A Do you see who stands at the altar, and with what eyes one must look within—eyes pure, guileless, generous, and loving toward the poor?
2. What then says the evangelist Luke? For it is good to take up the whole matter: "And there appeared unto him, he says, an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. And the angel said unto him: Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and behold Elisabet thy kinswoman shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth." B While the angel is speaking these things, Zacharias, seized by dread and the fear of God, answered the angel, saying: "You bid me serve without fear, and you say to me: Fear not, Zacharias; yet how can this thing be? That which I have never seen, I now behold for the first time: a speaking fire, an incorporeal man, a figure traced in light, an uncompounded appearance, a form resembling a cloud, an airy, winged runner. You emit a voice breaking forth amidst the sacrifices, you strike terror, and your words are fiery and your promises hard to believe. Elisabet shall conceive, and I shall be declared a father? When death is near, is the child born? When I am a grandfather in age, is it to be hoped that I shall become a father? There is no way of begetting; the generative vessels are dead, nature now sleeps, nor can it be roused to desire; it has arrived at the forgetfulness of itself. I am bowed toward the earth by old age, and already Elisabet has provided herself with a staff. Once the dry rod of Aaron blossomed, C but not many times. By what sign shall I know this?" But the angel said to him: "Why do you trifle, Zacharias? You hold the priesthood and yet you doubt? Was not Abraham one hundred years old, and was not Sarah’s womb dead? And was the fruit of them therefore withheld? If you had no examples, you might rightly doubt; but if you trace your origin from them, why do you not consider what concerns them? The Gentile Abraham believed, and do you, a priest, hesitate? He was anointed without incense, and you were fumigated at the altar? He rejoiced upon receiving his heir, and do you count the forerunner John as nothing? He himself shall deliver you from condemnation, he himself shall rescue you from the curse; he himself carries the key of your tongue; he himself shall turn many unto the Lord; he himself shall go before in the power of the prophet Elijah, D not riding in a fiery chariot, but preparing the Jordanic bath for the many stains of sins. Wherefore I was commanded to say to you: 'Thy prayer is heard'; because the time long foretold by the prophets has arrived, and is now fulfilled: 'The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.' Not an angel, not a deputy, but the Lord himself shall come and save us. Therefore, Zacharias, you shall be silent, receiving, in the time of your disputing, the just punishment; but I now depart from one place to another, and am about to meet the Virgin,
moving from the angelic company to the apostolic ministry. These things, beloved, have been briefly prefaced by me for your guidance, in anticipation of the instance of Zacharias's unbelief that has been taken up.
3. Now, some things require our further inquiry. What are these? Those things which were announced by Gabriel, and believed by the Virgin, and advanced by the Holy Spirit, and treasured by the Lord, and sealed by the Father, and guarded by the pious. You heard just now the evangelist Luke saying: "In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent into a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph" [Luke 1:26, 27]. O espousals contracted with one, yet pledged to another! O espousals that bring forth joy and settle perturbation! You heard just now the evangelist Luke speaking thus: "The angel entered the house, saluted the Virgin, and said: 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.' And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered within herself what manner of salutation this could be" [Luke 1:28, 29]. Do you see the angel's salutation stirring up trouble? And not only trouble, but also cogitations; nay, even doubt, and the like. For the silent entry of the angel, his unaccustomed countenance, the strangeness of the colloquy, the magnitude of the promise, and the hearing of an unexpected voice, cast the Virgin into fear—she who, by the thought of a temperate mind, had cast away every evil thought. Wherefore she was troubled, and, being troubled, remained unperturbed. What is this, "Being troubled, she remained unperturbed"? Listen carefully. When the angel Gabriel, fulfilling the ministry of his mission, came to the virginal bedchamber with no stir of feet—for indeed the Virgin was alone in the house of her betrothed—you all know how a virgin blushes at the beginning of the marriage covenant, with downcast countenance, speaking in a low voice, showing no gesture, and exhibiting every care for temperance. When the angel saw her thus disposed, he said to her: "Fear not, Mary, although thou hast been anxious, and as a virgin, hast been careful for thy temperance, lest thy betrothed should rush in and offer violence to thy modesty. I would have thee know this, O Virgin: thou shalt have no congress with thy betrothed Joseph. Another matter awaits thee, divine, sovereign, ineffable, inexplicable, which cannot be recounted in speech. Thou art to be the habitation of the Lord; thou shalt be proclaimed a mother, devoid of the bridal bed; thou art to receive the Lord of heaven and earth, bearing an incorrupt fetus. 'Fear not, Mary'; strengthen thy thought, embolden thy soul, strengthen thy heart. Do not imitate Zacharias: do not doubt, as he did, thou who art the glory of women: thou the exultation of the Israelite people: thou the ornament of the nations, thou the root of joy, thou the plantation of blessing. Thou hast found grace before God above all virgins. And behold, thou shalt conceive a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He...