Luke 1

Luke 1:1

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Expos. Ev. Luc. l. i. c. i.) For as many among the Jewish people prophesied by inspiration of the Spirit of God, but others were false prophets rather than prophets, so now also have many attempted to write Gospels which the good moneychanger refuses to pass. One gospel is mentioned which the twelve Apostles are said to have written; another Basilides presumed to write; and another is said to have been by Matthias.

Now they who have attempted to set forth these things in order have laboured by themselves, and have not succeeded in what they attempted. For without the assistance of man come the gifts and the grace of God, which, when it is infused, is wont so to flow, that the genius of the writer is not exhausted, but ever abounding. He well says therefore, Of things which have been fully accomplished among us, or which abound among us. For that which abounds is lacking to none, and no one doubts about that which is fulfilled, since the accomplishment builds up our faith, and the end manifests it.

This expression is used, not that we should suppose the ministry of the word to consist rather in seeing than hearing, but that, because by the word was meant not a word that can be spoken by the mouth, but one of real existence, we may understand that to have been not a common, but a Heavenly Word, to which the Apostles ministered.

Now not only did they see the Lord in the body, but also in the Word. For they saw the Word, who with Moses and Elias saw the glory of the Word. Others did not see it, who could only see the body. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Photius, comment. in Luc.) The whole Preface of this Evangelist contains two things; first, the condition of those who wrote Gospels before him, (Matthew and Mark for example;) secondly, the reason why he also himself proposed to write one. Having said, “attempted,” a word which may be applied both to those who presumptuously engage upon a subject, and those who reverently handle it, he determines the doubtful expression by two additions; first, by the words, Of things which have been fully accomplished among us; and secondly, As they handed them down to us, who were eyewitnesses from the beginning. The word handed down seems to show, that the eye-witnesses themselves had a commission to transmit the truth. For as they handed it down, so it became others also receiving it in due order, in their turn to publish it. But from the not depositing in writing what had been delivered, several difficulties through lapse of time sprang up. Rightly then did those who had received the tradition from the first eye-witnesses of the Word, establish it in writing for the whole world; thereby repelling falsehood, destroying forgetfulness, and making up from tradition itself a perfect whole. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (in proœm. Lucæ.) The many who are mentioned, he reckons not so much by their number, as by the variety of their manifold heresies; men who were not endued with the gift of the Holy Spirit, but engaging in a vain work, have rather set forth in order a relation of events, than woven a true history. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: Prologue. Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely from the beginning, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. This most clear prologue indicates that the chief reason for writing his Gospel was to prevent false evangelists from having the opportunity to preach falsely, who, as their memorials even today testify, tried to introduce sects under the name of the apostles. Indeed, some ascribed their writings falsely to Thomas, others to Bartholomew, some to Matthias, and even some under the title of the twelve apostles. But also Basilides and Apelles, one of whom taught of 365 heavens, the other of two opposing gods among other vile doctrines, have left Gospels defiled with their errors under their own names. Among these is to be noted what is called the Gospel according to the Hebrews, which should not be counted among the apocryphal but rather ecclesiastical histories. For Jerome, the interpreter of the sacred Scriptures himself, used many testimonies from it, and he translated it into Latin and Greek. False Gospels, however, Luke refuted with his very first preface. “Since many,” he says, “have undertaken to compile a narrative.” He counted many, not so much by numbers but by the varied diversity of heresy, who not endowed with the gift of the Holy Spirit but rather with empty labor more so attempted to arrange a narrative than to weave the truth of history, and therefore left others to complete the work in which they wasted their efforts in vain. They, indeed, who, although there are four of them, did not publish four Gospels but one consonant with the most beautiful variety of four. — On the Gospel of Luke

