Chrysostom on the Mystery of the Conception

Do not speculate beyond the text. Do not require of it something more than what it simply says. Do not ask, “But precisely how was it that the Spirit accomplished this in a virgin?” For even when nature is at work, it is impossible fully to explain the manner of the formation of the person. How then when the spirit is accomplishing miracles, shall we be able to express their precise causes?

—Chrysostom, The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 4.3

Augustine: Notable and Quotable (3)

Awake mankind! God became a human being to save you from death. If he had not been born in time, a happy eternal life would have been impossible for you. You never would have escaped your sins if he had not taken on your humanity. It was only through his mercy that you escaped eternal unhappiness. You would have perished, had not he come. And so, let us celebrate the festive day on which Jesus-God, he who is the great and Eternal Day, came from the great and endless day of eternity into our own short day of time.

—Augustine, Sermon 185, 1-2