chapter 4  

The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ 

The Day of the Week 

     Just before the close of the Sabbath Joseph went into Bethlehem, and as soon as the sun had set, he quickly 

bought a few necessary things a stool, a little low table, a few little bowls, and some dried fruit and 

grapes. 

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    Here Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich describes the sunset before the Birth of Christ. The Jewish Sabbath 

begins on Friday at sunset and ends on Saturday at sunset. Devout Jews would neither buy nor sell on the 

Sabbath. Joseph went into town to buy some things to prepare for the imminent birth of Jesus Christ, but he 

would not buy anything until after sunset. Joseph waited until the end of the Sabbath to buy the things he and 

Mary needed. Since the Sabbath ends at sunset on Saturday, it was on Saturday evening after sunset that 

Joseph bought these items. 

     Mary had told St. Joseph that to night at midnight would be the hour of the child's birth, for then the nine 

months since the Annunciation would have been completed. 

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    That very night, the night between Saturday and Sunday, Christ was born about the midnight hour. Blessed 

Anne Catherine repeatedly mentions the Jewish Sabbath as she describes in detail the events of the day before 

the birth of Christ.

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 She tells us how Joseph and Mary said their Sabbath prayers together. They also went for 

a short Sabbath walk, but spent most of the day in prayer and meditation. Christ was born late that night, after 

the Jewish Sabbath, at the beginning of the Christian Sabbath, which is Sunday. It was fitting that Jesus should 

be born just after the Jewish Sabbath and at the beginning of the Christian Sabbath, Sunday. For Jesus is the 

completion of the Promises made to the Jews and the fulfillment of the Jewish faith, and He is the beginning 

(and the end) of the Christian faith. 

    Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich clearly taught, based on her visions from God, that Jesus was born very 

early on Sunday, before dawn. The word midnight, in its usage today, refers to 24:00 hours, that is, 12:00 a.m. 

The Virgin Mary informed Joseph that her Son Jesus would be born that night at midnight, but she was not 

using the word midnight as we use it today. The Jews divided the day into 12 hours and the night into 12 

hours (no matter how long or short the night). So, midnight more likely meant approximately the middle of 

the night, about halfway between sunset and sunrise, (the sixth hour of the night). Jesus, the Light of the 

world, was born in the middle of the night. 

    The Birth of Our Lord occurred in a cave on the outskirts of Bethlehem. This cave was often used by 

shepherds, and had been a place of refuge and prayer for Joseph when he was young.

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 They laid the Child 

Jesus in a manger (Lk 2:16) within the cave.

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 And shepherds from the surrounding area came and 

worshipped the Christ Child (Lk 2:8 20).

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The Month and Day of Christ's Birth 

     The reason why the Church keeps the feast exactly a month later than the actual event is because at one 

time, when an alteration in the calendar was made, some days and seasons were completely omitted. 

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    The Church currently celebrates the Birth of Our Lord on December 25. However, the Church does not 

teach that Christ was born in December. There is no date given in Christian doctrine for the Birth of Jesus. 

Furthermore, it is not necessary to faith or salvation to know the exact date of the Birth of Our Lord. It is 

enough to know that the Savior was born. 

    However, God did reveal to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich the exact day and month of the Birth of 

Jesus Christ. In her visions, she saw the Birth of Jesus as occurring on November 25:  she dated the day of 

Christ's birth a month earlier, that is to say on November 25 . 

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 God often gave Blessed Anne Catherine 

visions of events in the life of Jesus on the same day and month as each event actually occurred. In this way, 

God clearly revealed to her the true dates of important events in the lives of Jesus and Mary. 

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