Eusebius of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Eccl. Hist. iii. 4.) St. Luke at the commencement of his Gospel has told us the reason of his writing, which was, that many others had rashly taken upon themselves to give accounts of those things of which he had a more certain knowledge. And this is his meaning when he says, Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of things. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Hom. i. in Luc.) The effect upon his own mind, St. Luke explains by the expression, of the things which have been fully accomplished among us, i. e. have had their full manifestation among us, (as the Greek word peplerophoremenon signifies, which the Latin cannot express in one word,) for he had been convinced of them by sure faith and reason, and wavered not in any thing. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: Just as of old among the people of the Jews many laid claim to prophecy, and some were false prophets — of whom one was Hananiah, the son of Azor —, while others were true prophets, and there was in the people the grace of discerning spirits, by which some were received among the prophets, while a few were rejected as though by “the most experienced money-changers”, so also now, in the new covenant, “many have attempted” to write gospels, but not all have been received. And that you may know that not only four gospels, but very many, have been composed, out of which these that we have were chosen and handed down to the churches, let us learn from the very preface of Luke, which runs thus: “Forasmuch as many have attempted to set in order a narrative”. In this that he says, “they have attempted”, there lies a hidden accusation of those who, without the grace of the Holy Spirit, leapt forward to write gospels. For Matthew and Mark and John and Luke did not “attempt” to write, but, filled with the Holy Spirit, they wrote the gospels. “Many” therefore “have attempted to set in order a narrative concerning those things which have been most clearly known among us”. The Church has four gospels, heresy has very many, of which one is written according to the Egyptians, another according to the Twelve Apostles. Basilides too dared to write a gospel and to entitle it with his own name. “Many have attempted” to write, but only four gospels are approved, from which the doctrines concerning the person of our Lord and Savior are to be brought forth. I know a certain gospel which is called “according to Thomas”, and one “according to Matthias”; and we have read many others too, lest we should seem to be ignorant of anything on account of those who think they know something if they have come to know these things. But in all these we approve nothing else except what the Church does, namely that only four gospels are to be received. This is so, because at the beginning it was read: “many have attempted to set in order a narrative concerning those things which have been confirmed among us”. Those men tried and “attempted” to write concerning those things which have been most clearly ascertained by us. Luke indicates his own disposition by the words in which he says: “have been most clearly shown among us”, that is “πεπληροφορημένων” (fully assured), which the Latin tongue does not render in a single word. For with sure faith and reason he had come to know them, and he wavered in nothing as to whether it was so or otherwise. But this befalls those who have believed most faithfully and have obtained that which the prophet implores, and who say: “confirm me in your words”. Whence the Apostle also says of those who were firm and strong: “that you may be rooted and grounded in faith”. For if anyone is rooted and grounded in faith, though a storm arise, though the winds blow, though the rain pour down, he shall not be torn away, he shall not fall, because the building has been founded with solid mass “upon the rock”. And let us not think that the firmness of faith, which mind and reason bestow, is given by these carnal eyes. Let all the unbelieving believe in signs and portents which the human eye beholds. But let the faithful and prudent and strong man follow reason and the word, and thus judge what is true and what is false. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 1

Sophronius of Jerusalem: Luke, a physician of Antioch, was not unacquainted with Greek culture, as is shown by his writings. He was a companion of the Apostle Paul and followed him in all his journeys to foreign lands. Luke wrote the Gospel to which Paul himself refers when he says, “And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the Gospel throughout all the churches” (II Cor. 8:18). And in his letter to the Colossians he says, “Luke, the beloved physician, greets you” (Col. 4:14). And to Timothy he says, “Only Luke is with me” (II Tim. 4:11).

Luke wrote another excellent book entitled The Acts of the Apostles, a history which ends with Paul’s two-year stay in Rome, that is, in the fourth year of Nero’s reign. This leads us to believe that The Acts of the Apostles was written in Rome. The tale of the journey of Paul and Thecla, and every other fable, such as the baptism of the lion, should not be counted among the canonical Scriptures. For it is not possible that he who was inseparable from the Apostle should not have known of this act among all his other acts. Tertullian also mentions a certain elder in Asia at that time, a companion of the Apostle Paul, who, when it was proven in the presence of John that he was the author of this book, confessed that he had written it out of love for Paul. Some say that this is why Luke does not mention himself as the author. Whenever Paul says in his own Epistles, “according to my Gospel” (Rom. 2:16, etc.), it is clear that he means the Gospel written by Luke. But Luke learned the Gospel not only from the Apostle Paul, who was not with the Lord in the body at that time, but from the other Apostles as well. He himself clearly states this at the beginning of his work, saying, even as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses. Therefore he wrote the Gospel as he had heard it. But he wrote The Acts based on what he himself had experienced. Luke’s relics were taken up and carried to Constantinople, together with the relics of the Apostle Andrew, in the twentieth year of the reign of Constantius. — The Lives of the Four Evangelists

