Kenosis

St Paul, probably quoting an early Christian hymn, writes that Christ Jesus, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.” The Greek verb is ekenōsen, and kenosis is the noun theologians took from it. It does not mean the Son stopped being God; it means that, without surrendering his divinity, he took the form of a servant and lived among us in poverty, obedience and suffering. The Catechism cites the passage as the pattern of Christ's whole life and of the humility asked of every Christian.