The Virgin Incarnation of God 

Elizabeth's sixth month. So, on or before AdarI 28, Elizabeth must have begun her sixth month. The earliest 

opportunity for the conception of John by Zechariah and Elizabeth was probably Tishri 24. And now we see 

that the conception of John must have occurred no later than Tishri 28, so that beginning of Elizabeth's sixth 

month would occur by AdarI 28. 

    This count of the months refers to lunar months, used in the Jewish calendar, of 29 30 days each. Normal 

human gestation is considered to be 38 weeks (266 days), counting from the day of conception.

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 Thirty eight 

weeks is almost exactly 9 lunar months (29.5306 days x 9 = 265.78). So if Elizabeth's first month began on 

Tishri 24, one can reasonably call AdarI 24 the start of her sixth month. 

    Jesus was conceived on Feb. 25, and so His Virgin Birth, on Nov. 25, occurred fully nine months after the 

Incarnation (see chapter 4). The time that Jesus was in the womb of the Virgin Mary was nine months, by the 

Christian calendar, and 273 days, rather than nine lunar months (266 days). Of all children born today, 90% 

are born within a four week  time frame of 266 days from conception, plus or minus 2 weeks.

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 So, a time 

frame of 273 days (266 days plus 1 week) for the time from the Incarnation to the Birth of Christ is within 

normal limits. 

    According to Blessed Anne Catherine, the year of Christ's Birth was a leap year in the Jewish calendar.

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 15 

B.C.

 was a Jewish leap year in the sense that the 13th month of the Jewish calendar occurred during early 15 

B.C.

 AdarI 28 fell on February 25 that year, and the first day of the following Jewish month, AdarII, would 

have been Feb. 28.

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 If it had not been a leap year, then the next month would have been Nisan, and Passover 

would have begun about March 13 significantly before the Spring Equinox. Since the Jews of that time 

period did not permit the Passover to begin much before the Spring Equinox (March 22 or 23, by the Julian 

calendar during that time period), 15 

B.C.

 must have been a Jewish leap year, with a 13th month, called 

AdarII. The addition of a 13th month was needed every 2 or 3 years in the Jewish calendar, so as to delay the 

month of Nisan and keep the Passover celebration in the spring. (The modern Jewish calendar still uses this 

method of adding a 13th  leap month  every 2 or 3 years.) 

    Counting forward nine lunar months from AdarI 28 brings us to Heshvan 28 (including the leap month of 

AdarII in the count).

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 Now we know from Blessed Anne Catherine that the Birth of Jesus Christ occurred on 

Nov. 25, which is 39 full weeks (273 days) after the Incarnation on Feb. 25. This date for the Birth of Christ is 

266 days plus one week from the Incarnation, and so is within the usual time frame for birth of 266 days, plus 

or minus 2 weeks, from conception. In 15 

B.C.

, Nov. 25 coincided with Kislev 5. Blessed Anne Catherine 

stated that Jesus was born sometime in the month of Kislev.  I think Christ was born in the month Kislev. 

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The Day and Hour of the Incarnation 

    Blessed Anne Catherine tells us that the Holy Conception of Jesus Christ occurred about midnight at the 

beginning of February 25. After describing the Virgin Conception of Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary, 

she states,  It was at midnight that I saw this mystery happen. 

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 Recall that she also saw the Birth of Jesus 

occurring at midnight. 

    Blessed Anne Catherine tells us that the Birth of Jesus Christ occurred on a Sunday, November 25. In any 

year of the Christian calendar (the Julian calendar), February 25 will fall on the same day of the week as 

November 25, except in a leap year. 15 

B.C.

 was not a leap year in the Christian calendar, and so February 25 

and November 25 both fell on a Sunday. Therefore, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ occurred on a Sunday, the 

same day of the week as Christ's Birth. Jesus was both conceived and born about midnight on a Sunday, the 

beginning of the Christian Sabbath. (By comparison, March 25 and December 25 never fall on the same day of 

the week. December 25 always falls two days of the week later than March 25. When March 25 is a Sunday, 

December 25 is a Tuesday. When March 25 is a Friday, December 25 is a Sunday.) 

The Betrothal of Joseph and Mary 

    In Israel, during Biblical times, the customs surrounding marriage were different than today. In our present 

society, couples who decide to marry are engaged first, and the engagement might last 6 months, or a year, or 

longer. Then, after the wedding ceremony, they immediately begin their married life together. But in ancient 

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