Tertullian: Of no man, I am quite sure, were they [the apostles] afraid, — neither of Jews nor of Gentiles in their violence; with all the greater freedom, then, would they certainly preach in the church, who held not their tongue in synagogues and public places. Indeed they would have found it impossible either to convert Jews or to bring in Gentiles, unless they “set forth in order” [Luke 1:1] that which they would have them believe. — Prescription against Heretics, Chapter 26

Tertullian: Indeed they would have found it impossible either to convert Jews or to bring in Gentiles, unless they “set forth in order” that which they would have them believe. — The Prescription Against Heretics

Titus of Bostra ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (in proœm. Lucæ.) He says, of things, because not by shadows, as the heretics say, did Jesus accomplish His advent in the flesh, but being as He was the Truth, so in very truth He performed His work. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:2

Ambrose of Milan: This expression does not fit, so that we may believe it to be more of a ministry of the word seen than heard. But because it signifies not a proleptic verb, but a substantial Verb that was made flesh and dwelt among us, let us understand not a common word, but that heavenly one to which the Apostles ministered. And yet it is read in Exodus, because the people saw the voice of the Lord (Exod. XX, 18): and surely the voice is not seen but heard. For what is a voice, if not a sound that is not seen by the eyes, but perceived by the ears? Indeed, Moses wanted to declare with his highest genius that the voice appears to be of God; it appears to the inner eye of the mind; but in the Gospel, it is not the voice, but that which is more excellent than the voice, it is the Word that appears. And so the holy Evangelist John says: That which was, he says, from the beginning, what we have heard, and what we have seen with our eyes, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life: and the life appeared, and we saw, and we bear witness, and we announce to you the life which was with the Father, and appeared to us (1 John 1:1-2). Therefore, you see that the Word of God was both seen by the apostles and heard. For they not only saw the Lord according to the body, but also according to the Word; for they saw the Word, who, along with Moses and Elijah, saw the glory of the Word. For these people saw Jesus, who saw Him in His glory; others did not see Him, who could only see His body; for Jesus is not seen with bodily eyes, but with spiritual eyes. — Commentary on Luke

Athanasius of Alexandria: What the apostles received, they passed on without change, so that the doctrine of the mysteries (the sacraments) and Christ would remain correct. The divine Word—the Son of God—wants us to be their disciples. It is appropriate for them to be our teachers, and it is necessary for us to submit to their teaching alone. Only from them and from those who have faithfully taught their doctrine do we get, as Paul writes, “faithful words, worthy of complete acceptance.” With them we are back to ground level, because they did not become disciples as a result of what they heard from others. Rather, they were eyewitnesses and servants of God the Word, and they handed down what they heard directly from him. — Letter 2, Section 7

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Nevertheless both Matthew and John were obliged in many things that they wrote to consult those who had had means of knowing the infancy, childhood, and genealogy of our Lord, and of seeing the things which he did. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: They published as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered to them. By this sentence, not only Luke and Mark, who did not see the Lord present in the flesh and therefore had to learn by hearing what they wrote, but Matthew and John the apostles also are designated. For they too, in many things which they wrote, needed to hear from those who could know his infancy, childhood, and genealogy and participate in the acts. — On the Gospel of Luke

Cyril of Alexandria: In saying that the Apostles were eyewitnesses of the substantial and living Word, the Evangelist agrees with John, who says, that “the Word was made flesh, and tabernacled in us, and His glory was seen, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father.” For the Word became capable of being seen by reason of the flesh, which is visible and tangible and solid: whereas in Himself He is invisible. And John again in his Epistle says, “That which was from the beginning, That which we have heard, That which we have seen with our eyes, and our hands have handled around the Word of Life, and the Life became manifest.” Hearest thou not that he speaks of the Life as capable of being handled? This he does that thou mayest understand that the Son became man, and was visible in respect of the flesh, but invisible as regards His divinity. — COMMENTARY OF S. CYRIL, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA, UPON THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE, Verse 2

Cyril of Alexandria: They “who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word” did not hand on to us that he was one Son and another, as I said, but one and the same, God and man at the same time, the only-begotten and the firstborn. This came about in order that he might have the first title as God and the second as man, when he “was born among many brothers,” having assumed our likeness. [He had not] joined another man to himself—as it seemed good to some persons to think—but [he] really and truly [became] man and [did] not relinquish being what he was, being God by nature and impassible. For this reason he voluntarily suffered in his own flesh. He has not given the body of someone else for us. Rather, the only-begotten Word of God himself offered himself, after he became man, as an immaculate victim to God the Father. — LETTER 67.4

