Words from the Fathers

Speaking of the incarnation, Ignatius of Antioch writes:

Mary's virginity was hidden from the prince of this world; so was her child-bearing, and so was the death of the Lord. All these three trumpet-tongued secrets were brought to pass in the deep silence of God. How then were they made known to the world? Up in the heavens a star gleamed out, more brilliant than all the rest; no words could describe it's lustre, and the strangeness of it left men bewildered. The other stars and the sun and moon gathered round it in chrous, but this star outshone them all. Great was the ensueing perplexity; where could this newcomer have come from, so unlike its fellows? Eveywhere magic crumbled away before it; the spells of sorcery were all broken, and superstition recieved its death-blow. The age-old empire of evil was overthrown, for God was now appearing in human form to bring in a new order, even life without end. Now that which had been perfected in the Divine counsels began its work; and all creation was thrown into a ferment over this plan for the utter destruction of death.

Ignatius of Antioch, The Letter to the Ephesians, 19