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VOLUME FOUR

THE GREAT COMMENTARY

OF

CORNELIUS A LAPIDE

.<cri?.X Or F,?;7vr DEC29 190J

THE va. ,-.... i: GREAT COMMENTAW

-CORNELIUS A LAPIQE

TRANSLATED BY

THOMAS W. MOSSMAN, B. A.,

RECTOR OF TORRINOTON, LINCOLNSHIRE

ASSISTED BY VARIOUS SCHOLARS

'ATT-r 'i" -:• •

S. LUKE'S GOSPEL

FOURTH EDITION

EDINBURGH : JOHN GRANT

31 GEORGE IV. BRIDGE 1908

INTRODUCTION.

THE Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ, accordijig to S. Luke, that is, the Holy Evangelical History of the words and acts of Jesus, as described by S. Luke. The Arabic says, "In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one God, the Gospel of the Excellent Father, Luke the EvangeUst, the laying open of the glorious Gospel." The Syraic, " In the name of the Lord and our God, we Jeschua Mescicho, sign the Gospel, the holy message of Luke the Evangelist, which he spoke and proclaimed in Greek, in Alexandria." From this diversity, it is clear that the above title or inscription was prefixed to the Gospel, not by S. Luke himself, but by the Church which, in like manner, inscribed one Gospel "According to S. Matthew," one " According to S. John," and another •• According to S. Mark." Nay, as regards the faith of the future, this title would have been added to no purpose by S. Luke himself, unless the Church had declared his Gospel to be genuine and not supposititious, and had handed it down as such. This speaks for Tradition against the heretics, for why is the Gospel, bearing the name of S. Luke, to be received as truly his, whilst that with the title of " Matthew and Thomas " is not to be considered theirs ? Or again, why is the Gospel of S. Luke more canonical than that of Apelles or Basilides ? No other reason can be given but the proof, declaration, and tradition of the Church. For we accept it, not because it is written in the sacred books, but because it has been so handed down by the Church. For instance, we believe this to be the Gospel of S. Luke and canonical, not because he wrote it, but because the Church so delivers and teaches. For although its own authority pertains to this Gospel, as to the others, yet this

viii INTRODUCTION.

authority would not be plain to us, but for the declaration of the Church. The same is, a pari, to be said of the sense of Scripture. For the true sense of Scripture is not what appears to you or me, for this would be uncertain and doubtful, for Calvin affirms one sense to be the true one, Luther another, and others another, but that which is taught and received by the Church, whose office it is to deliver as well what is the true Scripture as what is its true meaning. For Holy Scripture consists not in the bark (cortice) of letters or words, but in their genuine meaning. So the Fourth Session of the Council of Trent, and the Fathers everywhere, especially TertuUian (B. iv. cap. 5 against Marcion). See what I have said on S. Matthew i. i. Observe : I. S. Matthew was the first in order of the EvangeUsts. He wrote in Hebrew to the Jews in Judaea. S. Mark was the second. He wrote in Greek and Latin to the Romans in Italy; then S. Luke wrote to the Greeks in Greek ; and S. John last of all, also in Greek ; but S. Luke wrote the more elegantly, because he was the more perfect master of Greek. Hear S. Jerome (Ep. 84 to Paulinus) : " Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the quadriga of the Lord, and true Cherubim (which is interpreted, the 'multitude of knowledge '), through their whole body they are ' full of eyes,' sparks shine from them, lightnings flash forth, their feet are ' straight,' and point upwards, their backs are winged, and they fly hither and thither. They hold themselves mutually one with another, and are 'enfolded' with one another, and are rolled together, like a wheel, and they go wherever the influence of the Holy Spirit directs them." See Ezekiel i. 9, X. 12 ; Revelation iv. 6-8.

Moreover, among the faces or forms of the four Cherubim, the third, that of the ox, is ascribed to S. Luke, as well because he begins from the priesthood of Zachariah, whose chief sacrifice was an ox, as because he underwent the labours of an ox in the Gospel, and bore about continually in his own body the mortification of the Cross for the honour of the name of Christ, as the Church sings of him. See what has been said on Revelation iv. 7, and Ezekiel i. 10. n. S. Luke wrote his Gospel against certain gaping, ignorant, perhaps even false Evangelists, who had written, in Syria or Greece,

INTRODUCTION. ix

an imperfect, it may be a lying Gospel, as S. Luke himself signifies in the beginning of his work. So say Origen, S. Ambrose, Theo- phylact, and S. Epiphanius {Her. 1. i), who, however, when he adds that S. Luke wrote against Cerinthus and Meritus, does not seem to speak correctly. For these two, and especially Basilides, were later than S. Luke, as is clear from Eusebius (Hist. B. iii. ch. 32). Theo- phylact and Bede think, with more truth, that S. Luke wrote against the Apocryphal Gospels of others, such as pass under the names of " Thomas, Matthew, and the Twelve Apostles."

IIL S. Luke was not one of the seventy-two disciples of Christ, as Euthymius and S. Gregory in his preface on Job, chap. i. think, on the authority of Origen ; for S. Luke never saw Christ in the flesh, but he wrote what he had heard of Him from the Apostles, as he says himself, i. 2. Hence the Fathers call S. Luke '* the disciple of the Apostles," and S. Paul mentions him by name, as his "fellow- labourer." So S. Jerome, on the 65th chapter of Isaiah, and preface to S. Matthew; where he says, "The third" (evangelist) is Luke the physician, by nation a Syrian, of Antioch, whose praise is in the Gospel (2 Cor. viii. 18 and 22), who himself was a disciple of S, Paul. He wrote his Gospel in the neighbourhood of Achaia and Bceotia, relating some things from the beginning, as he says himself, and describing rather what he heard than what he saw. St. Irenaeus says the same, i. 20 ; Theodoret, on the Lives of the holy Fathers ; Baronius, and others. Tertullian, also (Book iv. against Marcion, chap. 5), thinks this Gospel not so much S. Luke's as S. Paul's, because S. Luke wrote from the dictation of S. Paul, as S. Mark from that of S. Peter. For he says, "what S. Mark wrote may be ascribed to S. Peter, whose interpreter S. Mark was. And so the Gospel of S. Luke is generally given to S. Paul, for the productions of the disciples began to be ascribed to the masters."

S. Jerome also states that "S. Luke, in the Gospel and Acts, performed the duties of a physician of souls, as he had before done of bodies" (Ep. 103 to Paulinus) ; and again (in that to Philom), •' Luke the physician left in his Gospel, and the book of the Acts of the Apostles to the Churches, how the Apostlea from fisherg

X INTRODUCTION.

of fish became fishers of men, and from the bodies of men became concerned with their souls, whose Gospel, as often as it is read in the churches, fails not of its medicine."

IV. Baronius thinks that S. Luke wrote in the companionship of S. Paul, anno 58, because S. Jerome says that he wrote his Gospel that year in Achaia and Bceotia, where S. Paul was. Others, however, are of opinion that S. Luke wrote earlier, as we must certainly admit, if we agree with S. Jerome {Lib. de Scrip. Eccl. in Luc), TertuUian (Book iv. against Marcion, c. 5), Primasius, Anselm, and others, on 2 Cor. viii. 18, that by "the brother whose praise is in the Gospel " S. Paul meant S. Luke — as S. Ignatius, his fellow-citizen and contemporary, plainly asserts in his letter to the Ephesians : " As Luke bears witness, whose praise is in the Gospel." For the Second Epistle of S. Paul to the Corinthians was written in the year 58, so that if the praise of S. Luke was in the Gospel at that time, we must necessarily say that it (the Gospel) had been published previously. Hence Euthymius, and Theophy- lact in his Preface to S. Luke, say that he wrote fifteen years after the ascension of Christ, that is, about the year 49. But S. Luke had not then joined S. Paul, for he came to him in the Troad in the year 51, as Baronius rightly concludes from Acts xvi. 10. It appears, therefore, that S. Luke wrote subsequently to the year 51, but some years before 58, for, as S. Paul says, in that year ne was well known and celebrated.

V. S. Luke, after he had joined S. Paul, passed some time away from him, having been sent by him to other places (as I have shown on Acts xvi. 10), until S. Paul, when he had passed through other countries, came to Greece, thence to Syria, and so to Rome. Acts xx. 3, 4. For S. Paul, with other companions of his voyage, who are named in that verse, took S. Luke also, as S. Luke himself states, verses 5, 15. From that time S. Luke became the "diligent" companion of S. Paul, even up to the time of S. Paul's first imprisonment, which was in the second year of Nero, when S. Luke finished the Acts of the Apostles, and, especially, those of S. Paul. Then, as S. Epiphanius sa\s, S. Luke left S. Paul in

INTRODUCTION. XI

prison, and went into Dalmatia, Gaul, Italy, and Macedonia, and preached the gospel everywhere till he came to Patara, a city of Achaia, where, in his eighty-fourth year, he was crowned with a glorious martyrdom in the year of Christ 6i, the fifth of Nero, and the seventeenth of the session of S. Peter at Rome. So Baro- nius says, from S. Gregory Nazianzen, Paulinus, Gaudentius, Glyca, Nicephorus and others.

Lastly, who S. Luke was — of what rank and ability, I have described at length in the Book of Acts, where I have said that he appears to be the same as Lucius, whom S. Paul calls his kins- man, Rom xvi. 21. But he seems different to Lucius oi Cyrene, mentioned in Acts xiii. 3. For S. Luke was of Antioch, not Cyrene. Again, the Roman Martyrology, on April 22, says that Lucius was among the first disciples of Christ, which cannot be said of S. Luke.

VL The reason of S. Luke's having written a Gospel after SS. Matthew and Mark, was twofold, i. To confute the false gospels that were then being published in Syria and Greece, as I have said before. 2. To write at length those words and acts of Christ which had been passed over by the other Evangelists, and especially His Infancy and Childhood, the Annunciation of His forerunner John the Baptist, His Conception, Nativity, Presentation in the Temple, Presence among the Doctors, the Conversion of St. Mary Magdalene, Zaccheus, the thief on the cross, the appearance to the two Disciples at Emmaus, the Parables of the Pharisee and Publican, the Good Samaritan, the Strayed Sheep, the Lost Piece of Money, the Prodigal Son, Lazarus and the Rich Glutton, and others ; which show the mercy and pity of Christ to sinners and the miserable. See S. Irenaeus, iii. 4, who recounts each. S. Luke also relates, more fully than the others, the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascen- sion.

Lastly, S. Peter Damianus, in his Sermon on S. Matthew, says, "S. Luke observes the proper method and order when he describes the priestly stock of the Lord and His Person, and, with this object and intent, proceeds to describe at length every part of the Temple

Xii INTRODUCTION.

and the priests, to the end of the history. For, as the Mediator between God and man in His human nature, He pleased to be King and Priest in one, that through His kingly power He might rule, and, by His ofifice of Priest, atone for us. These two " Personae " of Christ are especially praised by the Fathers, for to Him principally and by singular prerogative God gave the seat of His Father David, that there might be no end of His Kingdom, and that He might be a Priest for ever, after the order of Mel- chisedek.

S. Anselm again, on Colos. iv., gives two reasons why S. Luke, more than the others, should speak of the mercy of Christ 1. S. Luke was a physician of bodies ; then, when he turned to Christ, he was made a physician of souls. Hence he speaks, more than the other Evangelists, of the mercies of the Redeemer, by which the weaknesses of sins are driven away. 2. In Christ, he describes the person of a Priest, making intercession for the sins of the whole world.

Lastly, our own John de la Haye, in his Oparat. Evafigel. chap. 68, recounts the twenty-five privileges granted to S. Luke, where, among other things, from S. Jerome, Bede, and Ado, he says that S. Luke never committed mortal sin, but passed a strict life of continual mortification ; that he also preserved his virginity to the end, and was therefore beloved by the Blessed Virgin especi- ally and before all others.

S. Ambrose and Titus of Bostra have commented especially on S. Luke. And Tertullian, in his whole work against Marcion (who had declared the Gospel of S. Luke, though adulterated, to be his own), treats of and explains many passages of this Gospel. Cardinal Toletus, also, wrote at length, and with exactness, on the first twelve chapters.

THE

HOLY GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST,

ACCORDING TO S. LUKE. CHAPTER I.

r The preface of Luke to his rvhole gospel. 5 The conception of John the Baptist, 26 and of Christ. 39 The prophecy of Elisabeth, and of Mary, concerning Christ. 57 The nativity and circumcision of John. 67 The prophecy of Zacharias, both of Christ, 'jd and of John.

FORASMUCH as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,

2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eye- witnesses, and ministers of the word ;

3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theopliilus,

4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

5 'T^HERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest

JL named Zacharias, of the course of Abia : and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

7 And they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

1 1 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

VOL. VI. A

i, S. LUKE, c. 1.

12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias : for thy prayer is heard ; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness ; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink ; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elia>, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just ; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

18 And Zacharias said unto the angel. Whereby shall I know this ? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God ; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shevi^ thee these glad tidings.

20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou belicvest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them ; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple : for he beckoned unto them, and re- mained speechless.

23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

24 And after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on nic, to take away my reproach among men.

26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David ; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said. Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee : blessed art thou among women.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this sliould be.

30 And the angel said unto her. Fear not, Mary : for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring fuith a son, and .shalt call his name J ESUS.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest : and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David :

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever ; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a Tian ?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come

THE BIRTH OF JOHN. 3

upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee : therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age : and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy woru. And the angel departed from her.

39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda ;

40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth.

41 And it came to pass, that, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb ; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost :

42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me ?

44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of the salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45 And blessed is she that believed : for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden : for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things ; and holy is his name.

50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

51 He hath shewed strength with his arm ; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalteti them of low degree.

53 He hath filled the hungry with good things ; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

54 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy ;

55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

57 Now Elizabeth's full time came that she should be delivered ; and she brought forth a son.

58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her ; and they rejoiced with her.

59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child ; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

60 And his mother answered and said, Not so ; but he shall be called John.

61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

4 S. LUKE, C. I.

65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them : and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be ! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied 1 saying,

68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel ; for he hath visited and redeemed his people.

69 And hatli raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David ;

70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began :

71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us ;

72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant ;

73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

76 And thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest : for thou >halt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways ;

77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God ; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

Ver. I. — Forasmuch as ina?iy. Maldonatus is of opinion that the Evangelists Matthew and Mark are intended ; but these were not many, but only two. S. Luke rather seems here to aUude to the Apocryphal Gospels, which were circulated under the names of Matthias, Thomas, and other apostles.

Most surely believed. CompletcE sunf, Vulgate, mrr'krioofo^rnj.hm, Greek. This word signifies — i. fully accoviplishcd ; 2. surely ascer- tained: as it is rendered by S. Ambrose, Theophylact, Euthymius.

Ver. 2. — Which from the beginning were eye-witnesses, &c. Ipst viderunt, Vulgate. aUrd'zra.i xal 'wTrri^krai yivo/Mivoi rdu Koyou, Greek : that is who were eye-witnesses {pcularcs spectatorcs) and ministers ot the word : which we may understand — i. of Christ, for He is tlic Word of the Eternal Father ; the meaning then will be, " As the

THEOPHILUS. 5

Apostles who saw Christ Himself and ministered to Him delivered them to us." 2. Of ordinary preaching ; the meaning then will be, " As they delivered them who saw the deeds of Christ, and were sent by Him to preach the Gospel."

Ver. 3. — Having had perfect understanding. '^ra^i^xo'kovdrixori, Greek : that is " carefully investigating," and therefore " having understood."

In order, xadi^^c, Greek ; that is — i. successively, 2. distinctly, in order so as to relate, first the conception of Christ, then His nativity, afterwards His life, and lastly His death and resurrection.

Theophilus. Theophilus was a noble and chief man of Antioch, who was converted by S. Peter and dedicated his house as a church in which S. Peter held assemblies of Christians, and placed his chair as primate, as S. Clement relates Recog. lib. 10, cap. ult. Baronius conjectures that S. Luke, who was a physician and painter of x\ntioch, wrote to Theophilus as a citizen and as his own intimate friend ; Theophylact adds that S. Luke was a catechumen of Theophilus; for S. Peter by himself was not able to instruct the multitude who came together to be taught the faith of Christ, and therefore he made use of the labours of many others for instructing the faithful. He is called most excellent, which was a title given to governors and magistrates ; he seems therefore to have been a senator or governor of Antioch.

Ver. 4. — That thou may est know the certainty. Veritatem, truth, Vulgate. d<s!pakiia.v, Greek, certainty, stability.

Ver. 5. — There 7vas i?i the days of Herod. S. Luke begins by mentioning the name of Herod to point out the time when John the Baptist and Christ were born ; and also to show that the sceptre had now departed from Judah, and had passed over to an alien, and therefore that the time for the advent of the Messiah was at hand according to the prophecy of Jacob, Gen. xlix. 10. This Herod was the first of that name, surnamed the Great, the father and grandfather of the others. . He was a native of Ascalon, an Idumaean by nation, in character a tyrant. By the favour of Caesar he held the kingdom of Judaea ; but Christ thrust him and his

6 S. LUKE, C. I.

descendants out of this kingdom, and claimed for Himself the king- dom over Israel which by right was due to Him, though it must be understood as a spiritual kingdom.

Hence he is riglitly called Herod ; for Herod in Syriac is the same as "a fiery dragon." According to Pagninus, Herod signifies in Hebrew " the conception of threshing," for mrf is to conceive, and li'n to thresh, because he slew the infants in Bethlehem.

ZacJiarias. He was a priest and also a prophet, as will appear from verses 64 and 67. Whence his name is enrolled among the saints in the Roman Martyrology for the 5th of November : where Baronius, following Origen, Nyssen, Cyril, and Peter Alexander, is of opinion that this Zacharias was the martyr who was slain by Herod between the Temple and the Altar, and therefore that he was the one whom Christ mentions, S. Matt, xxiii. 35. His head is preserved and shown at Rome in the Lateran Basilica, from which there is a tradition that formerly blood trickled during several days. I liavc seen it there and venerated it.

Of the course of Abia. Of that class of the priests of which in the time of David Abia was the head. For David, seeing that the priests, the sons of Aaron, had increased to a large number, so tiiat all could not at once minister in the Temple, distributed them into twenty-four classes, so that each class might minister in the Temple during one week in succession. And that there might be no strife among them as to which course should be the first, second, or third, &c., these families cast lots, and obtained the first place or second, &c., accoiding as the lot came out. In this drawing of lots the eighth place fell to Abia and his descendants. All this is clear from I Chron. xxiv. Josephus {Atitiq. vii. 11) says of David, "He fount! twenty-four families of priests, and he appointed that each family should minister before God during eight days, from Sabbath to Sabbath," in order to avoid confusion and strife among the priests.

A?id his wife was of the daughters of Aaron. Priests could marry a wife from another tribe because they had no inheritance in the land of Israel, wliich by the marriage of the wife (if she through the failure of male offspring were the lieir of her father) passed over

THE NAME " ELIZABETH." 7

to her husband's tribe, and so a confusion was caused of inherit- ances and tribes which was forbidden by the law. But Zacharias having more regard to religion, married a wife not only of the daughters of Levi, but of Aaron. Wherefore S. Ambrose says, "Not only from his parents but from his ancestors the illustrious descent of S. John is derived, a descent not exalted by secular power, but venerable from its sanctity. She was called Elizabeth from the wife of the first high priest Aaron, Exod. vi. 23. This Elizabeth was holy, and a prophetess : whence her memory is observed in the Roman Martyrology on the 5th of November. From her S. Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew, king of the Hungarians, surnamed the mother of the poor, and her niece S. Elizabeth, the queen of Portugal took, their name together with her sanctity.

And her name was Elizabeth. Zacharias in Hebrew is the same as " God remembered ;" and Elizabeth, " the oath of God," or " the sceptre and dominion," or "rest," or "fulness of God." So that the meaning is that God, mindful of His oath, united these two in marriage, that He might raise up the sceptre of the house of David, and bestow rest and plenty and abundance on His own.