Cyril of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (non occ.) In what he says of the Apostles having been eyewitnesses of the word, he agrees with John, who says, The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory. For the Word by means of the flesh was made visible. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Eusebius of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (sup.) Luke is a sure witness, because he obtained his knowledge of the truth either from St. Paul’s instructions, or the instructions and traditions of the other Apostles, who were themselves eyewitnesses from the beginning. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Irenaeus: But that Paul taught with simplicity what he knew, not only to those who were [employed] with him, but to those that heard him, he does himself make manifest. For when the bishops and presbyters who came from Ephesus and the other cities adjoining had assembled in Miletus, since he was himself hastening to Jerusalem to observe Pentecost, after testifying many things to them, and declaring what must happen to him at Jerusalem, he added: “I know that ye shall see my face no more. Therefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed, therefore, both to yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost has placed you as bishops, to rule the Church of the Lord, which He has acquired for Himself through His own blood.” Then, referring to the evil teachers who should arise, he said: “I know that after my departure shall grievous wolves come to you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” “I have not shunned,” he says, “to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” Thus did the apostles simply, and without respect of persons, deliver to all what they had themselves learned from the Lord. Thus also does Luke, without respect of persons, deliver to us what he had learned from them, as he has himself testified, saying, “Even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the Word.” — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 14), Section 2

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Comm. in Act. Apost. Hom. i.) The Evangelist was so far from being content with his single testimony, that he refers the whole to the Apostles, seeking from them a confirmation of his words; and therefore he adds, as they handed them down to us, who were themselves from the beginning eyewitnesses.

(sup.) He says, were eyewitnesses, because this is our chief ground for believing in a thing, that we derive it from those who were actually eyewitnesses. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): It is plain that of one kind of knowledge, the end is in the knowledge itself, as in geometry; but of another kind, the end is counted to be in the work, as in medicine; and so it is in the word of God, and therefore having signified the knowledge by the words were themselves eyewitnesses, he points out the work by what follows, and were ministers of the word.

It is written in Exodus, The people saw the voice of the Lord. (Exod. 20:18.) Now a voice is rather heard than seen. But it was so written, to show us that men see the voice of the Lord with other eyes, which they only have who are worthy of them. Again in the Gospel, it is not the voice that is perceived, but the Word, which is more excellent than the voice. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: “As they have handed down to us, who from the beginning themselves saw and were ministers of the word”. In Exodus it is written: “the people saw the voice of God”. And surely a voice is heard rather than seen; but it was written thus for this reason, that it might be shown to us that with other eyes one may “see the voice of God” — those eyes with which they behold who are worthy. Moreover in the Gospel not a voice is perceived, but a word, which is more excellent than a voice. Whence it is now said: “as they have handed down to us, who from the beginning themselves saw and were ministers of the word”. Therefore the apostles themselves saw the word, not because they had looked upon the body of the Lord and Savior, but because they had seen the Word. For if to have seen Jesus according to the body is this, namely to have seen the word of God, then Pilate too, who condemned Jesus, saw the word of God, and Judas the traitor, and all who cried out: “crucify, crucify him, take such a one from the earth”, saw the word of God. But far be it that any unbeliever should see the word of God. To see the word of God is such a thing as the Savior speaks of: “He who has seen me has seen also the Father, who sent me”. “As they have handed down to us, who from the beginning themselves saw and were ministers of the word”. Secretly, by Luke’s words, we are taught that the end of one kind of teaching is the teaching itself, but that the end of another kind of teaching is reckoned to lie in the work. For example: the science of geometry has as its end only the science and the teaching itself. But there is another science whose end demands a work, such as medicine. I must know the theory and the doctrines of medicine, not only that I may know what I ought to do, but that I may do it, that is, that I may cut wounds, prescribe a moderate and disciplined diet, feel the heat of fevers by the beating of the veins, so that by cyclical treatments I may dry up, temper, and restrain the abundance of humors. And if anyone should only know these things and not follow them up with work, his knowledge will be empty. Something like this, holding between the knowledge of medicine and its practice, exists also in the knowledge and the ministry of the word. Whence it is written: “as they have handed down to us, who from the beginning themselves saw and were ministers of the word”, so that we may recognize that by what he said, “themselves saw”, teaching and knowledge are signified, but by what he says, “were ministers of the word”, works are demonstrated. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 1

Luke 1:3

Ambrose of Milan: Now, it is written that the Gospel is addressed to Theophilus, that is, to him whom God loves. If you love God, it is written to you; if it is written to you, accept the gift of the Evangelist: diligently keep the pledge of a friend in the innermost part of your soul. Guard the valuable deposit through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us: examine it frequently, discuss it often. Faith is owed to the pledge first: diligence follows faith; lest moths or rust destroy the entrusted pledges. For whatever has been entrusted to you can be consumed: the Gospel cannot be consumed. The Gospel is a good pledge: but beware that neither moth nor rust consumes it in your mind. Moth consumes it if you believe what you read well, poorly. — EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF Luke 1.12

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): When he says, It seemed good to me, he does not deny that it seemed good to God: for it is God who predisposes the wills of men. Now no one has doubted that this book of the Gospel is more full of details than the others; by these words then he claims to himself, not any thing that is false, but the truth; and therefore he says, “It seemed good to me, having investigated every thing, to write.” Not to write every thing, but from a review of every thing; “for if all the things which Jesus did were written, I do not think the world itself could contain them.” (John 21:25.) But purposely has Luke passed by things that were written by others, in order that each book of the Gospel might be distinguished by certain mysteries and miracles peculiar to itself. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (sup.) Theophilus means, “loving God,” or “being loved by God.” Whoever then loves God, or desires to be loved by Him, let him think this Gospel to have been written to him, and preserve it as a gift presented to him, a pledge entrusted to his care. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And when he says it seemed good to him also to write, he means not as if it seemed to himself by himself, but signifying it also seemed to him by the urging of the Holy Spirit. Just as the apostles in their letter say: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us.” Whose grace indeed is that what is good may also seem good to us. He then says he followed not a few things but all things carefully. Yet, though he followed all things, it seemed good to write not everything but all those things he believed suitable for confirming the faith of the readers; for even the world itself, if all were written, could not contain them (John 21). Therefore, he intentionally omitted some things said by others, so that the diverse grace of the Gospel might shine, and each book by its own particular miracles of mysteries and deeds might stand out. Theophilus is interpreted as “lover of God” or “beloved by God.” Therefore, whoever loves God or desires to be loved by God should consider the Gospel written to him, and keep it as a gift given and entrusted to himself. So that the money of the word received would not be wasted by the moth of heretical corruption or the rust of filthy greed. — On the Gospel of Luke

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): St. Luke hereby explains to us the source of his writing; seeing that what things he wrote, he gained not from report, but had himself traced them up from the beginning. Hence it follows, It seemed good to me also, having carefully investigated every thing from the very first, to write to thee in order, most excellent Theophilus. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: “It seemed good to me also, having followed from the beginning”. He impresses and repeats that the things he is about to write he had not come to know by rumor, but that he himself had followed them from the beginning. Whence he is also deservedly commended by the apostle Paul, who says: “whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches”. For this is said of no one else, but is handed down as said of Luke. “It seemed good to me also, having followed from the beginning, to write all things diligently in order to you, most excellent Theophilus”. Someone may suppose that he wrote the gospel to a certain Theophilus. All of you who hear us speaking, if you are such that you are loved by God, you too are “theophili” (lovers/beloved of God), and to you the gospel is written. If anyone is “theophilus”, he is both most excellent and most strong, for this is what is more significantly expressed in the Greek word: “κράτιστος” (most excellent). No “theophilus” is weak. And just as it is written of the people of Israel, when it was going out of Egypt, that “there was not among their tribes one that was weak”: so I will boldly say that everyone who is “theophilus” is robust, having strength and vigor both from God and from his word, so that he may be able to know the truth of those words in which he has been instructed, understanding the word of the gospel in Christ: to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 1