Ver. 6. — Righteous {just) before God. Many appear just before men, but few before God, because men look upon the countenance, but God on the heart and conscience. S. Francis says truly, "Each man is what he is before God, and no more."

Walkifig i?i all the coi/tmandments, &c. Cornmandments^ i.e. the moral precepts of the Decalogue. Ordinances^ i.e. the ceremonial precepts.

God gave to the Hebrews by Moses precepts of three kinds, i. Moral precepts, which are contained in the two tables of the law. 2. Judgments which relate to justice and human polity, and chiefly concern princes. 3. Statutes, decrees ceremonial, pertaining to the sacrifices and rites observed in the worship of God. These are called here and elsewhere Justifications, Vulgate : first, because those who observe them do what is most right and just, that is to say, perform the service and worship which is most rightfully due to God. Secondly, because by the observance of these men for-

8 S. LUKE, C. I.

merly under the old law were justified legally ; for those who ful- filled them were considered just persons by the Synagogue, and that not only before man but before God, if they performed those things from the true love of God. For the doers of tlie law are justified, Rom. ii. 13.

Blameless. Sine querelA, Vulgate ; a(j.ifLitrat, Greek. Mark here that the faithful can, yea, ought to observe all the commandments of God ', wherefore it is possible to keep them, and not impossible, as Calvin blasphemously asserts, who in this place makes a wonder- ful exhibition of himself, and all but says that Luke the Evangelist is a liar.

Further, blameless may be interpreted as " without mortal sin," for no just man in this life can avoid all venial sins.

Ver. 7. — Well stricken in yea?-s. He says this to show that John was born of them, not in the way of nature, but by the gift of God and by a miracle, like other eminent saints, as Isaac, Joseph, Samuel. S. Augustine (Serm. iii. on John the Baptist) says Elizabeth was barren in body but fruitful in virtues ; her child-bearing was not taken away from her, but it was delayed, until the time of fleshly desire had passed away. ... In short, when all that causes blame as regards the body was quenched, and they became altogether blameless, all that speaks of barrenness is gone ; old age springs into new life, faith conceives, chastity brings forth, one greater than man, one equal to the angels is born, the trumpet of heaven, the herald of Christ, the mystery of the Father, the messenger of the Son, the standard-bearer of the heavenly King, the pardon of sinners, the correction of the Jews, the calling of the Gentiles, and, so to say, the uniting bond of the Law and Grace.

Ver. 9. — According to the custom of the priesthood his lot was. That is, according to Bede, in his own course, wliich was the eighth in order, according to the lot which had originally fallen to the family of Abia. But mention of this course has been made in verse 8 \ and therefore the lot spoken of in verse 9 is difterent from the course, and more particularly limits the course. The meaning, therefore, is that when Zacharias, in the order of his course,

THE APPEARANCE OF THE ANGEL. 9

was ministering in the temple, among the various offices of the priests the office of burning incense fell to him by lot. For because there were many priests of the course of Abia, it was appointed to them by lot what office each of them should perform in the Temple. For there were four principal offices (see Exodus xxx.) — I. To sacrifice. 2. To light the lamps on the seven-branched candlestick. 3. On the sabbath-day to place twelve new loaves on the table of shewbread. 4. To burn incense on the altar of incense. This fourth office, therefore, had fallen by lot to Zacharias, while the three others had fallen to other priests of the same class of Abia. This is clear from the Greek sXa;^s rov duiiiaaai, " he had obtained by lot to burn incense."

Some, as S. Ambrose, Bede, Theophylact, and S. Augustine think that Zacharias was the high priest, because he burnt incense on the altar of incense, for they think that this was in the Holy of holies, which no one except the high priest might enter. But I have shown (Exod. xl. 24), that this altar was not in the Holy of holies, but in the Holy place, which the common priests used to enter daily. The expression here used, it was his lot {sorte exiit. Vulgate) confirms this ; for the high priest was superior to all lots, and, whenever he chose, used to minister in the temple. Besides, at this time, not Zacharias but Joazar was the high priest, as Josephus tells us {Antiq. xvii. 8).

Morally, we may learn that angels appear while we are engaged in sacred things, and that God either Himself or by an angel speaks with the soul when we are engaged in prayer or sacrifice, as the angel appeared to Zacharias when he was burning incense.

Ver. 10. — And the whole multitude were praying without. That is in the court outside the Holy place or Temple, which the priests alone might enter. There were two courts ; the inner one, of the priests, containing the altar of burnt-offering ; and the outer one, of the people, who from it beheld the sacrifices offered by the priests : but the altar of incense which was in the Holy place they could not see.

At the time of incense. That is to say, when the priests burnt the

lO S. LUKE, C. I.

incense ; for according to the religious usage of all nations incense was burnt in the worship of God.

Ver. II. — There appeared unto him an angel {GdihntX, as is clear from V, 19), standing on the right side of the altar, i. Because he had come to announce good tidings. Euthymius. 2. Because he brought down the token of Divine mercy, for the Lord is on my right hand, therefore I shall not be moved. S. Ambrose. We may learn from this that angels stand by altars, priests and sacrifices, and co-operate with them in the worship and adoration of God. Of this there are many instances in the lives of the saints, some of which I have mentioned, Exod. xxix. 38 ; Lev. ix. 24.

Ver. 12. — Zacharias was troubled. Both because of the unusual sight, and because of the majesty in which he appeared, which human weakness could scarcely endure to behold : " for man is not strong enough to bear such a strange and unusual sight without alarm." Titus. So Daniel, when the same angel appeared to him, says, "There remained no strength in me, and my comeliness was turned into corruption." Hence it is the sign of a good angel if at first he causes fear and afterwards joy ; but of a bad angel if he makes a man sorrowful after causing joy ; whence S. Antony says, "If joy has succeeded to fear we may know that the vision is from God ; for the peace of the soul is a sign of the Divine presence ; but if the fear remains unshaken it is an enemy who is seen."

Ver. 13. — Thy prayer is heard. Not his prayer for offspring, S. Augustine says, of which he now so despaired that he did not believe the promise of the angel (verse 20), but thy prayer as a priest for the sins of the people and for the coming of the Messiah. But God, who goes beyond the merits and the prayers of suppliants, promised him a son who should be the prophet and forerunner. So Bede, Theophylact, S. Augustine, S. Chrysostom.

Some, however, are of opinion that this prayer of Zacharias was for offspring, only that it had been offered not at this time, but formerly when he was younger.

Thy ivife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son. and thou shall call his

THE FORERUNNER OF THE MESSIAH. II

name John. Because yi?^//, according to Maldonatus, is the same in Hebrew as beloved: or, according to Pagninus, the gift or mercy of the Lord. This is not, however, the precise meaning; for then he would have rather been called Hananiah than John. Properly, therefore, the name John signifies, God hath had mercy. And He did this first when he heard the prayer of Zacharias ; and secondly by appointing John as the forerunner of the Messiah, and soon after by sending the Messiah Himself; for it was by Christ, and not by Moses and the law, that grace came. So the son of Anna was called Samuel, that is asked and obtained from God by the tears of his mother for the salvation of the whole people, i Sam. i. 20. Thirdly, God also showed mercy on John himself (Bede, Jansen, Maldonatus), by filling him with His manifold grace ; by which He made him a Doctor in Israel, a Prophet, an Anchorite, a Martyr, a Virgin, and the Forerunner of Christ. John therefore was, as it were, the Son of Charities and Graces, in whom all the Graces of God seem to have blended together.

Mark here the threefold mystery of the three names : for Elizabeth, that is, the oath ot God who promiseth, and Zacharias, God's remembrance of His promise, are the parents of John, that is, the mercy and grace of God.

Ver. 14. — Afid thou shalt have Joy and gladness. Thy son shall be to thee and to many others the cause of the greatest joy and exultation.

Ver. 15. — Great in the sight of the Lord: to Whom alone it belongs to determine what is great, what is ordinary, and what is small. Many, says S. Theophylact, are called great in the sight of men, who, being little, esteem little things as great ; but John was great in the sight of the Lord, who, being great, weigheth things that are great.

He was great on account — i. of his sanctification in his mother's womb ; 2. the depth of his humility ; 3. his extraordinary charity ; 4. his exemplary penitence; 5. his seraphic zeal; 6. his whole life, which was as much human as angelic ; 7. the sublimity of his prophesying ; 8. his solitary life ; 9. his office of forerunner or

12 S. LUKE, C. I.

Christ; lo. his most noble martyrdom. See the twenty eight privi- leges ascribed to John, which Baradius enumerates here.

And he shall not drink wine nor strong drink. Strong drink {Sicera) is everything that intoxicates. To abstain from wine and strong drink was peculiar to Nazarites ; and from this place it appears that John was one during the whole of his life.

And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb. This was when, on the entrance of the Blessed Virgin he leapt in his mother's womb, and, as far as he could, fulfilled his office of forerunner. John, therefore, was born again of the Spirit before he was born of his mother.

Was John then truly cleansed from original sin in the womb and justified? S. Augustine {Ep. 57) and S. Jerome {in Jerem. i.) maintain that he was not \ for they say that John and Jeremiah are both said to have been sanctified in the womb not really, but according to the predestination of God ; for they were ordained to future sanctity, so that the same is said here concerning John that the Apostle says of himself, Gal. i., "Who separated me from my mother's womb." The reason that S. Augustine gives is, that to be born again presupposes being born ; but John when in the womb was not yet born ; therefore he could not have been born again in reality, but only according to the predestination of God.

But the common opinion of the Fathers is contrary to this (S. Athanasius, Cyprian, Ambrose, Gregory, and others) which I approve of — First, because the angel here most clearly promises " he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb." Secondly, because at the salutation of the Blessed Virgin he believed in Christ when in the womb. For at that time it was when he was visited and saluted by the Blessed Virgin in the sixth month from his conception that this wonderful sanctification took place. To the argument of S. Augustine I answer, that a man in order that he may be born again may be considered as born when he has been conceived in the womb ; for then as he is born in original sin so also he can by grace be born again and

JOHN COMPARED TO ELI AS. 1 3

even baptized, as is clear from the practice of the Church in certain cases.

Ver. 17. — He shall go before Him. John went before Christ. I. In his birth, for he was born six months before Christ. 2. In his baptism, for he baptized before Christ did ; yea, he even baptized Christ. 3. In preaching of repentance that he might prepare the way for Christ. 4. By pointing out Jesus as the Messiah and Lamb of God who should take away the sin of the world. 5. By suffering martyrdom before Christ. 6. In descending to the fathers in hmbus, and announcing to them that Christ would soon come and set them free.

In the spirit and poiver of Elias. As Elias did excel and in the end of the world will excel in a spirit steadfast and powerful for con- tending against Antichrist, so that he will convert Jews and others from him to Christ ; so in the same powerful spirit John will excel, and by his preaching and holy example move the hardened Jews to repentance, and so prepare them for the baptism of Christ.

The spirit of power in John was like that in Elias; i. In the austerity of his life. 2. They both lived in solitude. And 3, in poverty and contempt of the world, 4. In zeal, and in fervour of preaching, by which both of them converted many Israelites to repentance, and Elias will again do so in the last days, according to the saying (Ecclesiasticus xlviii. i), "Elias stood up like fire, and his word burned like a lamp." In the same way Christ says of John, *' He was a burning and a shining light," S. John v. 35. 5. In forti- tude and suffering : for as Elias contended against the priests of Baal, and their patrons Ahab and Jezebel, and again in the last days will contend against Antichrist and his followers and will suffer many things from them and at last be slain as a martyr ; so John contended against Herod and Herodias, and being beheaded by them obtained the crown of martyrdom.

John here is rather compared to Elias in his future coming than in his past; because, as Elias will precede the second coming of Christ with great spirit and power, so likewise John with the same spirit and power will precede the first coming of Christ. S. Ambrose

14 S. LUKE, C. I,

says tliat he will go before Hini "in the spirit and power of EHas, because Elias had great power and grace, so that he turned back the hearts of the people to faith, power of abstinence, and patience and the spirit of prophecy. Elias was in the wilderness ; so also was John. . . . The one sought not the favour of Ahab ; the other despised that of Herod. The one divided Jordan ; the other brought men to the laver of salvation. The one was the forerunner of our Lord's first advent, the other of His second," &c.

2o turn the hearts of the fathers, &c. John did this when he urged them by word and example to imitate the faith and piety of their fathers ; for thus the fathers acknowledged their children as the worshippers of the true God. These words are taken from Malachi, who speaks literally of Elias, typically of John.

Atid the disobedient, &c. Greek aTuBJ:, Vulgate, incredulos. That is, he will turn them to the faith and wisdom which the just had and have concerning Ghrist, which consists in the fear and love of God and of heavenly things, and not perishable, according to the teaching of Christ (Maldonatus). Or, John will cause the unbelieving Jews to consider the signs of the coming of the Messiah given by God to the fathers, and from them to know and believe that Christ has already come, and that this Jesus, whom John pointed out as such, is He.

A people prepared, &c. Pcrfectain, Vulgate ; xaTucKi\jdcjj.i)iov, Greek ; that is well and perfectly prepared and made reudy for receiving the teaching and faith of Christ, and the perfection of grace, justice, and the Christian life brought by Christ from heaven.

Ver. 1 8. — And Zacharias said to the angel, &c. That is, give a sign or a miracle for a proof to me that the great things which you are promising will surely come to pass. This hesitation on the jiart of Zacharias seems to have proceeded from want of deliberation and reflection, and therefore was only a venial sin, for which he was punished by being deprived of the power of speech. Far otherwise did Abraham, who, when the angel i)romised that Isaac should be born to him from Sarah who was barren, immediately believed ; "for he was strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully per-

GABRIEL THE HIGHEST ANGEL. 15

suaded that what He had promised, He was able also to perform," Rom. iv. 20, 21.

Ver. 19. — I am Gabriel., who stand. That is, "1 am wont to stand, ready to minister to the will of God in all things ; I am not indeed now standing before Him in heaven, for I have been sent thence to thee to the earth." Although on the earth angels may also stand before God, and behold His Face ; for God is every- where (S. Matt, xviii. 10). Hence we may gather that the same angels stand before God and minister to Him, although S. Dio- nysius the Areopagite and S. Gregory deny this ; for Gabriel stands before God and ministers to Him, and is sent to Zacharias.

Moreover, the words "stand before" signify that Gabriel is one of the seven angels who are the chiefs of the heavenly court, as are also Michael and Raphael (Tobit xii. 15). Of these seven angels I have spoken at length on Apocal. i. 4. Wherefore although some, as Toletus, are of opinion that Gabriel belongs to the last order but one, which is that of archangels, because he is elsewhere called an archangel, yet he more truly seems to be one of the first order which is that of seraphim, and therefore is called by many an archangel ; and there are not wanting some who think that he is the first of all among the seraphim. Cardinal Vignerius {in Decachordo Christ. Cord. i. 2) proves this by eight reasons which I have enumerated on Dan. ix. 21. All of which are reduced to this one. For the highest work it is fitting that the highest angel should be sent ; but the Incarnation of the Word is the highest work of God, therefore Gabriel, who was sent to announce that, is the highest angel. But this reason is not conclusive, as I have there shown. For the common opinion of theologians is that Michael is the highest of all the angels, and the Antagonist of Lucifer. Apocal. xii. 7.

Gabriel in Hebrew means God hath strengthened me., or iiic strength of God, or God is my strength. He is therefore fitly sent to announce the birth of John and to bestow upon him the spirit of power.

Ver. 20. — Ajid behold thou shall be dumb, Sec. Theophyiact and

l6 S. LUKE, C. I.

S. Ambrose translated, "thou shalt be deaf," and so make a dis- tinction from what follows, " and not able to speak." For although the Greek word oiutuv properly signifies one who is dumb, yet one who is deaf may be understood by the same word ; for dumbness and deafness are naturally connected, for those who are born dumb are also deaf, and vice versa. Wherefore the Greeks alike call a dumb and a deaf man ■KU)ipa\i. Zacharias therefore was made deaf as well as dumb. Whence in verse 22 he is called xu(po;. Hence at verse 62 his friends and neighbours do not speak to Zacharias as being deaf, but signify to him by signs that he should write the name by which he wished his son to be called. " He rightly," says Theophylact, " suffered these two things, the loss of hearing and the loss of speech ; for because he had been disobedient, he incurs the punishment of deafness ; and because he had objected, of silence."

Un^il the day that these thifigs, &c. Zacharias not believing the promises of the angel, had asked for a sign to be given him of the birth of John ; the angel therefore complying gives him a sign which at the same time shall be a punishment.

Ver. 23. — 77ie days of his ministration, &c. Xnroviyiai, Greek. That is of his sacred ministration in the Temple. His house was situated in the mountains of Judaea, where his wife Elizabeth was.

Ver. 24. — After those days his wife conceived. Elizabeth con- ceived about the 24th of September, on which day many Christian Churches celebrate the conception of John. So that the incense was offered by Zacharias, and his vision and the promise of the angel concerning the birth of John seem to have taken place a little earlier, during the feast of Tabernacles. By this it was signi- fied that John would be born, who was to be the herald of Christ, and through Him the cause of common joy to the whole world ; for he woukl teach men that they were strangers upon the earth, and that they dwelt in it as in a temporary tabernacle, and that they were enrolled by God as citizens of heaven, where they would obtain an eternal and most blessed home. For the Feast of Taber- nacles was a sign of all these tilings, during which the Hebrews with branches of palm trees used to celebrate dances joyfully,

CHRIST BORN SIX MONTHS AFTER JOHN. 1 7

because they had been brought in by God into the promised land, after they had been dwelling in tents during forty years in the wilderness. Hence it seems that John was conceived about the time of the autumnal equinox, and born about the time of the summer solstice, after which the days decrease in length ; while, on the other hand, Christ was conceived at the vernal equinox, and born at the winter solstice, after which the days increase ; because, as John said, " He must increase, but I must decrease."

She hid herself five months, &c. This hiding was a sign of shame and modesty ; for she blushed at her child-bearing on account of her age, says S. Ambrose ; but in the sixth month, when she heard and saw that her kinswoman the Blessed Virgin had conceived without losing her virginity (which was a much more strange and wonderful thing), then she laid aside her shame and went forth openly.

My reproach. Among the Jews in that age, barrenness was a great reproach, and was considered as a sign of the malediction of God.

Ver. 26. — /;/ the sixth motith. That is the sixth month from the conception of John. Christ was therefore six months younger than John the Baptist. We ought to understand that this sixth month was not beginning but ending, or rather ended ; for from the 24th of September, when John was conceived, to the 25th of March, when Christ was conceived, there are six whole months. The Annun- ciation therefore by Gabriel, and consequently the Incarnation of the Word, took place on the 25th of March; on which day likewise, Christ, after completing the thirty-fourth year of His life, was cruci- fied. Many are of opinion that the world was created on the same day ; so that it was created by God on the same day on which it was afterwards recreated and restored by Christ in His Incarnation and Cross. Whence it is that from this day of March, the English, the Venetians, the Pisans, and several other nations reckon the years after Christ.

The Angel Gabriel. S. Jerome remarks on Daniel viii. that there are three angels, Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, who are especially mentioned in Scripture; of whom Michael presides over the

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l8 S. LUKE, C. I.

prayers and offerings of the faithful, and is therefore called Michael (tnat IS, who is like God) ; for it is the prerogative of God alone to hear the prayers of penitents : while Raphael presides over the heahng of men's bodies, and he therefore restored sight to Tobias when he was blind ; whence he is called Raphael (that is the Healer or the Healing of God) ; and thirdly Gabriel (or the strength of God) presides over the conflicts and wars of the faithful (as is clear from Dan. xii. &c.) Wherefore he is sent to announce the birth of Christ, who was to carry on a most severe war against Lucifer, and the rest of the demons and impious men. Again Gabriel in Hebrew means man of God ; the meaning of which is that God will be incarnate, and will be a child as to nature and age ; but yet He will also be a man, because from the first instant of His conception His soul will be full of all knowledge, grace, and strength, according to the saying of Jer. xxxi. 22, a woma7i shall compass a man Again, Toletus, following Basil, Dionysius, and others, is of opinion that Michael was one of the principalities, which S. Dionysius places as the first order of the third hierarchy of angels, but tiiat Gabriel was of the order of archangels ; but it is more probable that Michael was of the order of the seraphim, and that Gabriel was next to him.

Nazareth. Whence Christ was called a Nazarene, being, as it were, the country in which he was conceived. The Blessed Virgin therefore dwelt there with Joseph, to whom she was betrothed. The house or chamber in which she conceived Christ was conse- crated by S. James and the other Apostles as a church. After three hundred years S. Helen built a temple there. Also S. Paula, S. Louis, and other travellers visited it. After a thousand years it was translated by angels from Nazareth to Dalmatia and thence to Italy, to Loretto, where it even now stands, and is visited by pilgrims from the whole world ; so that Erasmus himself thus addresses the Virgin of Loretto, " Hail to thee, O noble offspring of kings, the beauty of priests, the glory of patriarchs, the triumph of the heavenly hosts, the terror of hell, the hope and solace of Chris- tians; thou art next to the Divine nature ; do not, we pray tliee. be

THE NAME " MARY." 19

wanting to us ; I prostrate myself at thy feet, preserve my poor soul, I beseech thee."

Ver. 27. — To a Virgin espoused to a man, &c. Espoused, not by betrothal only but by matrimony already contracted, although not actually consummated, see Matt. i. 18. S. Gregory Thaumasius {Seitn. 3 de An7iuti.) says, " Gabriel is sent to prepare a chamber worthy of the most pure Bridegroom ; he is sent to contract espousals between the creature and the Creator." Also S. Bernard {Serm. i de Assump.) well says, "There is no place in the world of greater dignity than the temple of the virginal womb in which Mary conceived the Son of God, nor in heaven is there any place of higher dignity than the royal throne on which her Son has exalted Mar}'." And in Serm. 4, " What angelic purity even may we venture to compare with that virginity, which was worthy of becom- ing the shrine of the Holy Spirit, and the abode of the Son of God."

Mary. In Hebrew Miriam, that is. Mar Ya?n, myrrh, or bitter- ness of the sea; for the Hebrews have a tradition that the sister of Moses was called Miriam, because when she was born the bitter tyranny of Pharaoh in drowning the Hebrew children began. But, by the Divine will, the name was afterwards changed to a different meaning, for after the Red Sea had been crossed and Pharaoh had been drowned, she was called Mariam {Mara Yam), that is mistress of the sea; for as Moses was the leader of the men, so Miriam was the leader of the women in the passage of the Red Sea. Moreover she was a type, says S. Ambrose, of the Blessed Virgin, who is called Mary, that is the Mistress and Lady of the sea of this world, that she may lead us through it in safety to the promised land, that is heaven. S. Isidore (vii. Etym. cap. 10) says, "Mary is by interpretation illuminator or star of the sea; for she brought forth the Light of the world. But in the Syrian language Mary is called Lady, because she brought forth the Lord."

For this reason Mary was full of grace, and a sea of graces ; for as all rivers run into the sea, so all graces which angels, patriarchs, apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins possessed, came together in her,

20 S. LUKE, C. I.

as S. Bonaventura says. S. Bridget also shows in her Revelations, i. 9, how delightful the name of Mary is to the angels, and how terrible to demons.

And the angel came iji imto her, &c. He glided into the chamber of the Virgin as she was praying in secret for the advent of the Messiah and the salvation of men, either through the window or through the door. For angels, since they are most pure spirits, by means of their subtlety pass through all walls and bodies. Although Andrew, Bishop of Jerusalem, in a sermon on the Annunciation, thinks that the angel secretly opened the door and modestly saluted the Virgin.

JJail, Ave. It is very probable that the angel used the ordinary salutation of the Hebrews, "y} UwW, Peace be to thee. Unless the opinion of Serarius is to be preferred, that ave is the Hebrew mn chare or have, that is, " Live ; " so that there is an allusion to the name of Eve, which is in Hebrew mn chava, that is the mother of all living (Gen. iii. 20), so that the meaning will be, Eve was not the mother of life but of death, because by sin she delivered over all her children to death, but thou, O Mary, art truly called Eve, because thou art the mother of life, grace, and glory. Hence in Latin ave is Eva reversed, because Mary turned the maledictions of Eve into blessings.

Highly favoured. Gratia plena, Vulgate, full of grace. Greek, Ki-/^aDiTU!Mhri, which Beza translates ^n7//.r dilecta, freely loved; for he thinks that the just have no inherent and intrinsic, but only an extrinsic righteousness, which consists in this, that, although they be sinners, God of his own good will holds and reckons them as just ; which is heresy.

But X6;:^ap/rw,a£k7j answers to the Hebrew Hjnj, filled with grace or made acceptable ; for y^aonou signifies / fnake acceptable, I render beloved or dear, I fill tvith grace. For God judges nothing to be acceptable except what is truly in itself acceptable ; wherefore when He makes any one just and acceptable to Himself, He bestows upon him the gift of justice and inherent grace. Wherefore xe^a^ircAi/xevr} is the same as ///■// of grace: as it is rendered in our version and the

THE CHARACTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 21

Syrian, &c. ; also by S. Ambrose and others of the Fathers. This word therefore signifies. — i. That the Blessed Virgin had a gift of grace bestowed upon her by God, and that, in a full measure of excellence beyond other just and holy persons, for this epithet is applied solely to the Blessed Virgin, to the end that she might be made worthy to become in time the Mother of God. 2. That she by means of this gift of grace was wonderfully well-pleasing in the sight of God and of all His angels, and in their eyes altogether lovely and beautiful, so that Christ chose her before all others for His mother.

You will say that Christ was more full of grace than the Blessed Virgin. Others also of the saints are said to have been full of the Holy Spirit, as Stephen.

I answer that they are said to have been full of grace, but in dif- ferent ways. For, as Maldonatus rightly says, a fountain is full of water, so is a river, so are streams, although there is more water and purer in a fountain than in a river, and in a river than in streams. Christ is full of grace, like a fountain where grace gushes forth and is collected as in a reservoir, and from which it flows forth to all men, as from a head to the members. The mother of Christ is full like a river very near a fountain, which although it has less water than a fountain, yet flows with a full channel. Stephen is full like a stream.

S. Augustine {Serin xviii. de SancUis) says, " Mary is filled with grace, and Eve is made clear from guilt ; the curse of Eve is changed into the blessing of Mary." Toletus {annotat. 67) shows that the Blessed Virgin was full of all grace, both in body and soul. For she was free from concupiscence {foviite conctij^iscetitice), so that in her the flesh was subject to the reason and the spirit, as was the case with Adam in Paradise through original righteousness. Wherefore he adds that in her, nature conspired with grace and co-operated with it in every respect. See also what I have said concerning her in the Commentary on the Canticles, especially on those words (c. iv. 7), Thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee.

S. Jerome {Serm. de Assimip. B. V.) says, "It is well said that she was full of grace, because on others grace is bestowed partially {per

^2 S. LUKE. c. T.

partes), but the fulness of grace in complete treasure was infused into Mary." And again, "The entire fulness of grace, which is in Christ, came upon Mary, although in a different way."

Suarez shows that the grace possessed by the Blessed Virgin in the first instant of her conception was greater than the grace which the highest angel possesses, who by one or two acts has perfected all his merits, and therefore she merited more than thousands of men merit through their whole life. Wherefore the Blessed Virgin in this first instant loved and praised God with such earnestness of inten- tion that she exceeded the love, and consequently also the merit, of the highest angel. But in the second instant of her co-operation and love, by means of the increase of grace which in the first instant she had merited and had in reality received, she doubled the degrees of love and consequently also of merit ; and in the third instant, by doubUng the same she quadrupled both merit and grace ; and so in every instant, by doubling continually the grace she had received, until her death in the seventy-second year of her age, she had in- creased the degrees of grace and merit to such an extent that she altogether excelled in them all men and angels taken together. Wherefore she by herself alone is more acceptable to God than all the rest ; and God loves the Blessed Virgin alone more than the whole Church, that is, more than all men and angels taken together. See also the Revelations of S. Bridget i. lo.

The Lord is with thee. The angel gives the reason why she was full of grace, that is, because the Lord was with her in a singular manner, so that He wrought in her the singular work of the Incarna- tion of the Word. S. Bernard {Sertn. 3) says, " What wonder is it that she was full of grace with whom the Lord was? Kut this rather is to be wondered at, how He who had sent the angel to the Virgin was found by the angel with the Virgin. Was God then swifter than the angel, so that He outstripped him and reached the earth before His swift messenger? Nor is it to be wondered at. For since the king was on His couch, the sweet ointment of the Virgin gave forth its odour, and the smoke of spices went up in the sight of His glory, and she found grace in the eyes of the Lord." And further on he

THE VIRGIN COMPARED TO TEMPLE OF SOLOMON. 23

shows that God is in all creatures by power, in rational beings by knowledge, in the good by love, and therefore He is with them by concord of the will, for it is by means of this that they unite them- selves to God. Then he adds, " But since He is in this way with all the saints, yet He was in an especial manner with Mary, between whom and Himself there was such a consent that He joinetl not only her will, but her flesh to Himself, and of His own and the Virgin's substance made one Christ ; who although He is not wholely of God nor wholely of the Virgin, yet He is wholely God's and wholely the Virgin's, and not two sons, but the one son of both." Then he shows that the whole Trinity was with the Blessed Virgin. " Not only is the Lord the Son with thee whom thou art clothing with thy flesh, but also the Lord the Spirit by Whom thou art conceiving, and the Lord the Father who begat Him whom thou art conceiving."

S. Bridget {Revel, iii. 29), conversing with the Blessed Virgin, says, " Thou art made like to the Temple of Solomon, in which the true Solomon moves, and He sits who has made peace between God and man. Blessed therefore art thou, O Blessed Virgin, in whom the great God became a little child, the eternal God and invisible Creator became a visible creature." The Blessed Virgin answers, "Why do you compare me with Solomon and his Temple, since I am the mother of Him Who has neither beginning nor end, for the Son of God, Who is my Son, is Priest and King of kings. In short, in my Temple He clothed Himself spiritually with the priestly garments in which He offered sacrifice for the world."

Further S. Thomas {Qticest. xxx. art. 4) expounds the words the Lord is with thee of the Conception and Incarnation of the Word, which was presently to take place, but which had not already taken place ; as I shall show at verse 38.

Blessed art thou avwjig women. The same was said of Jael and Judith, but it is said here of the Blessed Virgin in a far more excellent way, for she excelled Jael and Judith, and all virgins and matrons a thousand times in blessings, gifts, and graces.

S. Augustine (Serm. 18 de Sanctis) says, "Blessed art thou among women, for thou hast brought forth life both for men and women

24 S. LUKE. C. I.

The mother of our race brought punishment into the world ; the Mother of our Lord brought salvation to the world. Eve was the originator of sin, Mary of merit." Peter Chrysologus {Serm. 145) says on these words, " She was truly blessed, for she was greater than the heaven, stronger than tlie earth, wider than the world ; she by herself alone contained God, whom the world contains not ; she bore Him Who bears the world ; she brought forth Him by Whom she had been begotten, she gives nourishment to the Nourisher of all things living."

Among women. That he might signify that whatever is most excellent in the threefold condition of women is found in the Blessed Virgin. For women are either virgins or widows, or living in matrimony. In virgins chastity is praised, but not barrenness ; in widows liberty of mind is commended, but not solitude, for it is written (Eccles. iv. 10) "Woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth he hath not one to lift him up." In matrimony the educa- tion of offspring in what is good is highly esteemed, but not the loss of Virginity. The Blessed Virgin alone among all women possessed virginity without barrenness ; liberty of mind without loss of com- panionship, since she was really espoused to Joseph ; and what is a greater thing than these, fruitfulness in offspring without the vio- lation of virgin chastity. And so she appropriated whatever is good in the threefold state of women, and whatever is evil she rejected. Whereupon deservedly the angel proclaims her Blessed above all women.

Ver 29. — She was troubled. First, at the unwonted appearance, brightness, and majesty of the angel. Secondly, at his unwonted salutation. S. Jerome {Epist. 7) says, "Let a woman imitate Mary, whom Gabriel found alone in her chamber, and therefore, perhaps, she was alarmed at beholding a man whom she was not accustomed to see." Again S. Bernard (Serfn. iii. on AJissus Est) says, "She was troubled, but not alarmed ; her being troubled was a mark of modesty ; her not being alarmed of courage; while her keeping silence and meditating was a mark of prudence."

What f/iatmer of salutation. That is, how noble and august, and

THE MYSTERY OF THE INCARNATION. 2$

exceeding the strength and merits of all men, and therefore even her own. For she, in the greatness of her humility, thought far different, yea, even contrary things of herself. For she thought within herself; I seem to myself to be in need of all grace, how then does the angel call me fu// of grace, I in my poverty live and associate with poor virgins, how then does the angel proclaim to me that the Lord is with me. 1 esteem myself the least and lowest of all women, how then does the angel say to me, Blessed art thou among woinen.

Again, the Blessed Virgin was meditating to what end she was so honourably saluted by the angel ; for the salutation of the angel had reference to the mystery of the Incarnation which was to be accom- plished in her. But since she knew not of this end, she meditated and wondered why she was so honourably saluted by the angel. However, she made no answer, because, as S. Ambrose says, " she did not return the salutation through modesty, nor did she make any answer ; " because modesty and astonishment fully occupied her mind, and restrained her tongue.

Listen again to S. Ambrose, " Know the Virgin by her modesty : or she was afraid ; as it follows, and when she heard she was troubled. It is the habit of virgins to tremble and to be afraid at the approach of a man, and to be bashful when he addresses her. Learn, O virgin, to avoid lightness in talking. Mary feared even the salutation of an angel.

Ver. 30. — And the angel said unto her, &c. The angel removes the fear, and then the rising shame of the Virgin, by the grace, that is, the favour and goodwill which he says she has found in the eyes of God above all women ; first, because God chose her from all eternity above all others without merit, and of His free and gratui- tous love to be His Mother, of whom he would take flesh : secondly, because as soon as she was conceived and born in time. He so adorned her with every virtue and grace that in His sight she appeared altogether pleasing and worthy to be loved by Him, and exalted above all. Thou hast therefore found favour with God on account of the virtues infused into thee by Him in a most excellent

26 S. LUKE, c. I.

degree. The first is ihy most profound humility: the second was thy angehc virginity. S. Basil, in his homily on the human generation of Christ, says, " Virginity is chosen, as being fit and next to sanctity."

The third virtue was her most ardent charity, by which the Blessed Virgin, being desirous of the redemption of mankind and the Advent of the Messiah, used to pour forth unceasing and fervent prayers for both, and therefore she obtained both, and, further, merited herself to become the mother of the Messiah, not from grace of condignity but of congruity. So S. Bernard {Horn. 3 super Missus Est), " Thou hast found what thou wast seeking. Thou hast found what no one before thee was able to find. Thou hast found favour with God. What favour? Peace between God and man, the destruction of death, the restoration of life." The Schoolmen everywhere teach that the Blessed Virgin merited to become the Mother of God. See Suarez. And some teach that she merited of congruity not of condignity to become the Mother of God, yet that she did not merit the Incarnation of the Word ; for this is antecedent to all merit, and is the cause and origin of it.

Ver. 31. — Behold, thou shalt conceive. The angel shows that Mary found favour with God because she is about to conceive and bring forth Jesus, that is, God and man. He alludes to and also quotes the prophecy, Isa. vii. 14.

Hence then is refuted, first, the Manich?ean, who says that Christ did not take real flesh of the Virgin, but only the appearance of flesh ; for a son who is conceived in the womb and brought forth is a real son, and not one in appearance only : secondly, Valentinus, who teaches that Christ brought flesh from heaven, and merely passed through the Blessed Virgin, as water passes through a channel ; thirdly, Nestorius, who asserts that the Blessed Virgin was not the Mother of God because she was not the Mother of the Divinity ; to whom Cyril well replies that she is truly the Mother of God although she did not bring forth His Divinity, but His humanity only, because she brought forth the Man, namely Jesus, Who is truly God : as a father is truly called the father of his son, although

VIRGINITY PLEASING TO GOD. If

he does not beget his soul, but only his flesh, because he begets a man who consists of soul and flesh.

Ver. 32. — He shall be great, &c. Great both as God and as man. And He shall be called the Son of the Highest ; that is through the hypostatic union. He can and ought of right to be called the Son of God.

Ver. 33. — And He shall reign over the house of Jacob. That is, over the Church, as Bede and others say. This kingdom in David was a temporal one, but in Christ a spiritual and eternal one, be- cause He reigns over His saints here by grace, and in heaven He will reign over them in glory. See what I have said on the king- dom of Christ, Matt, xxvii. 1 1.

Ver. 34. — Ajid Mary said to the angel, &c. The Virgin had no doubt concerning the truth of the prophesy and promise of the angel, as Calvin blasphemously asserts, but she was anxious as to the manner of its fulfilment, lest the conception of a son should involve a loss of virginity, and a breaking of the vow which she had made concerning it. So S. Ambrose, Augustine, &c.

We may learn here how great was the zeal and love for virginity which the Blessed Virgin had, because, as Nyssen says, "she pre- ferred chastity to the angelic tidings ; and preferred being a virgin to being absolutely the Mother of God, as S. Anselm says. For virginity is in itself a virtue most pleasing to God, while maternity is not so absolutely. I say absolutely ; for in other respects mater- nity is an incomprehensible dignity bestowed by God (as God Himself is incomprehensible) and an abyss of all graces. For on account of this the Blessed Virgin was endowed with more than angelic virginity, humility, charity, and other virtues, that she might be worthy to become the Mother of God. So S. Augustine, S. Thomas, &c.

Wherefore Bede says, that by a divine gift it was granted to her first among women to make an offering of her virginity to God. And Albertus Magnus {super Missus Est, c. 82) says, "The Blessed Virgin is the mother of all who are in virginity, since she was the first to make an ofi"ering of her virginity to God, through which

28 S. LUKE, C. I.

offering she became the mother of all virgins." Wherefore the Blessed Virgin, being most anxious concerning her virginity and the vow she had made with respect to it, makes mention of it as it were by way of objection to the angel. For there was a conflict in her between the desire of conceiving the Son of God and the fear of losing her virginity : and therefore she obtained both. The sense therefore is : "I surely believe that I shall conceive and bring forth Jesus, the Son of God, but I am doubtful as to the way in which this will be. I know not a man, because I have made a vow of virginity : if God wishes to dispense with this vow, though it be hard, yet I will obey the will of God : but if He seeks to know my desire, I certainly declare that I earnestly desire to preserve the virginity that I have vowed to Him : for He who is a most pure spirit, and therefore the first virgin, has Himself put it into my mind ; and it will be honourable to my Son Jesus if He is born of a virgin. For I know what has been foretold by Isaiah, Behold a virgin shall conceive, and shall brifig forth Emmanuel; and it may be the will of God that I should be that virgin. If it is so, be it so," Whence on hearing immediately from Gabriel that she would conceive not by a man, but by the Holy Spirit, she immediately breaks forth with great joy of heart. Behold the handmaid of the Lord ; be it unto me according to thy word. And it was this word that God wished to hear, so that through the profession of her virginity she might merit to become the Son of God.

Ver. 35. — Afid the Angel ansivered. . . , the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, &c. Mark here that tlie Incarnation is limited only to the Person of the Word, or Son of God : for He alone was incarnate and made man, and not the Father nor tlie Holy Spirit : and yet the incarnation was the work of the whole Trinity, as its efficient cause and not only of the Son, Yet this work of the Incarnation is appropriated to the Holy Spirit, first, because it was a most holy work ; secondly, because the works relating to our redemption, and those which most display God's goodness are appropriated to the Holy Spirit, because He proceeds forth as the ideal love of the Father and the Son : in the same way wisdom

THE CONCEPTION OF CHRIST. 29

is appropriated to the Son as the Word, and omnipotence to the Father as the first principle and origin. Moreover, the Holy Spirit was the framer of the humanity of Christ, because He fashioned and animated it, but He cannot be called its Father, because He did not contribute or communicate anything to it of His own substance. S. Augustine {Enchirid. c. 28).

Further S. Cyril {Catech. 12) shows that a virgin by the power of God could conceive and bring forth ; and first, in arguing with the Gentiles, he says, *' How is it that ye, who say that stones when thrown were changed into men, maintain that a virgin cannot bring forth ? How is it that ye, who fable that a daughter was born out of the head of Jupiter, maintain that it is impossible that one can be born of a virgin's womb ? " And then, arguing with the Jews, he says, "Sara was barren, and she brought forth a child beyond the way of nature at an age when women have lost the power (to do so) : either then deny both, or grant both, for the same God was the worker of both." He further says, that God out of the virgin Adam formed a virgin woman, namely Eve ; why could He not then in like manner form a virgin man out of a virgin woman ?

Shall come upon thee. In order that the conception of Christ, and Christ Himself, might be holy, not only by reason of the hypostatic union with the Word, but also by reason of so divine a conception, for He was conceived not by a man or an angel, but by the Holy Ghost. Wherefore Christ, by virtue of this con- ception, was not the son of Adam, so as to derive original sin from him, and be born a sinner, as we all are born, but He was most pure and most holy.

Again Christ was conceived by the Holy Ghost, because it was fitting, since He was both God and man, that both should be recognised in the conception. For the conception itself declares that He was Man ; for He would not have been conceived unless He had been man ; and the manner of the conception shows that He was also God ; for to be conceived by a virgin without a husband, shows that He who was conceived was more than man.

30 S. LUKE, C. I.

Mystically, S. Cyril of Jerusalem {Catech. 12) says, the Lord willed to be born of a virgin, to signify that His members would be born according to the Spirit of the Church, which is a virgin.

Lactantius gives another reason, which is that Christ, Who in heaven is a.a^jrws, without a fnot/ier, might be on earth a-rrarwa, without a father. But tlie first reason is tlie chief one, namely, that Christ might be born without original sin.

Proclus {Horn, de Nativ.) says, " Mary is both handmaid and mother, both virgin and heaven itself. She is the one bridge by which God comes down to man. She is the wonderful web of that economy, of whom and in whom, in a certain ineflfable manner, the admirable fabric of that union was wrought, of which the Holy Spirit was the weaver, the power overshadowing from on high was the spinner ; the wool was the old and rough garment of Adam ; the woof was the pure flesh of the Virgin ; the weaver's shuttle was the immeasurable grace of her who was with child ; the artificer was the Word which passed in through the hearing."

The power of the Highest, &c. According to Euthymius and Maldonatus, the power of the Highest is the Holy Spirit, Who with power brings the holy works of God to perfection, so that these words are an explanation of what the angel had said, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee. So Christ (cap. xxiv. 49) says to the Apostles, Tarry in this city {Jerusalem) until ye be endued with power from on high, i.e. with the Holy Spirit. This it is of which the Church speaks, " Almighty and everlasting God, Who by the co-operation of the Holy Spirit didst prepare the body and soul of the glorious Virgin Mother Mary that she might be worthy to be made a fit habitation for thy Son."

Shall overshadow thee. S- Gregory (33 Moral, c. 2) explains thus, " The Word of God in thee will assume a body, which will be as it were a shadow of Deity, for it will as a shadow veil and conceal It." And again he says (18 Moral. 12), "The human body in thee shall receive the incorporeal light of Divinity." Origen says also, that the Body of Christ is called a shadow, because in the Passion it was humiliated and obscured after the manner of a shadow.

THE SON OF GOD. 3 1

S. Ambrose {on Psalm 119) understands by the shadow this present and mortal life which the Spirit gave to Christ, for this is, as it were, a shadow of the true life and of eternity.

S. Augustine {Qucest. V. et N, T. c. 15) says, The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, i.e. shall attemper itself to thee, as a shadow adjusts itself to a body, for thy human weakness could not contain the fulness of its force and power.

But more simply, the meaning is, It will cover thee as with a veil, i.e.., will secretly work a mighty operation in thee ; for it will be such and so great a one that no man or angel can penetrate into or comprehend it. For, first, it will form in thee the perfect humanity of Christ ; and, secondly, it will unite the same in a certain ineffable manner to the Person of the Word.

Again, to overshadow may be taken as answering to the Hebrew word ]J^, to cover with a cloud, and so to rain vpoti, for a cloud pours forth rain, and hence by the shadow and the cloud is signified rain, which is poured forth from the cloud and renders the earth fruitful. An allusion seems to be made to Psalm Ixxii. 6, He shall come down like the rain into a fleece oj wool.

Wherefore that Holy Thing which shall be born of Thee shall be called the Son of God. Because the Holy Spirit will come upon thee, and cause thee to conceive a son, the Son which shall be born of thee will be holy from His very conception, yea, the Holy of HoHes, because He will be called, and through His hypostatic union with the Word will truly be, the natural and Only Begotten Son of God, and will be called so by God, by angels, and by men ; for He who is conceived by the Holy Spirit must needs be most Holy. Maldonatus somewhat differently says, "Jesus is called the Son of God, because He will not be begotten as the rest of men are, but by God through the power of the Spirit, and therefore He will be holy, and the Son of God." So (Luke iii. 38) Adam is called the Son of God, because he was created not by man but by God.

He says, That Holy 7hing, not Man, to show that this Son will

32 S. LUKE, C. I.

not be a mere man, but besides being a man will also be God (S. Greg, xviii. Moral, c. 27) ; and also to declare that Jesus will be holy with a holiness altogether perfect and natural on account of the hypo- static union (Suarez,iii./. disp. 18 secf. i) : so that the meaning is, Jesus, Who will be born of thee, will be Most Holy, yea, Holiness itself.

S. Bernard {Serm. 4 super Missus Est) says, " Why does he say merely t/iat Holy Thing, and no more ? Because there was not any proper or worthy expression that he could use. If he had said that holy flesh, or that holy man, or whatever expression of such a kind he had used, he would have seemed to himself to have said but little. He uses, therefore, the indefinite expression. That Holy Thing ; because whatever it was that the Virgin brought forth. It was with- out doubt holy and in a singular manner holy, both through the sanctification of the Spirit and the assumption of the Word."

77/1? Son of God by nature. Who would make all the faithful, sons of God by grace.

Ver. 36. — And, behold, thy cousin Elizabeth. The angel confirms the miracle of the coming birth of Jesus of the Virgin and the Holy Spirit by the similar miracle of the conception of John by Elizabeth who was barren. At the same time he silently admonishes the Blessed Virgin that she should visit John and Elizabeth, and fill them with the Holy Spirit by saluting them.

Eor with God nothing shall be impossible (Vulgate, non o?fine verbum, no 7vord, which is a Hebraism), i.e. nothing, however diffi- cult or incredible to man ; or, as others take it, no word, i.e. no promise ; which means that God is able to perform all things that He has promised, because He is omnipotent ; and He will really perform them because He is faithful. He says tvord, because it is as easy to God to do a thing as it is to us to speak a word, and because He spake a word only and all things were made. " Inasmuch as," says S. Bernard {Serui. 4 on Missus Est), " with God neither does His word fall short of His intention, because He is Truth ; nor His deed fall short of His word, because He is Power ; nor the manner (in which the deed is done) fall short of the deed, because He is Wisdom." " God," says S. Augustine (///'. 5 de Civ. c. 10), " can do all things

MARY'S ANSWER TO THE ANGEL. 33

except those things which to be able to do is a mark not of power, but of weakness ; and which if he were able to do He would not be omnipotent ; such as to die, to deceive, to err, to sin."

The angel stood, and was silent, eagerly expecting the answer and consent of the Virgin. Whence S. Bernard (Serm. 4, super Missus Est) says, that Adam and all the patriarchs and prophets, being anxious concerning the coming of the Messiah and the salvation of men, were waiting for this consent ; and he adds " the whole world, pros- trate at thy knees, is waiting for this : and rightly, since on thy words depend the consolation of the miserable, the redemption of the captives, the liberation of the damned, the salvation, in short, of all the sons of Adam. Make answer, O Virgin, speedily, speak the word which earth, which the dwellers below and the dwellers on high are waiting for. The King and Lord of all things Himself desires thine assent, by which His purpose is to save the world."

Ver, 38. — And Mary said, &c. Mark the humility, modesty, and resignation of the Virgin, for though saluted by the angel as Mother of God, she calls herself His handmaid, not His mother ; handmaid by nature, mother by grace. Pet. Dam. {Serm. 3 de Nativ. Virg.) And S. Bernard {Serm. in Apoc. 12) says, 'M great sign: deservedly is she made fnistress of all who declared herself servant of all."

Be it unto me {Fiat). This word shows that she consented and yielded her assent to the angel with respect to the conception of the Word ; also that she wished, desired, and earnestly prayed for the Incarnation of the Messiah, so that He might redeem and save mankind. For this the Blessed Virgin most ardently desired and prayed for. " Be it so, is a mark of desire, not a sign of doubt." S. Bernard {Serm. 4 sup. Missus Est).

There is a question at what precise moment the Son of God became incarnate, i. Andrew * of Crete is of opinion that He was incarnate before the angel came to the Blessed Virgin. For his words, the Lord is with thee, clearly signify that the King Himself had come.

* Elias is written by error for Andrew, and many, if not all his editors, have followed i Lapide. The passage referred to is found in the sermon of Andrew of Crete on the Annunciation.

VOL. VI. C

34 S- LUKE, C. T.

2. Nicephorus maintains that Christ became incarnate when the angel saluted her and said Hailt thou art full of grace {Lib. i. c. 8). S. Jerome (i^/. 140) and S. Gregory Thaumaturgus favour this opinion.

3. Others appear to think that He became incarnate when the Angel said The Lord is with thee. S. Augustine {Serm. 2 de Anmtnc.) and S. Thomas (3 /. qu. 30 art. 4) and others so explain it.

But these opinions cannot be true ; because the angel after the Hail, &c. adds, Behold, thou shall conceive i?i thy womb ; therefore she had not yet conceived. Again the Blessed Virgin giving her assent to the angel says, Be it unto me according to thy word ; therefore it had not yet taken place.

I say then that the Word was incarnate as soon as the Blessed Virgin had given her assent to the angel ; for he was sent for this purpose ; for it was not fitting that Christ should be conceived with- out the consent or knowledge of His Virgin Mother ; as soon then as she had spoken the words, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, Be it unto me according to thy word, the Holy Spirit formed the Body o:' Christ, and joined It Hypostatically to the Word, or Person of the Son of God ; in the same way as when tlie priest in consecration says. This is my Body, by the power of these words the bread is transubstantiated into the Body of Christ. This again is clear from the fact that as soon as the Virgin had given her consent the angel, having, as it were, fulfilled his mission, departed from her. It is con- firmed too by the fact that soon after the Blessed Virgin had said Be it unto me, &c., when she saluted Elizabetli, being saluted by her in return she was called the Mother of the Lord, i.e. of Christ Who is God. The Virgin, therefore, when she said, Be it unto me, &c., was made as it were the spouse of God, and our flesh was made the spouse of the Word.

To those who maintain a contrary opinion it may be replied — i. that Andrew of Crete seems to have been of an opposite opinion, but that he was alone in maintaining it ; for the rest contradict him. 2. That Nicephorus by the words Llail, &c., understands the whole of the sakitation and annunciation made by the angel, at the end ot which tlie Word was made flesh. 3. S. Augustine, S. Thomas, and

THE TRADITION AS TO THE ANGEL'S STAY. 35

Damian are to be understood {when they say the Lord is with thee) not as to what had already taken place, but as to what was imme- diately going to take place.

The Blessed Virgin in the conception of the Son received an extraordinary increase of grace and perfect sanctification ; and this, says Suarez, may not be doubted without temerity. Whence Bade {Horn. de. Visit.) says, "Who can say or measure what grace then filled the spirit of the Mother of God, when so great a light from heaven shone forth in the mother of His forerunner ? " S. Bernard gives a reason for this {Vol. i, conclus. 6i, art i, cap. 12), "In order that God should generate God, no especial arrangement was needed on the part of God, since according to His nature it was fitting that in the way of nature His intellect should produce the Word, in all things equal to Himself; but that a woman should conceive and bring forth God is and was a miracle ; for there was a necessity, so to say, that she should be raised to a certain divine equality by means of a certain quasi-infinity of perfections and graces, which equality no creature had ever experienced. Whence, as I believe, no human or angelic intellect has ever been able to attain to that inscrutable abyss of all gifts of the Holy Spirit which descended on the Blessed Virgin in the hour of the Divine conception."

A7id the angel departed from her. The Blessed Virgin made known to some that Gabriel did not depart immediately, but stayed with her for nine hours, being overcome with astonishment at the Incarnation of the Word in her, and that he adored the Word incarnate ; as if rapt in admiration at the incredible modesty and majesty of the Virgin, he were unable to depart. (The records of S. George in Alga in Lusitania mention this tradition.) But though this is a pious tradition it is not to be regarded as certainly true.

Ver. 39. — And Mary arose in those days. Not on the same day on which she was saluted by the angel, but after two or three days. What was the reason of her going away? i. That she might announce the conception of the Word to others. For Christ having become incarnate in her, willed immediately to begin His

36 S. LUKE, C. I.

mission as a Saviour, for which He had been sent by the Father. Whence S. Ambrose says, " She departed, not as disbelieving in the oracle, or as uncertain about the messenger, or doubtful of the example, but as rejoicing in the fulfilment of her wish, conscientious in the performance of her duty, and hastening on account of her joy."

2. To cleanse John from original sin, and to fill him and his mother Elizabeth with the Holy Spirit, and that so the honour and devotion of all to Christ might be increased.

3. To congratulate her kinswoman on the miraculous conception of John.

4. To give to all future ages a remarkable example of humility and charity which she showed in visiting Elizabeth, though she was now made Mother of God and Mistress of the world.

Wherefore, under the title of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin, many congregations have been instituted for visiting the poor and the sick, and those in prison, and recently under this title S. Francis of Sales, Bishop of Geneva, has instituted a congrega- tion of religious women, who are well known throughout France, for ministering to the sick.

To the hill country. That is Hebron, according to Baronius and others ; or the hill country of Judaea.

Tropologically, the soul filled with God, as the soul of the Blessed Virgin was, ascends the mountain heights, i.e. toils up the steep paths of virtue. " The Word having been conceived in the mind," Bede says, " we must ascend to the heights of virtue along the way of love; and the city of Judah, i.e. of confession and praise, must be reached by us ; and in the perfection of faith, hope, and love, we must abide there for three months."

With haste. S. Ambrose mentions as the first cause of her haste that she might not tarry long out of the house in the public ways " Learn, ye virgins, not to loiter in the streets, nor mingle in any public talk." He also adds a second reason, because she was full of joy and the Holy Spirit; "the grace of the Holy Spirit knows nothing of slow endeavours."

THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGtN. I'J

Origen gives a third reason, because Christ in the womb of the Virgin was hastening to cleanse John from original sin, and to sanctify him. *' For Mary," says S. Ambrose, " who before dwelt alone in the secret of her chamber, neither virgin modesty caused to shrink from the public gaze, nor the rugged mountains from fulfilling her purpose, nor the length of the journey from performing her duty."

To a city of Judah. Jerusalem, according to Albertus Magnus and S. Bonaventura; but Jerusalem is generally mentioned by name, Jerusalem also is in the tribe of Benjamin, not of Judah. It is better, therefore, with Toletus and Baron ius, to suppose that Hebron is meant ; for it was situated in the hill country of Judah.

It is very probable that the Blessed Virgin first went to Jeru- salem, since the feast of the Passover was near, and then in the Temple returned thanks to God, and made an offering of herself and her child Jesus to Him.

And entered into the house of Zacharias. This house is thus de- scribed by Adrichomedus on the authority of Nicephorus in his description of the Holy Land, " It is one mile distant from Emmaus, near the hills. It was still inhabited in the time of Saligniacus, and travellers were accustomed to salute it reverently. There John was born and circumcised, and concealed in a cave that he might not be slain with the children of Bethlehem by Herod, &c.

And saluted Elizabeth, with the usual Hebrew salutation. Peace be to thee. God intended by means of Elizabeth, being a matron advanced in years, to make known to the world the conception of the Virgin, and the secret Incarnation of the Word that had taken place in her.

Elizabeth. Not Zacharias ; both because he was deaf, and because it was not becoming that a man should be saluted by the Virgin. Moreover, S. Ambrose says, "She was the first to give her salutation ; for the more chaste a virgin is, the more humble she ought to be, and the more ready to give way to her elders. Let her then be the mistress of humility in whom is the profession of chastity."

3^ S. LUKE, C. 1.

Ver. 41. — A»d it came to pass when Elizabeth heard the salutation oj Mary, &c. Notice with S. Ambrose, that Ehzabeth was the first to hear the salutation of Mary, but John was the first to perceive tlie spirit and effect of her sakitation ; for to him, as the future fore- runner of Christ, this salutation of the Virgin, yea, even of Christ, was chiefly directed. Theophylact says, " The voice of the Virgin was the voice of God incarnate in her."

It is a question here whether the leaping of John for joy (Vul- gate extiltavit, Greek Wx/fTTjfff) was a natural or rational move- ment. Calvin thinks that it was only a natural one; but all the Fathers and Orthodox Doctors are of a contrary opinion. Origen says, "Then first Jesus made His forerunner a prophet," and Irenaeus {lib. 3 r. 18) says, " He recognised the Lord in the womb, and leaping for joy saluted Him." And S. Gregory {lib. 3 Moral, c. 5), "In his mother's womb he w^as filled with the spirit of pro- phecy." So also S. Cyril, S. Ambrose, S. Chrysostom. All these maintain that this leaping of John was not only supernatural, but showed an active use of reason, and proceeded from true joy fulness of mind ; and this is clear from the words of Elizabeth ; The babe leaped in my tvoinb for joy.

Secondly, this is clear, likewise, from the circumstance that John communicated his joy to his mother.

Thirdly, because in like manner the Blessed Virgin rejoiced when she sang the Magnificat, therefore also John rejoiced, who was the chief end and object of the visitation of the Blessed Virgin and of all these wonders.

John at this time received the gift of prophecy, as the Fathers already quoted show. He likewise received the extraordinary gifts which befitted the future forerunner of Christ. For this had been predicted by the angel when he said, ^^ he shall be filled 7vith thi Holy Ghost from his mother's womb.'' In John, therefore, that saying of S. Chrysostom {Horn. 30) is true, " his leaping was a sign of perfect soundness ; " and also, of sanctity.

Hence some think that John was free from sinful desire, and never committed venial sin ; but this privilege seems to have been

ELIZABETH'S SALUTATION. 39

peculiar to the Blessed Virgin, to whom John was inferior. He had, therefore, sinful desire, and did commit venial sin, falling into it unawares, but, perhai'S, never deliberately. For it is a rule of S. Augustine and of theologians, that whoever has or has had original sin, has also sinful desire, and consequently commits venial sin ; but John had original sin, therefore he must have committed venial sin.

Learn, morally, of what advantage the salutation and prayers of the Saints are, and especially of the Blessed Virgin, who by one word of salutation filled both John and Elizabeth with the Holy Spirit. *' Not only the words, but the very aspect of the Saints is full of spiritual grace," says S. Chrysostom. For the Saints, and above all the Blessed Virgin, are full of the fiery spirit of love. Wherefore he who strives to make other men spiritual should first fill himself with the Divine Spirit; for thus when he speaks he will breathe the same forth upon others, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. God also uses such men as suitable instruments united to Himself. For He is a most pure and power- ful spirit ; wherefore He accomplishes mighty spiritual results by means of spiritual men full of zeal, as being like Himself.

And Elizabeth was filled, (fee. She who was before just and holy (verse 6) is now made much more just and holy, and besides received the gift of prophecy. Moreover John, as I said, was first filled with the Spirit, and then filled his mother also with the same ; because by his own holiness, merits, and prayers, he obtained for his mother that she should be filled with the Holy Spirit, of which he was him- self full. So S. Ambrose says, " Elizabeth first heard the word, but John first experienced the grace. The mother was not filled before the son, but when the son had been filled with the Holy Spirit, he filled the mother also."

Ver. 42. — And she spake out with a loud voice and said, Blessed art thou among women. Thou art most blessed of all women because thou hast been chosen to be the Mother of God Whom the whole world cannot receive.

Blessed is the fruit of thy womb. The fountain of all the blessings and graces bestowed upon the Blessed Virgin by God was to be the

40 S. LUKE, c. I.

mother of God ; for God adorned His mother with every grace in order that she might become an habitation worthy of Him, even that she might be worthy to become the Mother of God, and whom would such a Son bless rather than His mother. Elizabeth therefore, by the inspiration of the Spirit knew that Mary had already conceived, and that the Son of God was incarnate in her. And " He is Blessed, not only as thou art, among women, but, absolutely, above angels, men, and all creatures, as being the Creator and Lord of all. Again the rest of the sons of Eve are all under a curse, because they con- tract original sin from her and from Adam. Christ alone is Blessed because He is not the natural son of Adam, but was super naturally conceived in the Virgin by the Holy Ghost."

She alludes to the prophecy and promise made to David, Of the fruit of thy body shall I set ufon thy seat, Psalm 132, 11.

Ver. 43. — And whence is this to me, that the ^ father of my Lord should come to me ? These are words of the greatest humility and reverence ; John imitated his mother, saying when Christ came to be baptized of him, " I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest thou to me?"

Lord, that is God, Who is called absolutely the Lord, because He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Hence it is clear — i. That the humanity of Christ was already in Christ endowed with life and united to the Word or Son of God. 2. That the Blessed Virgin is rightly called ^foroxoc, i.e., Mother of God and not only ;^^/ffroVoxog, Mother of Christ, as Nestorius maintained. 3. That in Christ there are two natures, the human, for this alone could He take of His Virgin Mother ; and the Divine, which the Father alone communi- cated to Him ; but one Person, not human, but Divine. For if in Christ there had been two persons, as there are two natures, God could not properly be said to have been born of a Virgin, to have suffered and been crucified, but another person, that is to say, a man, or the person of a man ; but now it is properly so said, be- cause there is one person in Christ; which is the reason why the attributes of the one nature may be ascribed in the concrete to the other, so that this man, Jesus, may properly be called God, eternal

MARY'S SONG OF PRAISE. 4I

and Almighty ; and on the other hand, God in Him may properly be called man, passible and mortal, yea, He may even be said to have suffered and died ; because it is the same Person, which on account of the two natures which It has, is at the same time God and man, and accordingly assumes to Itself the actions and attributes both of God and man. For action belongs to persons ; and this sole (divine) Person in Christ is signified alike by the word man, or Jesus, and by the word God or Son of God. Wherefore what is truly said of one is also truly said of the other.

Ver. 44. — The babe leaped. Symbolically, the leaping of John prefigured his own martyrdom ; for by his dancing he represented the dancing of the daughter of Herodias, by which having pleased Herod, she asked and obtained of him the head of John.

Ver. 45. — Blessed, &c. Elizabeth, therefore, knew by the Holy Spirit that the Blessed Virgin had believed the angel when he announced the conception and nativity of Christ. " Blessed art thou, both in fact because thou already bearest Christ within thee, and also in hope, because thou shalt bring forth Him Who will make thee and all who believe in Him blessed in heaven : Blessed therefore art thou before God and men." Elizabeth silently censures the unbelief of her own husband.

Ver. 46. — And Mary said, My soui, &c. Fitly does Mary make answer to the praises of herself celebrated by Elizabeth, by referring them to their fountain, i.e. to God. S. Bernard (Serm. in Apoc. 12) says, " Truly this is a song of high praise, but also of devout humility which suffers her not to retain anything for herself, but gives all back rather to Him Whose blessings bestowed upon herself she was celebrating. Thou, she says, magnifies! the Mother of the Lord, but my soul doth magnify the Lord, Thou declares! that thy son leaped for joy at my voice, but my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour. He rejoices as the friend of the bridegroom at the voice of the bridegroom. Thou sayest she is blessed which believed, but the cause of faith and blessedness is the regard of the Celestial Goodness, so that on this account the rather all generations will call me Blessed, because God hath regarded the

42 S. LUKE, c. I.

low estate of his handmaid." S. Bernard then shows that the Blessed Virgin, though she was most humble, yet in the faith of the promise made by the angel she was lifted high in soul, so that she doubted not that she was elected to so great a mystery, but believed that she would soon be the true Mother of God and man ; for the grace of God so works in His elect, *' that neither does humility make them feeble spirited, nor does exaltation of soul make them proud." God magnifies man in one way, and man magnifies God in another. God magnifies a man when He heaps upon him riches and honours, graces and gifts, and raises him above others ; but man cannot magnify God in this way, for he cannot add anything to Him either great or small. He is said therefore to magnify God when he proclaims His greatness, i.e. His majesty, almighty power, holiness, wisdom, &c. The meaning of the Blessed Virgin's words therefore is, Thou, O Elizabeth, magnifiest me in honouring me with the magnificent title of Mother of God, but I magnify God Who has made me great, in giving me so great a Sonj Who is God Himself, and has thought fit to bring to pass in me the great mystery of the Incarnation of the Word.

The Incarnation of the Word was the greatest of all the works of God. I. It was a work of the highest power, to unite heaven to earth, God to man ; 2. of the highest goodness, by which God communicated Himself wholly to man ; 3. of the highest wisdom, by which He effected this union in a Divine Person, so that the integrity of each nature, the human and the divine, was preserved to it.

With this, therefore, begins the song of the Blessed Virgin, which of all the songs of Holy Scripture, of Moses, Deborah, &c., is the most excellent, as being the most full of the Divine Spirit and exulta- tion. The Church, accordingly, uses it daily in the Office of Vespers, in order that she may by it, in the highest manner, celebrate the glories and praises of God, and render the highest thanks to Him for the Incarnation of the Word and His other gifts, and that she may drink in the same affections of devotion, piety, love, and exul- tation that in utiering it the Blessed Virgin drank in from heaven.

mart's song of praise. 43

There are three parts in this song. In the first (verse 46-50), the Blessed Virgin praises God for the peculiar blessings bestowed upon herself by God, especially for the conception of the Word. In the second (verse 50-54), she praises Him for the common blessings bestowed upon His whole people before the coming of Christ. In the third (verse 54 to the end), she returns to this greatest blessing of the Incarnation of the Word which had been promised to the fathers, and made known to herself.

My soul. Not only my tongue, nor my hand only, but my soul itself with all its power magnifies God. From the inmost recesses of my soul, with all the powers of my mind, I praise and glorify God ; I employ and entirely devote all the strength of my soul in His praise ; so that my understanding contemplates Him alone, my will loves and celebrates no being but Him, my memory dwells upon nothing but Him, my mouth speaks of and celebrates nothing but Him, my hand performs only those things which tend to His service, my feet move forwards only to those things which tend to His glory.

Symbolically, Toletus says. The Blessed Virgin rightly says my soul — I. Because she alone had her soul in her own power, and was mistress over it, because she possessed it in patience, having dominion over all its affections and passions. But we do not pos- sess our souls, because we are ourselves possessed by anger, pride, concupiscence or some other like passion. 2. Because she had wholly delivered up her soul to her Son ; and those things which belonged to her Son were hers also. Whence her soul having been delivered up to her Son returned entirely to her own power, and she truly calls it my soul. 3. On account of her loving afi"ection for it ; for the more any one loves God, the more he loves his own soul. Since, therefore, the Blessed Virgin loved God chiefly above all men, and had never committed any sin, she loved her own soul very greatly. And that which we love, on account of our love for it we call our own. She therefore who so loved her own soul, truly called it her own.

And my spirit hath rejoiced. Exultavit. The Blessed Virgin, admiring the divine power, holiness, justice, benignity of the Spirit

44 S. LUKE, C. I.

of God incarnate in her, exults and leaps and sings for joy. Euthy- mius {in Fs. 9) says, " Exultation is, as it were, an intensified joy, which causes the heart to leap up vehemently with excess of joy, and to be raised on high." Cajetan also says, " Exultation is an overflowing joy, which breaks forth, modestly however and seriously, in the external signs of gesticulation, singing, and jubilation.

There is an allusion here to Isaiah Ixi. 10, J will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God ; and still more to the words of Anna, i Sam. ii. i.. My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, &c., for as Anna, who was barren, rejoiced in conceiving Samuel by the miraculous help of God, so the Blessed Virgin rejoiced in conceiving Emmanuel (of whom Samuel was a type) by the power of the Holy Spirit.

S. Augustine, writing on the Magnificat, shows that the Virgin here does two things : first, she praises the goodness and mercy of God, as in the preceding verse she had praised His power and majesty ; secondly, she pours forth the expression of the sweetness and delight which she had received in the conception of her Son ; and in this he says that the Mother of God imitated the angels, who in heaven perform these two things, viz., meditate on the incomprehensible majesty of God, and enjoy His ineffable good- ness and sweetness ; and they so admire them as to rejoice in and love them. His words are, " Thou hast seen His majesty, thou hast tasted His sweetness ; therefore that which thou hast received inwardly, thou hast poured forth abroad, and thou hast rejoiced in His justice. My spirit hath rejoiced ; the soul magnifies ; the spirit rejoices. In God my Saviour: the word God denotes His power; the word Saviour (or salvation) denotes His mercy. For these are two things which the spirits of angels and saints in that fountain of good drink in by eternal contemplation ; viz., the incomprehensible Majesty of God, and His ineffable goodness ; the one of which produces a sacred fear, and the other love ; they venerate God for His majesty; they love Him for His goodness; so that love being joined with reverential fear may not be lost, and fear being joined with love may not have torment."

MARYS SONG OF PRAISE. 45

Lastly, as in the conception of the Word the very highest of blessings was bestowed upon the Virgin, so she experienced the very highest exaltation on account of it, so that her spirit seemed to leap forth for joy from her body, and to hasten forth towards God ; and perhaps it would have done so, had not God by His power kept it in her body. For when she died several years after, she died not of sickness, but of love, joy, and the desire of seeing her Son, as Suarez and other theologians think. Moreover this exal- tation, Albertus says, was not transient, but remained as a habit through the whole of her life. He adds, that on account of her possessing this continual exultation in God, she was above all entirely dead to the world and to this mortal life ; so that her life was always hid with Christ in God, and being present in the angelic court she dwelt in the sanctuary of God, and she could say in a more excellent manner than Paul or any other creature, " I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Gal. vi.

My Spirit. That is, my soul, as Euthymius and others say; as if my Spirit hath rejoiced, &c., were the same as my soul doth magnify, &c. But the opinion of Toletus and others is better, who think that the spiiit is more than the soul ; wherefore by the soul they understand the intellect, and by the spirit the will. More simply, by the soul you may understand the lower part of the soul, which regards natural objects; by the spirit the superior part, which beholds spiritual and divine things. The soul, therefore, is natural and contemplates natural things; the spirit is supernatural and con- templates heavenly things. The spirit, therefore, signifies. — i. the mind ; 2. the vehement and fervent impulse of the mind towards joy ; 3. that this impulse is inspired by the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the Spirit, as being the superior, draws the soul and body along with it, so that they likewise may exult with joy, according to the saying in Psalm 84, " My heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God."

In God my Saviour. Vulgate, salutari meo ; Greek, aurri^l [lou. The Syriac renders the words i?i God my lifegiver {vivificatore meo). Who will bestow life, i.e. liberty, grace, and glory on me and all the faithful.

46 S. LUKE, C. I.

She says my Saviour — i. Because Jesus is my son. 2. Because He is also my Saviour, both because He has preserved me above others from all sin, and filled me with all grace, and because He has made me the mediatrix of salvation for all men, so that I am as it were the cause and the mother of salvation to all who are to be saved.

S. John of Damascus, when the hand with which he had written the defence of the worship of sacred images had been cut off by Leo the Isaurian, and had been miraculously restored by the Blessed Virgin, sang the words, " My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour, and in His Mother, for He that is mighty hath done to me great things."

Ver. 48. — For He hath regarded, &c. S. Augustine {super Mag- nificat) says, " This is the grace of her exultation, that He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden : it is as if she said, because I exult in His grace, therefore my exultation is from Him ; and because I love His gifts on account of Himself, therefore I exult in Him. S. Bernard {Serm. 57 in Cant.) says, "God regards the earth and causes it to tremble ; He regards Mary and infuses grace. He hath regarded, she says, the lowliness of His handmaiden, for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. These are not the words of one lamenting or fearing, but of one rejoicing. Hence He says to her. Arise quickly, my love, my dove, my fair one, and come away."

Lmidiness, or lo^v estate. Vulgate, humilitatem ; Greek, Ta-nlnugiv. Humility here properly means lowliness of estate, not the virtue of humility as opposed to pride, for tliis is called ra'^runt^^oavvn ; for humility alone among virtues is ignorant of itself; and he who boasts of his humility is proud, not humble.

Secondly, however, by humility may be understood the virtue itself of humility ; for on account of this God had regard to the Blessed Virgin, and chose her for His mother; for a humble person recognises his virtues as being the gifts of God ; wherefore among them he sees also his own humility, but he ascribes it not to his own strength, but to the grace which he had received from God.

THE HUMILITY OF MARY. 47

As, therefore, the Blessed Virgin here recognises her election to be the Mother of God (which was a far greater thing), so likewise she recognises that she was fittingly adorned for so great a dignity by her humility, virginity, and other virtues which had been imparted to her by God. For a humble person recognises his own low estate, his misery, his poverty, yea, even his own nothingness, and ascribes all that he is and has to God, Whose he is, and says with the Psalmist, Not unto its, O Lord, not tinto us, but ufito Thy Na?ne give the glory.

Listen to S. Augustine {Serm. 2 de Assunip.), " O true humility which hath borne God to men, hath given life to mortals, made new heavens, and a pure earth, and given liberty to the souls of men. The humility of Mary was made the heavenly ladder by which God came down to earth. For what does regarded mean but approved ? For many seem in the sight of men to be humble, but their humility is not regarded by the Lord. For if they were truly humble, then they would not wish to be praised by men, and their spirit would not rejoice in the world but in God." And S. Chrysostom {Honi. 2 /// Ps. 50) says, "The greatest sacrifice 01 all is humility, for the same man who by sinning has separated himself from God, subjects himself to Him by humility, when he is converted to penitence." And lastly S. Bernard says, " It is humility which truth begets for us, and it has not heat, and it is humility which love forms and inflames. The latter consists in affection, the former in knowledge : by the former we learn that we are nothing, and we learn it from ourselves and our own weakness ; by the latter we tread underfoot the glory of the world, and we learn it from Him Who emptied Himself, and Who, when men sought to make Him a king, fled ; but when He was sought for reproaches and for the Cross, He did not flee, but offered Himself willingly." The Blessed Virgin had both these (humility and love) in an eminent and heroic degree.

For behold from henceforth, &c. S. Augustine says here, "Thou, 0 Elizabeth, sayest concerning me, Blessed art thou who believedst ; but I say, From this time (when I conceived the Son of God) all

48 S. LUKE, C. I.

generations shall call me blessed. Mary, who was humble before God, and lowly before men on account of God, obtained witness tliat she was regarded in both respects : for both her humility before God was acceptable, and her low estate before men was changed into glory. Wherefore it follows, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."

Blessed. Gerson {super. Magnificat) says, "Thou art worthy of our praises, O Holy Virgin, thrice and four times blessed. Blessed — i. because thou didst believe. 2. Because thou art full of grace, according to the salutation of Gabriel. 3. Because Blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 4. Because He that is mighty hath done to thee great things. 5. Because thou art the Mother of the Lord. 6. Because thou art fruitful and yet retainest the honour of virginity. 7. Because thou seemest to have none like thee, among those that were before thee, or among those that come after."

All generations. All future ages and generations of the faithful. Cardinal Hugo says, "All generations, i.e. all nations of Jews and Gentiles, of men and women, of rich and poor, of angels and of men, because all through her have received a saving benefit : men have received reconciliation ; angels restoration (of their numbers). For Christ the Son of God wrought salvation in the middle of the earth, that is, in the womb of Mary, which by a certain wonderful propriety is called the middle of the earth. For, as S. Bernard says, towards it look both those who dwell in heaven and those who dwell in the lower regions, i.e. in purgatory, and those who dwell in the world. The first, that they may be filled up again, the second that they may be delivered, the third that they may be reconciled. And then, assigning the reason, he adds, from henceforth therefore, O Blessed Virgin, all generations shall call thee blessed, because thou hast brought forth life, grace, and glory for all generations, life for the dead, grace for sinners, glory for the miserable. Therefore it is said of her, Judith, c. xv. 10, "Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the great rejoicing of our people, because thou hast done coura-

THE PROPHECY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 49

geously. The first is the word of the angels, whose loss was repaired by her ; the second is the word of men, whose sadness was by her changed into joy ; the third is the word of women, whose dishonour was done away with by her; the fourth is the voice of the dead, whose captivity was brought back by her."

The truth of this prophecy of the Blessed Virgin is clear from the event ; for we have seen her worshipped and honoured by all nations and generations with shrines, churches, festivals, con- gregations, societies of religious, vows, supplications, litanies in such numbers as the rest of the Saints joined together do not obtain ; yea, to the Blessed Virgin alone is paid the worship of hyperdulia, as to God is paid the worship of latria, while to the rest of the Saints is paid the worship of dulia. Thy honour, thy praise and glory, O Blessed Virgin, will live as long as the angels shall live, as long as men shall live, as long as Christ shall live, as long as God shall be God, for ever and ever.

Ver. 49. — For He that is mighty hath done to me great things. For the Incarnation of the Word is a greater work than the creation of the whole world ; wherefore the Blessed Virgin, as being the Mother of God, is greater than all angels, all men, and all creatures taken together. Augustine {Serm. 2 de Assump.) says, "What great things hath He done unto thee, O Lady, that thou shouldest merit to be called blessed ? I truly believe that thou, a creature, gavest birth to the Creator ; a servant, thou broughtest forth the Lord." " He that is mighty hath done to me wonderful things," says Titus, "since I, still a virgin, have conceived by the will of God, passing over the bounds of nature; I have been accounted worthy, without being joined to a husband, to be made a mother, not of any one, but of the Only Begotten Son of God."

Cardinal Hugo mentions twelve great things belonging to the Virgin : — i. Sanctification in the womb of her mother. 2. The saluta- tion of the angel. 3. The fulness of grace. 4. The conception of her Son. 5. Fruitful virginity. 6. Virgin fruitfulness. 7. Her honoured humility. 8. Her ready obedience. 9. The devotion of her faith. 10. Her prudent modesty. 11. Her modest prudence. 12. The

VOL. VI. D

50 S. LUKE,, C. I

dominion over heaven. S. Thomas {J>art. i, qu. 25, art. 6) teaches that it is possible for God to do better works than He has done with the exception of three : the Incarnation of tlie Word ; the maternity of God ; and the beatitude of man which consists in the vision of God ; for God can do nothing better or greater than these, because nothing can be greater or belter than God Himself. The Blessed Virgin is called by Hesychius, Bishop of Jerusalem (Jiom. 2 de S. Maria), '' The entire complement of the Trinity, because both the Holy Ghost came to her, and sojourned with her, and the Father overshadowed her, and the Son, borne in her womb, dwelt within her."

He that is mighty. Vulgate, potens ; Greek, 6 hwarai. This is one of the ten names of God, for the Septuagint used to render the Hebrew word IQJ (gibbor), i.e. mighty, strong, whence is derived Gabriel^ i.e. the strength of God. The Blessed Virgin, says Titus, adds this — first, that no one may disbelieve this mystery. Let no one wonder if I a virgin have conceived, for He Who hath wrought this work is the Mighty God. Secondly, that she may show that what the angel had promised (verse 35) is fulfilled in her, the power (Greek, hijmfiii) 0/ the Highest shall overshadoiv thee. She alludes to Isa. vii. 14 and ix. 6, His name shall be called Wo?iderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God l^J 7i«i (Elgibbor), i.e. mighty, strong as a giant ; whence Gabriel announced His birth, whose name signifies the power and strength of God.

And holy is His name. The Blessed Virgin shows that the promise of the angel, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, was ful- filled ; and therefore she says, And holy is His Naine.

Toletus and Francis Lucas are of opinion that the Virgin here celebrates two great things as done to her by God — i. The Incarna- tion of the Word, by which she was made the Mother of God, and therefore the mistress and queen of all angels and men ; and, 2. Her own preparation and sanctification for the accomplishment of the Incarnation in her. For as it was a work of power for God to be made man of a virgin, so it was a work of holiness to prepare the Virgin so as to be fit for conceiving in her womb the Holy and

THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD. 51

Immaculate Word of God. For the Blessed Virgin was so sancti- fied by the Holy Ghost that she contracted no sin at all, and far exceeded all the angels, even the seraphim, in grace and holiness.

But more plainly and fully, we may refer both clauses of this verse to both works, namely, to the Incarnation of the Word as well as to her own preparation and sanctification for It. For each of these was a work of the excellent power as well as holiness of God, because each was accomplished by the coming of the Holy Spirit upon her to sanctify both Christ and the Virgin ; according to the announcement of the angel, That Holy Thing which shall be born oj thee shall be called the Son of God, For Christ was the Holy of Holies, the Fount of holiness, sanctifying the whole world.

The meaning therefore is, God Himself, as signified by His own name, is holy, possesses all purity, holiness, power, perfection, and therefore is to be worshipped, adored, and celebrated in every way. God therefore is holy in all His works, and above all in this most holy mystery of the Incarnation of the Word ; by which He sancti- fied Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and all the faithful.

Lastly, God incarnate is called holy because He assumed flesh and blood for the purpose of offering it to God, both in life, and on the cross, and in His death for the salvation of men. For as S. Isidorus says {lib. 15, Origin, c. 14), "Nothing was called holy among the ancients unless it was consecrated or sprinkled with the blood of a victim. Also that is holy {sanctum) which is ratified {sancitum) Avith blood; moreover to ratify {sancire) is to confirm." See Heb. ix. 12, &c. S. Augustine {lib 2 de Serm. Dom. 31) says, "That is holy which it is impious to violate and defile; and assuredly any one is held guilty of this crime who only attempts or wills it with regard to a holy thing, which nevertheless remains by its nature in- violable and incorruptible." But S. Bernard {Serm. 5 in Vigil. Nativ.) makes sanctity or holiness consist in clemency and gentle- ness, according to that saying concerning Moses, Ecclesiasticus xlv. 4, He that sanctified him in his faithfulness and meekness ; and he continues, " In order that sanctification may be perfect we have need

52 S. LUKE. C. T.

to learn gentleness and courtesy in social life from the Saint of Saints ; as He says Himself, Learn of Me, for J am meek and lowly in heart:'

Hence some more recent interpreters refer the words Holy is His Name, to the following verse, and His mercy, &c., as if this were the holiness of God ; but literally they must be referred to what precedes, as I have said. Hence Euthymius [in Ps. ii) says, "He properly is called pious (Iskx;) who observes piety and religion in those things which pertain to God ; but he is called holy (ay/oj) who is made a partaker of the Divine nature by following the path of virtue." Further, holy {sanctus) in Hebrew is li^lp, that is, removed and separated from all vice, blemish, and even from intercourse with the vulgar ; as God is especially, Whose holiness and majesty is so far removed, so lofty and exalted, that it infinitely transcends all gotis, angels, and men. Whence S. Uionysius {de Divin. nom. c. 12) says, " Since holiness is free from all taint, and is purity altogether perfect and immaculate, hence God, from the superabundance of the purity and all the excellences with which He is filled, is called the Holy of Holies." And Bede says, " His name is called holy because in the height of His marvellous power He transcends every creature, and is widely removed from the works which He has made. This is better understooil in the Greek tongue, in which the very word that means holy {dyioc) signifies as it were to be apart from earlli : and by imitation of Him in our small measure we are taught to separate ourselves from all who are neither holy nor dedicated to God, by those words of the Lord, Be ye holy, for 1 am holy ; for whoever has consecrated himself to (lOd will rightly appear as one free from the world ; for he is able even himself to say, while we walk upon the earth we have our conversation in heaven."

Christians therefore being called by Christ to fulness of holiness ought to be holy (whence they are continually called by S. Paul holy [or saints]), yea, more holy than all the faithful who lived in the time of Moses, Abraham, liic ; for Christianity is nothing else than the life of Christ. Let the Christian therefore so live as it becomes the disciple of Christ, so that his life may be a living

THE STRENGTH AND POWER OF GOD. 53

image of the holiness of Christ, so that whoever sees and hears him, may seem to himself to see and hear Christ in him.

Ver. 50. — And His mercy, &c. As God is all-powerful and all-holy, so is He all-merciful, and that continually towards all who in any age love Him, and therefore fear to offend Him. This is the second part of this song, in which the Blessed Virgin passes from the peculiar benefits bestowed by God upon herself, to those bestowed in common upon all Israel, i.e. upon all the faithful.

Ver. 51. — He hath shewed strength, &c. The Virgin has been praising the mercy of God towards those who fear Him, and now she goes on to praise His severity and justice towards those who despise Him.

With His arm. The strength and power of God are anthro- pomorphically expressed by the hand, the finger, the right hand, but most of all by the arm : for the strength of man puts itself forth in his arms. The meaning therefore is, God has in every age wrought many things by His mighty arm, as in the case of Pharaoh by Moses, &c. But much more has God shown His power by causing Christ to become incarnate in me, by Whom He will mightily overthrow Lucifer, hell, death and sin. Whence Bede and Theophylact understand by His arm here, mystically, the Son of God incarnate in the Virgin. For He is the power of God, I Cor. i. 24. There is an allusion to Isa. liii. i. To ivho^n is the artfi of the Lord revealed "i

He hath scattered the proud ; as He scattered and overthrew Pharaoh, N&buchadnezzar, &c.

In the imagination of their heart. Vulgate, 7netite cordis sui. Some refer these words to the heart of God, so that the meaning will be, God by His own heart, i.e. His will and decree, scattered the proud : so S. Augustine explains it. " In the imagination (or purpose) of His heart," he says, " that is, in His deep counsel He scattered them. It was deep counsel for God to become man for me, and for the innocent to suffer in order that the guilty might be redeemed." The Carthusian (Denis) follows this explanation, " In the purpose, i.e. in the intention and will of His heart, i.e. of His

54 S. LUKE, C. T.

understanding, by which He discerns, judges, and orders all things."' But from the Greek it is clear that the word sni is not to be referred to the heart of God, but to the heart of the proud ; for the Greek is aurSi', of them. Whence Euthymius says, God scattered those who were proud in their heart.

Others refer the word sui^ of t/iem, to the word dispersit, scattered, so that the meaning is, God hath scattered the proud by means of tlie purpose (Greek, oiavo/a) of their heart, because He turns back their proud machinations to their own destruction, so that He disperses them, according to that saying Job v. 13, He taketh the wise tfi their own craftiness ; as He did to Pharaoh when he followed the Hebrews through the Red Sea, by drowning him with all his followers in the same sea ; and to the brethren of Joseph who sold him tliat they might destroy him, but God by this very thing exalted Joseph and constrained his brethren to bow down to him.

Ver. 52. — He hath pit down, &c. As He put down the proud Saul from his royal throne by putting the humble David in his place; so He put the humble Mordecai in the place of the proud Haman, and Esther in the place of Vashti. God has done, and does, and will do the same in every age. Wherefore these past tenses. He hath scattered, put down, exalted, are to be taken in the widest sense, as signifying any time, future, present, or past, according to the Hebrew idiom. He hath put down therefore signifies He does and will put down. The Virgin alludes to the words of David, Psalm cxiii. 7, He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, &c. ; and of Hannah, i Sam. ii. 7, The Lord inaketh poor and viaketh rich, &c.

Moreover, as often at other times, so at the time of the Nativity of Christ God put down the mighty from their seat almost throughout the whole world, which, after Julius Caesar, Pompey, Lepidus, Antony, and other kings, tyrants, and princes had been removed, He had put in subjection to Augustus alone who was a type of Christ, as Cyrus had been, Isa. xlv. i. Whence, when Christ was born, he refused the title of Lord which was oftered

god's help of ISRAEL. 55

to him. Then also God put down from their seat Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, who were contending with each other for the govern- ment over Judaea. Herod also, the infanticide, was deprived of his life and kingdom ; and shortly afterwards his whole royal progeny perished ; as also did that of Augustus Caesar, that it might be declared that Christ was now born, and that every kingdom was due to him and was prepared for Him, as Daniel foretold, c. vii. 14.

Ver. 53. — He hath filled the hungry, &c. So He fed the Hebrews with manna from heaven for forty years in the wilderness. So He fed Elias when he was hungry by an angel, and Daniel in the den of lions by Habakkuk, and Paul, the first hermit, by a raven. So also He fed the Blessed Virgin, hungering and thirsting after righteous- ness, with the Word Incarnate, and He feeds all the faithful with the same in the Holy Eucharist, and will feed them still more in heaven. By the hungry the poor are intended, since the Virgin opposes the rich to them.

Ver. 54. — He hath holpeti His servant Israel. God hath taken by the hand, raised up, helped and restored His people Israel, whom He loved and kept as a son or servant. He did this formerly by Moses, Joshua, David, &c. ; and now much more has He done it, by sending to Israel the Messiah that had been promised. For at that time, the commonwealth and Church of Israel had fallen into ruins, since the sceptre had been taken away from them, and transferred to Herod and the Romans ; and the priests, intent on their own gain, were negligent of the welfare of the people ; wherefore the people were grievously afflicted with various miseries of mind and body. God therefore at a season- able time sent Christ that He might deliver out of them all His own Israel, that is, all the faithful who were converted to Him, both from among the Jews and Gentiles; whence S. Augustine says, '' He helped Israel ; not the Israel which He found ; but He helped Israel that He might make him ; as a physician helps a sick man, that He might heal the weak, and redeem the captive, that He might justify the impious, and save the just." For Israel in

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Hebrew is the same as the man who sees God, or raiher, one who has power with God, Gen. xxxii. 28. This is the third part of this song in which the Blessed Virgin passes from the common blessings in old times bestowed by God upon Israel, to the peculiar one of the Messiah already incarnate in herself, which was the greatest and most excellent of all.

In remembrance, &c. The cause why God sent Christ was His compassion on Israel and the whole human race, doomed to death and hell on account of their sins. Whence S. Leo says, " The cause of our restoration is none else than the compassion of God." God is said to have remembered, because He seemed to have left men in their miseries for four thousand years and to have forgotten His promise made to the Fathers \ now as it were having remembered it, He fulfilled it in Christ ; for this compassion is none other than the salvation brought by Christ.

Ver. 55. — As he spake to our fathers, &c. The Virgin declares that this mercy, viz. the salvation brought by Christ, had been promised by God from ancient times to the fathers, Adam, Abraham, &c. ; so that the Incarnation of Christ was not a for- tuitous event, but from eternity had been provided and decreed by God for the salvation of Israel and of the whole world, and had been promised in time to all the Patriarchs from the beginning of the world ; who themselves eagerly desired the same, and though they besought God for it with ardent longings, yet they did not obtain it, because God had decreed to reserve this great gift for this time and age.

To Abraham and his seed. These words are to l)e referred to the words in remembrajice of His mercy, not to the words as He spake to our fathers, which are to be enclosed in a parenthesis. God by making Christ to be incarnate remembered His mercy formerly promised by Him to Abraham and his seed, that is. to the Israelites his descendants. For Christ was especially promised to them, but inasmuch as they rejected Him, God turned His mercy aside from them to the Gentiles who gladly received Him. He remembered Abraham both because he was the first Patriarch of Israel, and also

MARY'S STAY WITH ELIZABETH. 57

because he excelled in faith and was therefore called by God the father of the faithful, and received the promise concerning Christ Who should be born of his seed.

Wherefore this seed, i.e. the children and posterity of Abraham, is not to be understood carnally of the Jews descended from him according to the flesh, but spiritually of the faithful believers in Christ both Jews and Gentiles, for these follow the example of the faith of Abraham the father of the faithful.

For ever. This word may be referred either to the word seed, so that the meaning is, the seed of Abraham will last for ever, or to the word fnercy. God hath remembered His mercy, that is the salvation to be given through Christ ; and it was His will that it should endure not for a hundred or a thousand years only, but for all eternity. Either sense comes to the same.

Ver. 56. — And Mary abode with her about three mofiths, &c. She ministered to Elizabeth her kinswoman, refreshing her with her holy ministrations and conversation, and sanctifying her, and John like- wise. So S. Ambrose says, " It was not only for the sake of friend- ship that she abode so long, but for the advancement also of so great a prophet ; for if at her first coming the child had advanced so far that at the salutation of Mary he leaped in the womb, and his mother was filled with the Holy Spirit, how much may we suppose that the presence of the holy Mary added during so long a time ? " So also Origen {^Honi. 9) shows that during these three months, owing to the presence of the Virgin both John and Elizabeth made wonder- ful progress in holiness.

There is a question here whether the Blessed Virgin remained until the nativity of John. Theophylact, Euthymius, Jansenius maintain that she did not

They prove this — i. because the Blessed Virgin came in the sixth month, and remained, as it were, three months (Vulg. quasi tres menses), therefore she departed before the ninth month was com- pleted, and therefore before Elizabeth gave birth to the child ; 2. because after the departure of the Virgin, S. Luke relates the birth of the child, without making any mention of the Virgin ; 3. and chiefly,

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because it was not fitting that the Virgin should be present at the birth ; 4. because it was proper that she should avoid the crowd which would gather together at the birth.

The contrary opinion is equally, and even more, probable ; and is maintained by Origen, S. Ambrose, &c. — i. because it would have been discourteous to remain up to the birth and leave immediately before it ; 2. because at the time of the birth Elizabeth most needed the presence, help, and consolation of the Virgin ; 3. because the Virgin remained three months for this very purpose, that she might behold, embrace, and bless John, the wonder of the world, and the forerunner of Christ, and on the other hand that John when born might behold and venerate the mother of the Lord, and Christ the Lord in her. Whence Bede says, " Mary remained until, Elizabeth's full time having come, she saw the nativity of the forerunner of her Lord, on account of whom chiefly she had come."

And she returned to her own house. To Nazareth. This house of the Virgin was translated by angels to Loretto, as I have said before.

Ver. 57. — A?id EiizabetUs full time came, &c. S. Luke adds the account of Elizabeth's bringing forth to that of the visitation of the Blessed Virgin, as an effect to a cause. For the Blessed Virgin by her prayers and merits obtained for John both his nativity and his sanctification ; for for this j^urpose she had come from Nazareth and had remained with her for three montiis.

And she brought forth a son. John the Baptist on June 24th ; for then the Church keeps the yearly celebration of his birth, observing it in his case alone, as it does also in the case of Christ. For as regards the rest of the Saints the Church celebrates not the day of their birth, but that of their death on which they passed from a life of misery to one of blesseciness.

Ver. 58. — And her neighbours, &c. So was fulfilled the promise of the Angel (v. 14), Many shall rejoice at his birth. Truly as S. Ambrose says, " The bringing forth of the Saints causes the rejoicing of many, for it is a conmion blessing; for justice is a public virtue."

"HIS NAME IS JOHN." 59

For the just by their example benefit all; many also, as John did, benefit them by their preaching.

Ver. 59. — They came. That is, the priests and relations whose ofiice it was to perform the rite of circumcision.

To circumcise. Notice here that the Jews were not always cir- cumcised in the synagogue. For that John was circumcised at home is inferred from the following verse, in which it is clearly implied that his mother was present, who could not at that time according to the law (Lev. xii. 4) leave the house.

Also by circumcision an infant was purged from original sin, and united to the church, or company of the faithful, whence at that time the name of some faithful person, especially of the father, grand- father, or some relation was given to the infant, as is now done in baptism.

Ver. 60. — A fid his mother, &c. Elizabeth, who on the salutation of the Virgin, being filled with the Holy Ghost, had learned the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, learned also the name of her son not from Zacharias but from the Holy Spirit, and all the other things that had happened to Zacharias in the temple when he was burning incense. For as S. Ambrose says, *• She could not be ignorant of the Forerunner of the Lord who had prophesied of Christ."

Ver. 61. — And they said, There is none of thy ki?idred, &c. This is an earthly custom ; but John was a citizen of heaven, not of the earth; whence he received from heaven a celestial name. "Observe," as S. Ambrose and Bede say, " that the name belongs not to the family but to the prophet."

Ver. 62. — 7 hey made signs, &c. Lest perchance the mother had made a mistake in assigning the name, they refer to the father, to whom both the infant and the giving of a name to the infant belonged. They made signs ; "because," says S. Ambrose, "his unbelief had deprived him of speech and hearing, they question him by signs."

Ver. 63. — His name is John. S. Ambrose remarks that it is said his name is, not will be ; so that the meaning is, we do not give a name to him who has received one from God, '' he has his own name,

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which we acknowledge, but which we did not choose." Names were frequently given from some event eitiier present or future ; thus Isaac received his name from the laughter of his mother ; Cain because he was the possession of his mother Eve; Moses because he was drawn out of the water, &c. ; so also John received his name from the grace and mercy which he received, not in his conception, but when he was visited by the Blessed Virgin.

Afid they all wojide7-ed, both at the agreement between the father and mother, and at the name, which was an unknown one in the family ; for they did not know that it had been revealed from heaven to Zacharias.

Ver. 64. — And his mouth, &c. That is, he began to speak. S. Ambrose says, " Rightly from that moment was his tongue loosed, for that which unbelief had bound faith set free." When he saw John really born, he believed the promise made to him by the angel concerning him. John therefore, as he had filled his mother when in her womb with the Holy Spirit, so now when born breathed the same spirit upon his father. Whence S. Gregory Nazianzen says, " The birth of John broke the silence of Zacharias ; for it were unreasonable, when the voice of the Word had come forth, that the father should remain speechless."

Moreover, Theophylact says, " All these things were done oeconomically, that John might be esteemed a witness of Christ worthy of credit;" and Bede, "The future prophet is commended by previous auspices."

Symbolically, S. Ambrose says, " Because John was a voice (according to the words, / am the voice of one crying in the zvilder- ness), therefore at his birth his father, who had been dumb, recovered his voice."

Ver. 65. — And fear catne on all that dwelt, «&c. That is, a religious fear and reverence towards God Who had done so many wonderful works concerning John both as to his father anil mother. For where God displays his ])Ower there arises on the part of men towards Him and His majesty a sacred feeling ot fear and reverence.

THE HAND OF THE LORD WITH JOHN. 6l

Ver. 66. — IV/iai matiner of child shall this be, &c. God did this in order that by means of these signs He might stir up the minds of all men to the veneration of John as the future forerunner and discloser of Christ, and in order that He might procure authority for him ; and that so his testimony concerning Christ might outweigh every objection. Christ revealed to S. Bridget {Lib. Revel, cap. io8) that there were three saints who had pleased Him above all others, viz., the Blessed Virgin, Mary Magdalen, and John the Baptist, and that the demons, being struck with terror at his birth, bewailed and lamented when the angels and pious Israelites rejoiced.

And the hand of the Lord was with him. The hand, that is the wonderful power, providence, care, grace, and favour of God (for of all these the hand is the symbol) displayed themselves in this boy, so that it might be seen that he was singularly formed, chosen, and destined for great things. And God showed this — i. by announcing his nativity by an angel to his father Zacharias ; 2. by unloosing the tongue and the ears of Zacharias at his birth, so that he might speak the praises of God ; 3. by illuminating and impelling him to prophesy concerning the boy ; 4. by giving to Elizabeth when old and barren this offspring by a miracle; 5. by giving to the boy a new and unusual name. All which things, being for the most part miracles, portended that John would be a great man and a prophet, and that God would accomplish great things by him ; and all who saw or heard these things were filled with great fear, joy, and hope.

S. Ambrose, Origen, and Euthymiiis add that John himself felt that the hand of God was upon him ; since he felt every day that by the operation of God he grew and advanced in the use of reason, in holy inspirations and desires, in the love and worship of Christ, in grace and in merits beyond what was natural to his years.

Ver. 67. — Atid his father Zacharias was filled, &c. Zacharias already had the Holy Spirit, for he was a just man (as we read in verse 6) ; yet he by the birth of John received so great a fulness

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of the grace of the Holy Spirit, both sanctifying anti rendering him acceptable, and also gratuitously given, i.e. of the spirit of prophecy, and he was filled with so great a love for Christ, already incarnate in the womb of the Virgin, that he broke forth into this prophetic song which the Church sings daily in the Divine Office at Lauds.

Ver. 68. — Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. Zacharias in this song does two things, i. He praises God for the Messiah incarnate in the Virgin. 2. From verse 76 to the end he praises God by addressing his son John, and celebrates his office as the forerunner of Christ.

The God of Israel. For although He is the God of all men, yet He is especially the God of Israel, i.e. of His faithful people, whether they were Jews and Israelites as formerly, or Christians as in these days.

Hath redeemed, &c. God by means of Christ already incarnate had begun the work of the redemption and deliverance of the whole world from the yoke of slavery to the devil, sin, death, and hell, under which it had been held for four thousand years, but especially the redem])tion of Israel, i.e. of the Jewish people, to whom especially the Messiah had been promised. Zacharias by the spirit of prophecy knew of the incarnation of the Messiah in the womb of the Virgin, and therefore that the redemption of the world was already begun, inasmuch as the Redeemer was conceived Who after a few years was about to complete the redemption of the world by His death on tlie Cross.

And hath raised tip an horn of sah'ation. In Scripture horn signifies strength, power, victory, glory, and consequently a king- dom ; for all the glory and strength of horned animals consists in their horns, as S. Chrysostom says. Hence S. Cornelius, pontiff and martyr, is represented in painting with a horn, and received his name from it because with the strength of an horn he resisted the Emperor Decius, and triumphed gloriously over him by martyr- dom. See what I have said on Hab. iii. 4, Dan. viii. 4, and Deut. xxxiii. 17.

A HORN OF SALVATION. 6.^

T)ie meaning, therefore, is that God has again raised up the horn, t.e. the excellent power and glory of the kingdom of Israel by Christ the Son of David, which horn had flourished in the times of Joshua, and David, and Solomon, but had now fallen ; and this horn was not temporal but spiritual, as I have said on verse 32. There is an allusion to Ezek. xxix. 21, In that day the horn of the house oj Israel shall bud forth. It is clear, therefore, that the horn of salvation is Jesus Christ Himself the Saviour, and his power, victory, and kingdom ; according to that saying of Hannah, i Sam. ii. 10, The Lord shall give strength unto His king and exalt the horn of His anointed. Tropologically, Bede says, •' The horn stretches beyond the flesh, and so the kingdom of Christ reaches beyond the world and the joys of the flesh ; according to which figure David and Solomon were consecrated kings by the horn of oil." And Origen explains Isa, v. i, a vineyard hath been planted in a horn (Vulgate, vinea facta est in cornu), as meaning the Church has been planted in Christ.

Ver. 70. — By tlie mouth of His holy prophets. All the pro- phets prophesied of Christ, e.g. Isa. xix. 20; Jerem. xxx. 10; Ezek, xiii. 21.

Ver. 71. — 7 hat we should be saved from our e/iemies. As God spake by the prophets, and promised salvation, i.e. the deliverance and salvation of Israel and the whole world from captivity to the devil, sin, death, and hell, so now hath He accomplished the same, by giving a horn of salvation, i.e. a strong Saviour, Jesus Christ. Observe that Zacharias here interprets the ancient prophecies of the kingdom and salvation of Christ, not in a temporal but in a spiritual sense, as is clear from verse 73 and the following.

Ver. 72. — To perform the mercy. As God promised Christ to our fathers, so now has He fulfilled His promises, and has shown Christ to their posterity, by Whom He will deliver also the fathers from limbus, and bless them, and bring them into heaven with Himself. Whence Theophylact says, " The grace of Christ reaches even to those who were dead ; for through him all will rise again : He also fulfilled the hope of the fathers ; " for as Theophlact says agam,

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" When the fathers see their sons enjoying such blessings, they rejoice and are partakers of their joy, in the same way as if the blessings had been bestowed upon themselves."

His Holy Covenant. — This covenant was made by God with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Gen. xii. 3, and xxvi. 4, and xxviii. 14 ; and it is this, i7i thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Jeremiah explains this blessing, ch. xxxi. 31.

Ver. 73. — The oath. This may be referred — i. To the word rememher. So Euthymus takes it. 2. It may be referred to the word jnercy. 3. It may, more properly, be referred to the word covenant ; so that the meaning is, God hath sent Christ, that He might show Himself mindful of the covenant, by which He promised Him to the fathers ; which covenant is that great oath which He sware to Abraham.

Or 4, you may refer the word oath more plainly and easily to the word perform in the preceding verse ; so that three reasons may be signified here on account of which God has raised up this horn of salvation — i. that He might perform His mercy; 2. that He might remember his covenant ; 3. that He might fulfil His own oath by which He swore to Abraham that He would multiply his spiritual seed, rather than his seed according to the flesh, as the stars of heaven, and that in his seed He would bless all nations. Gen. xxii. 16, antl Heb. vi. 13, 14. The Hebrews often leave words to be understood from those which precede or follow : so here the word oath is used for the performance and fulfibnent of the oath . for these words were spoken by Zacharias when he was exulting, and, as it were, absorbed in joy ; so that he has regard to and pours forth not so much words as things ; whence in his words he often falls into solecisms and other defects.

Ver. 74. — 2 hat we beitig delivered, &c. He explains the oath of God, i.e. the blessing which He promised to Abraham, and con- firmed with an oath, and shows that it consists in the salvation which Christ broui^ht, that being set free by His grace from our enemies, viz., from sin, the devil, and hell, to which we had been as it were enslaved, we may now serve God in holiness. This

HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS. 65

service is latria which is the worship due to God alone; for in the Greek it is "kar^iuitv.

Ver. 75. — In holiness and righteousness. This is the oath, or blessing of God sworn to Abraham, viz. the salvation and grace of Christ and of His Gospel, the excellence and perfection of which He beautifully describes in these words. For the first part of which it consists is liberty, that is deliverance from the slavery of sin and the devil. The second is service, that is the worship of the true and most high God. The third is love, not slavish fear ; for the Jews served God through fear of punishment, but Christians serve Him like sons with a free love, Rom. viii. 15. The fourth part is inward and true holiness and righteousness, not outward and placed in washings, sacrifices, and other ceremonies like the righteousness which the Jews had. The fifth part is expressed in the words before God, so that we, considering that we are always before the eyes of God, Who beholds the hearts of every one, may strive to show forth before Him a pure and holy heart, and to per- form all our works out of such, knowing that God looks into us and beholds the very bottom of our heart, and according to it will judge our works. The sixth part is, that we should perform these things, not on one day, month, or year, but all our days by per- severing in them even unto death.

Holiness has respect to God, and consists in the holy worship of God. Righteousness has respect to our neighbour, and consequently to oneself. Holiness, therefore, gives to God what is His due. Righteousness to men what is their due, so that each should give to each what is owing to him either from justice or charity, and con- sequently that a man should give to himself temperance, modesty and humility, by which he may conform himself aright to the rule of the law and of virtue, for this is what he ought to render to himself. By holiness and righteousness, therefore, every observance of virtue is signified that is prescribed in the decalogue; for holiness has respect to the precepts of the first table which pertain to God, righteousness to those of the second, Avhich concern our neighbour and our self. These therefore are the duties of the evangelical life to wiiich Christ

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calls us. This, therefore, is the vocation of the faithful, namely, //la^ denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present life, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, Tit. ii. 12, 13, so that we should imitate the holiness of God and of Christ, and Christ should seem to live, act, and speak in us ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeetn usfro?n all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Tit. ii. 14, according to that saying of S. Paul, / live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. Gal. ii. 20. Let each, therefore, contemplate the life and character of Christ, and in them let him behold as in a mirror his own, and he will see whether he is a true Christian or only a false painted one.

Ver, 76. — And thou, child. And thou John, though thou art only now eight days old, yet when thou art twenty-nine years old, thou wilt be a Prophet announcing and pointing out the Christ This is the second part of the song in which Zacharias passes from Christ to his son, and foretells that he will be the Prophet and Forerunner of Christ. S. Ambrose, Origen, Theophylact, and Titus say that the infant, inasmuch as he had been gifted with the use of reason in the womb of his mother, understood these words in which his father addressed him. Ambrose says, " He could hear the voice of his father who before he was born heard the salutation of Mary. He surely knew that there were certain organs of hearing in a prophet, which were unclosed by the Spirit of God, not by the growth of the body." Bede adds, " Unless perhaps Zacharias is to be supposed to have wished, as soon as he was able to speak, to declare rather for their instruction who were present, the future gifts of his son, which he had learnt long before from the angel."

For thou shall go before. As for kings when approaching, the roads are wont to be prepared, levelled and advanced, by removing stones, filth, and other impediments or eyesores, so thou, my son, wilt prepare a way for Christ the King, by removing whatever might be an offence to Him in the minds of the Jews, by exhorting them, by word and example, to repent and to receive Jesus as

JOHN THE FORERUNNER OF CHRIST. 67

the true Messiah sent by God, and to believe and obey Him, and so obtain from Him salvation and forgiveness of sins and the grace of God.

Ver. 77. — To give knowledge of salvation, &c. That the Jews may know that they ought to hope and seek for salvation from Christ the Saviour in, i.Q.for, the remission of sins, so that they may obtain it from Christ through faith in Him and baptism, for in this con- sists the salvation of Christ ; for sins are not remitted except through the salvation and grace of Christ. Whence Bede says, " As if desiring to explain the name of Jesus, he frequently makes mention of salvation ; but lest you should think it was a temporal and carnal salvation which was promised, he says, for the forgiveness of their sins."

Ver. 78. — Through the tender mercy, &c. Vulg., Viscera niiseri- cordice ; bowels of ?nercy : this expression signifies the most inward and greatest mercy of God.

The Day spring. Observe — i. That this Dayspring (Vulg., oriens) is in the Greek amroX;), i.e. rising, as of the sun, or shooting up as of a branch. The word is used especially of Christ; whence the Chaldean version renders it in Zechariah iii. 8 and vi. 12 by Messiah, i.e. Christ.

2. That Zechariah here alludes (i.) to the passage Mai. iv. 2. To you that fear my name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise (prietur) with healing in His wings; and to Wisd. v. 6, and to Isaiah Ix. i, and Num. xxiv. 17, There shall arise a star out of Jacob and a sceptre (Vulg., virga, a rod) shall spring forth out of Israel, viz. Christ, Who as a star or a sun will illuminate us, and will make us glad with all grace, and as a leader and sun will go before us on the way to heaven. (2.) Zacharias refers to Zech. iii. 8, Behold I will send forth my servant the Branch : Vulg., orientem, Greek avaro^jji/ ; and to Zech. vi. 12, Behold the man whose name is the Branch ; and to Isaiah iv. 2, In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious : where the Septuag. translates, In that day God shall shine forth in counsel with glory ; and Jerem. xxiii. 5, / will raise unto David a righteous Branch. In Zecli. iii. and vi., the Septuag.

68 S. LUKE, C. I.

renders Branch {oriens) by avaroXi], and S. Luke has taken the word (which is not found anywhere else) from those passages.

Observe, 3. That in Zech. iii. and iv., for ai-aroX^j the Hebrew is nJ^ik, whicli properly signifies a shoot, as S. Jerome teaches : whence the Sept. elsewhere renders it by ^XdarrnMU ; but the word is used to signify many other things by metaphor. This is clear from Ezek. xxix. 21, &c. ; and also from the Septuag., which renders the word in Zech. iii. and vi. (as I have said before) by amTokri, which, although it may be used generally of any springing up, even of herbs (according to Suidas), yet is properly used of the rising of the sun, moon, and stars.

I say therefore that Christ is called a Branch, but a Branch from the sun, I.e. a heavenly and divine Branch. This is clear (i.) because the word avuTokri properly has this meaning. (2.) Because of what follows, the Branch (or Day Spring) //w« on high, i.e. from God and heaven : and shifie on those who sit in darkness and the shadoiv of death ; all which expressions clearly refer, not to the shooting forth of an earthly branch, but of the sun or a star. So Theophilus, Euthymius, &c.

Observe, that Christ is called both a heavenly and an earthly Branch : for Christ has two generations ; a divine, by virtue of which He is the offspring of the Father; and a human, by virtue of which He is the offspring of His mother and of David. Thus He is spoken of by Isaiah, Zechariah, and others as a Branch, (i.) because He will shoot forth as a new Branch from the root of Jesse or David which seemed to have dried up ; a Branch I say, at first, shooting forth in heaven, and then transplanted on to the earth. (2.) By the word Branch is signified the littleness and lowliness of Christ at His birth, which afterwards increased to so great a size that the whole world was embraced by its shadow, according to the parable of the grain of mustard seed. (3.) Christ is signified (by the same expression Branch or Dayspring) as a second Melchisedec, without father as man ; i.e. as a shoot springing up from the earth alone, signifying that He was born of a virgin mother : but as God, without mother, because he was generated from the Father, like a beam from the sun

"THE DAYSPRING" AND "THE BRANCH." 69

Observe also, that to Christ are rightly attributed three qualities which belong both to the sun, and to a branch, because (i.) He arose in heaven with splendour and glory, and then shooting forth from heaven He sprang up on earth. For Christ is the Tree of Life transplanted to earth from the celestial paradise by the Incarnation, and thence again ascending to heaven and paradise, by the vision and fruition of Himself He bestows upon His Saints an eternity of the highest glory. S. Jerome on Zech, vi. 12, explaining the passage mystically, says, " He who is called Jesus because He saved the world, is also called the Dayspring {priens) because in His day righteousness arose : and He is celebrated in the words of the Psalm, Tj-iith shall flourish out of the earth, because being sprung from the womb of a virgin in the consum- mation of the ages. He said / a7ii the T?-uih" And again, " He who is crowned with our virtues will arise and will be called the Dayspring; to Whom the Father said, Thott art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee; according to that saying of Isaiah (xi. 1), Then shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a blossom shall grow up from his root."

But other Fathers rightly interpret the word oriens as signifying the sun rising from on high, namely heaven, by which they understand Christ Who is the Light of the world, and therefore was born on the earth, that by means of the flesh He might be as it were a transparent sun illuminating every man that comes to Him. So Bede, &c., and S. Gregory {Lib. 20 in Job, cap. 18), who says, " Because the light rises from the east. He is rightly called the Dayspring, by the light of Whose righteousness the night of our iniquity is illuminated."

In both ways, therefore, ought the word oriens to be understood here, as alluding both to the springing up of a shoot and to the rising of the sun : for Christ is a heavenly shoot, and He is likewise a sun shooting forth and springing from a Virgin on the earth, as I have already said.

Ver. 79. — To give light, &c. Greek l-i^avai, or with a different accent iT/tfcava/. If we read I'jrlcjiavai it will be the imperative

70 S. LUKE, C. I.

mood, so that the meaning will be, Arise, shine, O my son, like some new sun of the world (for Zacharias is addressing John), so that through faith in Christ thou mayest illuminate sinners who are sitting in the darkness of errors and sins, and restore them to the light of truth, righteousness, and salvation, and deliver them from the tyranny of the devil.

2. It is better to take i-xicpdivai as an infinitive ; so that the mean- ing will be, Christ has visited us like a sun from on high, to bring the light of true doctrine, grace, righteousness, and joy both to the fathers who were dead, and to sinners who are alive, who both were sitting in darkness and the shadow of death. For literally the fathers were sitting in the dark limbus of Hades, as it were in the shadow of death. And mystically, sinners were sitting in darkness, i.e. in dark errors, vices, and sins. S. Chrysostom and others by darkness understand errors, by the shadow of death sins ; it is better, though, to take each expression as applying to both; so that darkness means common errors and faults, and the shadow of death serious errors and wickedness.

To guide our feet into the way of peace. That is, that Christ by the light of His faith and grace may direct us into the way of righteousness ; for this is the way of peace ; for righteousness is the way and means to attain peace and tranquillity of mind ; both peace with God and men in this life, and beatific peace in heaven ; accord- ing to Isaiah xxxii. 17. And the work of righteousness shall be peace, . . . and my people shall dwell in the beauty of peace, and in sure dwellings; for by peace the Hebrews signify every blessing, and eternal felicity and beatitude itself. Hence Christ is called by Isaiah (ix. 6), The Prince of peace and the Father of the coming age ; and he adds, of peace there shall be 710 end.

Ver. 80. — And the child grew, &c. As John grew in body, so also he waxed strong in spirit, because the Holy Spirit from day to day filled him with greater wisdom, grace, and strength. Hence we conclude that the use of reason, which was bestowed upon John in the womb, continued after his nativity and increased. So Theo- phylact says, "The more the child grew, the more the powers of the

JOHN'S RETIREMENT INTO THE DESERT. 7 1

Spirit were manifested in him, being an organ capable of receiving them." And Titus says, "according to the proportion and increase of his age, he advanced in grace and spirit." The same is said ol the child Jesus, but after a different manner and sense.

And was in the deserts. Hence we conclude that John from a boy retired into the desert, and there remained till his thirtieth year, when he began to show himself to the people, and to preach repentance to them, and faith in Christ.

Baronius is of opinion that this retirement and flight of John into the desert took place through fear of the infanticide Herod ; for although John was not living in the coasts of Bethlehem, yet on account of the fame of his wonderful nativity the fear and anger of Herod extended to him ; for fearing that he was the king of the Jews, i.e. the Messiah, whom the Magi were asking for, he commanded him to be killed. Wherefore, that he might not be murdered by Herod, he was taken away by his mother when two years old into the desert ; and was hidden there in a cave. Cedrenus adds, that his mother died after forty days in the same cave, and that an angel undertook the charge of bringing up John. Peter Alexandrinus adds, that Herod commanded his father Zacharias to be killed between the temple and the altar, because he had removed his son out of the way.

The cause, therefore, of the retirement of John into the desert was the fear of Herod ; but there were besides other and greater causes both on the part of God and John. The first was that in the desert he might avoid the occasions of sinning which are supplied by associating with men. The second was that he might freely reprehend the vices of the Jews without fear of any one, inasmuch as he knew no one, but like an angel come down from heaven, preached heavenly truths. Theophylact says, " He de- parted that he might be brought up beyond the reach of the malice of the multitude, and might not be afraid of censuring any one. The third cause was, that as a future preacher of repentance he might himself first give a pattern of it by living severely in the desert ; for austerity of life gives great power to a preacher. The

72 S. LUKE, c. I.

fourth was that by conversing continually with God and the angels, he might lead an angelic life ; according to the words, Behold, I send My angel, and he shall prepare the way before Me, Mai. iii. i. For John, living apart from the world in the desert, had time for fasting, prayer, and contemplation; "that," as Origen says, "he might have leisure for prayer, and might hold converse with the angels, and call upon God, and hear Him answering and saying, ' Behold, here I am.'" The fifth was that he might be a witness to Christ above all exception ; for in the desert he could have been taught by no man, but only by God and the angels. Wherefore he was taught of God 6eodi'da7iTog. John therefore in the desert was an inhabitant of heaven, both because he had the heaven for a home and a roof, and because by continually contemplating heaven, he in mind dwelt in heaven, and emulated the life of those who dwell in heaven.

Gregory Nazianzen (in oral. 20 In praise of S. Basil) calls John the highest Philosopher ; " Basil," he says, " retired hence with us to Pontus, and ruled over the schools of piety which were in those parts, and with Elias and John, the greatest philosophers, embraces solitude." Elias of Crete, commenting on orat. i of S. Gregory, gives another reason for the solitary life of John ; " Since Christ and John were relations, therefore lest John might seem to bear witness to Christ because of his relationship to Him, it was brought about by the grace of the Holy Si)irit that he should lead a solitary life during the whole period of his early years, that he might not seem to give this testimony (to Christ) through friend- ship or through some kind of artifice, but that he might announce the very fact as if he had learnt it from God ; and therefore he said : I knew Him not ; but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, ' Upon Whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending like a dove, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.'"

Symbolically, Nicetas {in orat. 38 ofi S. Greg. Nazianzen), says, " John is a figure of those who are sanctified from childhood, and by going onwards to the end preserve a most pious and constant

SPIRITUAL DELIGHTS AND FRUITS OF SOLITUDE. 73

habit of virtue. For when as yet he was in his mother's womb, he recognised his Lord, and leapt with great joy."

Lastly, the same S. Gregory Nazianzen, following the example of S. John, retired with S. Basil into solitude, the spiritual delights and fruits of which he thus describes {prat, i) : — "Nothing seemed to me so much to be desired by any one as that a man should lead a life superior to those things which we behold with our bodily eyes, with closed senses placed where he is free from the desires of the flesh and the world, and, except as far as necessity requires, coming into contact with no human things, and holding converse with himself and with God. Such a man ever bears about in himself visions of Divine purity, unmingled with any earthly and delusive forms ; and he is altogether a pure mirror of the things of God and of Divine things, and receives light by means of light (that is to say, a clearer light by means of that which is less clear), and already in hope beholds the blessedness of the future life, and holds converse with the angels, and though still on earth he leaves earth behind, and is placed on high by the Spirit." Wherefore the Fathers speak everywhere of John as a prince of the monastic life, of which Christ was the Leader ; as I have shewn, S. Matt. iv. i.

( 74 )

CHAPTER II.

I Augustus taxetn all the Roman empire. 6 The nativity of Christ: 8 one angd relate! h it to the shepherds : 13 7nany sing praises to God for it. 21 Christ is circumcised : 22 Mary fiirified. 28 Simeofi and Anna prophesy of Christ : 40 who iiicreaseth in wisdom, 46 qttestioneth in the temple with the doctors, 5 1 and is obedient to his pai ents.

AND it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

2 [And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city,

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into ludsen, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem ; (because lie was of the house and lineage of David :)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with cliild.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped liim in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger ; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them : and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not : for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you ; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger,

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying wliich was told them concerning this child

THE HOLY GOSPEL OF S. LUKE. 75

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in lier heart,

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord ;

23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeih the womb shall be called holy to the Lord ;)

24 And to oflfer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon ; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for tlie consolation of Israel : and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the I/Ord's Christ.

27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple : and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word :

30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people ;

32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother. Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel ; and for a sign which shall be spoken against ;

35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

36 And there was one Anna a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser : she was of great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity ;

37 And she tvas a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jeiusalem.

39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom : and the grace of God was upon him.

41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.

42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusnlem ; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.

76 S. LUKE, C. II.

44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey ; and ihey sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.

46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, Bitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

48 And when they saw him, they were amazed : and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

49 And he said unto them. How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them : but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Ver. I. — And it came to pass in those days (in which John the Baptist was born) there went forth a decree, &c. The Syriac for " all the world," has "all the people of his dominion," subject, that is, to Augustus and the Romans. For we have the authority of Suetonius that Augustus did not rule over the Goths, the Armenians, or the Indians. This enrolment was made, both that the number of men under the sway of Augustus might be known, and also with a view to collecting the tribute to be taken to the Roman treasury, exhausted by so many wars ; for each person gave in an account of his income. It is probable that the Jews gave what they otherwise gave in taxes according to their law, half a shekel apiece, that is two reals. Exod. xxx. 11-16; Matt. xxii. 19.

Frotn CcBsar. The true name of this Csesar was Octavius or Octavian, the sister's son of Julius. He being the first Monarch of Rome, extended the glory of the empire and added to it in a won- derful degree j hence he received the surname of Augustus in the eighteenth year of his reign (from which date Censorinus reckons the years of Augustus, and calls them the Augustian or Augustaean years) as though he were some divinity come down from heaven. For he reigned in the greatest peace, plenty, splendour, and felicity for fifty- seven years. Hence the proverb, " Happier than Augustus, better than Trajan." This census was taken by Augustus when he had

CHRIST BORN IN A TIME OF PEACK. y"]

tlie whole world in a state of peace, and had therefore closed the temple of Janus for the third time, in the fortieth year of his reign. And all this happened under the guidance of God, that He might signify that Christ was now born, who was to bring peace to all the world. So Bede, " A lover of peace, He would be born in a time of the most profound quiet. And there could be no plainer indication of peace than that a census should be taken of the whole world, whose master Augustus was, having reigned at the time of Christ's nativity for some twelve years in the greatest peace, war being lulled to sleep throughout all the world." Wherefore the Virgin Mother of God appeared to Augustus in the Capitol bearing the Infant in her arms, Augustus himself having already learned from the Oracle of .Apollo that a Hebrew child was born who had imposed silence upon the Oracles of Idols, and having erected an altar in the Capitol with the title, " The Altar of the Firstborn of God." Hence Constantine the Great built on that spot a temple to the memory of Mary, Mother of God, which exists to this day, and is commonly called the "Ara Coeli." There too the place is shown where Augustus saw the vision. So Baronius, following Suidas, Nicephorus, and others, in the materials of his "Annals." Moreover, in the same reign there flowed out of the earth, in the shop of a certain deserving man, at Rome, a plentiful fountain of oil, which lasted the whole day; and the spot is still shown in the Church of St. Maria in Trastevere. " By this sign," says Osorius, book vi. ch. 20, "what more plainly declared than the birth of Christ in the reign of Caesar Augustus ? " " For * Christ ' being interpreted is ' The Anointed ' " — because He hath anointed us, and doth anoint us with the oil of grace and of gladness through all the days of our mortal life. The question arises. In what year of Augustus was Christ born ? The opinions of the learned and of chronologists differ on this point. The first opinion is that Christ was born in the 41st Julian year, the 40th of the reign of Augustus, the 36th of Herod, that is, A.U.C. 749, the fourth year of Olympiad 193. The Julian years date from that in which Julius Caesar reformed the calendar, the last year but one of his life. This opinion agrees

78 S. LUKE, C. II.

very well with Sacred and Profane histories. The only objection to it is that in S. Luke iii. i and 23. It is said of Christ that when He was baptized He "was beginning to be about thirty years old," while according to this view He must have been thirty- two, or nearly as much, for Augustus reigned fifty-seven years. The answer given to this is that Christ is called about thirty years, because He was thirty-two. In the same way S. Augustine is said in the old Breviaries to have been baptized in his thirtieth year, when he really was thirty-three, as the lately corrected Breviaries have it.

The second opinion is that Christ was born in the 41st year of Augustus, A.U.C 750. So think Sulpicius Severus and S. Jerome; Irenaeus and TertuUian also are inclined to this opinion.

The third places the date in the 42nd year of Augustus, A.U.C. 751. So Clement of Alexandria and Cassiodonus among the ancients, Scaliger and the Martyrologium Romanum for the 25th December among the moderns. I have accordingly taken this date in the Chronological Chart which I have prefixed to the Pentateuch.

The fourth is the 43d of Augustus, A.U.C 752. So S. Epiphanius, Eusebius, Nicephorus, and others. Francis Suarez, Maldonatus, and others incline to this opinion.

The fifth makes it the 44th of Augustus, A.U.C. 753. So Joannes Lucidus, and Dionysius Exiguus with their followers.

The sixth is the 45th of Augustus, A.U.C. 754. So Paul of Middlesburgh, Bishop of Sempronia, Peter of Aliacum, Bellarmine, and Bede ; and very recently, but with great exactitude, our own Petavius, in the "Rationarium Temporum."

All these opinions have their probabilities and also their difficulties. In a matter of so much doubt there can be no certainty of definition. With the first the early Annals in Epiphanius expressly agree, the old Chronicle in Eusebius, and an anonymous chronologist writing 1400 years ago. In its favour there is also, first, that in that year the temple of Janus was shut, and there was the greatest peace in the world, as I have said. Secondly, that Herod in the 37th year

THE YEAR OF CHRIST'S BIRTH. 79

of his reign {the 41st of Augustus), and a little before his death, ordered the children under two years to be slain, Matt. ii. Christ must, therefore, have then been in His second year. This argument is strong, and can scarcely be solved except by torturing the expression "a bimatu" [Greek a'^h S/jroDg]. Thirdly, Christ must have been born in a leap year, as is clear if we count back from the present to the birth of Christ, for every hundredth year is a leap year. But the 4olh year of Augustus was a leap year, and the 41st and 42d were not. For the first year of the Julian Era was a leap year, as Macrobius, Censorinus and others tell us, and therefore the tenth leap year of the Era must have been the year 41 — or the 40th year of Augustus. Besides which, it is clear from Josephus, Dion, Hegesippus, and others, that Herod ruled altogether thirty-seven years, and died in the year 43 of the Julian Era, before the Passover. Therefore Christ could not have been born under him in that or any following year in the end of the year — namely, in December.

Lastly, this was the year in which Augustus introduced to the Forum, with great pomp, his grandson Caius Cassar, — the son of his daughter Julia and his son-in-law Marcus Agrippa — he, on that occasion, laying aside the '* toga praetexta," and putting on the " virilis " — according to the Roman custom. For Caius was born A.U.C. 734, in the consulship of M. Apuleius and P. Silius — as Lipsius shows from Dio, from the stone of Ancyra, and from other documents. Therefore A.U.C. 749 must have been that in which he assumed the " toga virilis " — he then entering on his sixteenth year.

In this same year it was that God the Father introduced to the world His Son Jesus Christ, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, that through Him He might adopt as sons all that believed in Him, and make them heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven.

From this view likewise we may easily understand why Christ did not come to Jerusalem before the twelfth year of His age ; namely, because Archelaus, the son of Herod, reigned there until that year, and he, like his father, was a source of danger to Christ. Archelaus reigned ten years, add to these the two last years of Herod and

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we have the twelve years, after which Archelaus was driven into exile, and then Christ freely and without fear went to the Temple at Jerusalem.

Ver. 2. — And this faxing was first made zvhen Cyrenius was governor of Syria. First, that is general, — throughout all the world, which had now been lulled into peace under Augustus and the Romans ; for there was a particular census taken in several pro- vinces prior to this general one. So Paulus Orosius, Bede, Mal- donatus, Jansenius, Toletus, Franciscus Lucas and others. First, again, because a second was taken ten years after, when Cyrenius was sent to Syria to superintend it, for the purpose of confiscating the property of Archelaus who was then exiled ; — see Josephus, Antiq. bk. xviii., ch. i. Tertullian, "against Marcion " bk. iv., ch. 7, 19, and 36, says that this first enrolment was made under Sentius Saturninus, who was sent expressly for the purpose by Augustus at the time when Cyrenius was governor of Syria in all things, — and, consequently, with respect to this census as well. Or, according to others, Cyrenius began the census, and, being called away to a war against the Homonadians — over whom he shortly after triumphed — left it to Saturninus to finish.

Hence it follows that this enrolment and census was not a lustral or quinquennial, but a new and universal one ; the second and most celebrated of the three made by Augustus, in the Consulship of Censorinus and Asinius, as the stone of Ancyra, Suetonius, and Josephus, Antiq. xvii., ch. 3, have it. The first census was that which Augustus took twenty years before in his sixth consulate and the seventeenth year of his reign, M. Agrippa his son-in-law being his colleague, while the third was twenty years after, in the last year of his reign and his life, with Tiberius, who had married Julia at the death of Agrii)pa, his mother Livia having married Augustus.

The time occupied in making one of these enrolments was five years.

Cyrenius. This was P. Sulpitius Qiiirinus, Cyrinus, or Cyrinius whom Augustus had appointed tutor to Caius Caesar when he went

THE ENROLMENT AT BETHLEHEM. 8 1

to Syria, and whom he ordered to remain as governor when Caius died there, as Velleius the companion of Caius, Suetonius, Florus, Dio, and others record.

Ver. 3. — And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. To the cities from which their respective families toolc their origin ; as the house of David, of which Joseph and Christ were born, took theirs from Bethlehem ; David having been born and brought up in Bethlehem. The Jews had divided their nation into twelve tribes and these again into different families, and so the Romans, in taking the census among them, followed this division.

Indeed all this was taking place under the direction of God, that it might be clear to the whole world that Christ, then newly born in Bethlehem, was of the tribe of Judah and the house of David, and that He was the Messiah, as the Prophets had foretold.

To be taxed.— The Greek dToy^d^asdai means both to be enrolled and to tnake a declaration. Each one was enrolled, and made a declaration of allegiance to him who enrolled him, namely : to Cyrenius, as the vicegerent of Augustus. For at Rome all as to whose loyalty towards Augustus and the Senate there was no doubt, were enrolled as citizens and subjects, but elsewhere they were said to make a declaration of allegiance, as being foreigners subdued by the Roman arms. Orosius, book vi., last chapter, infers from this enrolment that Christ was a Roman citizen, that He might, as it were, tacitly signify that all Christians must be subjects to the Roman Pontiff and Church.

Symbolically, by this enrolment is signified the coming of Christ to free us from the servitude of the devil, and subdue all the world to His faith and worship, not by force of arms, but by the efficacy of His grace; and for this cause it was that Augustus at that time refused the title of "Lord," as Orosius and others testily.

Again, S. Gregory, Homily viii. in Evang., says, "Why is it that a census of all the world is taken when the Lord is about to be born, except that it is by this means clearly shown that He was appearing

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in the flesh who should enrol His elect in eternity? For, on the other hand, it is said of the reprobate by the Prophet, Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the Just." So too Origen : " To one who regards the matter attentively it seems to present a kind of mystery, as though, in the enrolment of the whole world, it behoved Christ too to be enrolled, that being enrolled with all other men He might sanctify all, and that having entered in the census with all the world, He might grant to the world something in common with Himself."

Hence it appears that Christ was enrolled not immediately after His birth, but eight days after His circumcision ; for at His circumcision the name of Jesus was given Him, and, in the presence of the inhabitants of Bethlehem, who were of the house of David, entered on the public tablets which Cyrenius forwarded to Augustus, to wit that Jesus the Son of Mary was born in Bethlehem, of the lineage of David. So Justin " Apol. ii., ad Antoni- num Pium," Origen, and others.

Ver. 6. — And so it was that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. Here the prophecy of Micah, V. 2, that Christ should be born in Bethlehem, was ful- filled.

Went up — from Nazareth, where, at the annunciation of the angel, the Blessed Virgin had conceived Christ. Hence Christ was called by the Jews a Galilean and a Nazarene.

To Bethlehem, which was beyond Jerusalem, and two hours journey from it ; so that from Nazareth to Bethlehem was a journey of three days or more, and the Blessed Virgin, though near her delivery, accomplished it, as many piously suppose, on foot. S. Bernard, in his sermon on the words " A great sign appeared in heaven " of the Apocalypse, says, " She went up to Betlilehem, her delivery being now at hand, bearing that most precious trust, bearing a light burden, bearing Him by whom she was borne. . . . She alone conceived without defilement, carried without trouble, and brought forth her Son without pain." S. Gregory, Hom. in Evang., says, "And well is He born in Bethlehem. For Bethlehem means

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'The House of Bread.' And He it is who says, *I am the Living Bread that came down from Heaven.' "

Her days were accomplished. She brought forth, not under the influence of the fatigue of the journey, but naturally.

Observe that Christ was born a little after the winter solstice, when the days begin to increase, John the Baptist a little after the summer solstice, when the days begin to decrease. For, as John himself said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." So S. Augustine remarks.

Ver. 7. — And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Htm in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for Him in the inn. She brought Him forth naturally like other mothers, and was, therefore, truly and naturally the mother of Christ, and therefore of God, for Christ is God. More- over the Blessed Virgin was more the parent of Christ than other mothers are of their children ; for from her Christ received all His substance, and other sons receive it not only from their mother and but also from their father. Hence the love between Christ His mother was far greater than that between other mothers and their offspring, for the love which is divided between mother and father was, in the case of the Virgin, united and kept together, since she was to Him in place of both mother and father. Secondly, as she conceived so she brought forth, remaining a virgin, so that Christ was born while the womb of his mother was closed, and penetrated as the rays of the sun penetrate glass.

Thirdly, the Blessed Virgin, as she conceived without con- cupiscence, so also brought forth without pain, or any of the concomitants of ordinary childbirth. So say the Fathers every- where.

So the Blessed Virgin was all vigorous and in good health, absorbed in the love and contemplation of her Son, each moment expecting His birth, and longing to see and embrace Him.

And she herself on a certain anniversary of the Nativity made a revelation to S. Bridget, as the latter tells us in book vi. ch, 88

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of her Revelations, saying, "When He was born of me He went forth from my closed virgin womb with unspeakable joy and exultation. ... I brought Him forth as thou hast now seen me, kneeling alone in prayer in the stable. For, with such exultation and gladness of soul did I bear Him that I felt no trouble nor any pain ; but straightway T wrapped Him in the clean clothing which I had prepared long before. And when Joseph saw these things, he marvelled with great joy and gladness that I had brought forth without assistance." And in the "Angelic Discourse," ch. XV. — "God Himself bent low His majesty, and, descending into the womb of the Virgin . . . formed in purest fashion from the flesh and blood of the Virgin alone His Human Body. And therefore is that most chosen Mother fitly likened to the burning bush which Moses saw, that took no hurt. . . . Moreover as, when the Son of God was conceived, He entered throughout the whole body of the Virgin with His Divinity, so, when he was born with His Humanity and His Godhead, He was poured forth throughout her body, like all its sweetness shed whole from the bosom of the rose, the glory of maidenhood remaining entire in His Mother."

There is a question as to what place was the first to receive Christ at His birth. Barradius thinks it was the ground, that Christ might teach us humility. Others think that Christ was received into the arms of His Mother, with exceeding joy, — for this would seem to be becoming for such a mother and such a son, and would be natural, and is gathered from what Luke immediately adds, "and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes." Taking Him in her hands she adored Him, kneeling, and then kissed Him most sweetly, and wrapped Him in the clothes and bands. Suarez thinks that Christ, as soon as He was born, was laid by angels in the arms of His most holy and loving Mother; S. Gregory of Nyssa implies the same. This would be the place most becoming to Him, and most consonant to the wishes both of Son and Mother; and from thence she placed Him in the manger.

S. Bridget, Revel bk. viii. ch. 47, implies that, at His birth,

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Christ came of His own accord into the hands of His sweet Virgin Mother,