Luke 1:4

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): The promise was not to explain the meaning of certain new and strange things to Theophilus, but to set forth the truth of those words in which he had been instructed; as it is added, That thou mightest know the truth of those words in which thou hast been instructed; that is, “that thou mightest be able to know in what order each thing was said or done by the Lord.” — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: Not, however, of any new or unknown things does he promise to unfold the account to this same Theophilus, but to express the truth of the words in which he was instructed. Of course, so he might recognize the order in which whatever was done or said by the Lord or about the Lord. For he who wishes to be perfect ought not only to believe in Christ but also to understand the order of his eternal divinity and his temporary dispensation. — On the Gospel of Luke

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (sup.) Or it may be, “That thou mightest feel certain and satisfied as to the truth of those things which thou hast heard, now that thou beholdest the same in writing.” — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:5

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Divine Scripture teaches us with respect to those whom we commemorate, that not only the characters of the men themselves, but of their parents also, ought to be praised, that they might be distinguished by an inheritance, as it were, handed down to them of unspotted purity. Now not only from his parents, but also from his ancestors, St. John derives his illustrious descent, a descent not exalted by secular power, but venerable from its sanctity. Complete then is that praise which comprehends birth, character, office, actions, and judgments. The office was that of the Priesthood, as it is said, A certain Priest of the name of Zacharias.

His birth is implied in the mention made of his ancestors. Of the course of Abia, i. e. of high rank among the noblest families. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ambrose of Milan: The divine Scripture teaches us that not only the virtues of those who are worthy of praise, but also parents should be praised; so that, like an inherited legacy of unblemished purity, they surpass those whom we desire to praise. For what other purpose does the holy Evangelist have in this place, if not to ennoble the parents of St. John the Baptist through miracles, character, calling, and suffering? Similarly, the mother of the holy Samuel, Anna, is praised; thus Isaac received nobility of piety from his parents, which he bequeathed to his descendants. So Zacharias, not only a priest, but also from the division of Abijah, that is, noble among the higher families. And his wife, he said, is of the daughters of Aaron. Therefore, not only does the nobility of St. John the Baptist extend from his parents, but also from his ancestors; he is not exalted by secular power, but venerable by the succession of religion. For such ancestors were necessary to herald the coming of Christ; so that the faith of the Lord’s advent would not appear to be suddenly conceived, but received from his ancestors and infused by the right of nature itself. — EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF Luke 1.15-16

Bede: In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zechariah, of the course of Abijah, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. The most sacred noble lineage of the forerunner of the Lord is celebrated not only from his parents, but also from his ancestors, so that the faith in his advent, conceived not by sudden inspiration, but rather received by ancestral propagation, might be more freely proclaimed. And since indeed the dignity of Aaron, the first high priest in the law, is known to all, we should speak briefly of Abijah. When King David and the prophet sought with great devotion to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob, the Lord determined that this should be done by Solomon instead, and therefore David prepared all the expenses for the house for Solomon and gave him the measurements and description of the house, so that as the external state of cultivation increased, the peak of inner devotion might also grow. He also distributed the division of the priestly and Levitical orders among all the works of the house of the Lord. For there were leaders of the sanctuary and leaders of God, that is, high priests, from both the sons of Eleazar and the sons of Ithamar. Their courses, according to their ministries, for entering the house of God, were divided into twenty-four lots, in which the course of Abijah, the family from which Zechariah was descended, fell by lot to the eighth. He divided the families by lots, one house which was presided over by Eleazar, and the other house which had the rest under it, Ithamar. Read the Words of the Days and also the seventh book of Josephus’ Antiquities, where it is mentioned that each generation served God according to the order of lots for eight days from Sabbath to Sabbath. There too he asserts that from the tribe of the Levites, twenty-four parts were made so that they also, by lots, served for eight days according to the custom of the priests. And it is not for nothing that the first herald of the New Testament is born in the course of the eighth lot, because just as the Old Testament is often expressed by the number seven because of the Sabbath, so the New is sometimes expressed by the number eight because of the sacrament of either the Lord’s or our resurrection. Hence, because the court of the heavenly kingdom is not penetrated otherwise than by the observance of both Testaments, it is rightly said that there was a mystical ascent of fifteen steps in the temple of Solomon. And he who, calling to the Lord in tribulation, is heard, is led to the heights by the same number of psalms of steps, so that, placed at last in the courts of the house of God, he may hear: May the Lord bless you out of Zion (Psalms 133). The time of Herod, the foreign king, also attests to the coming of the Lord. For it had been foretold that a ruler would not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he who is to be sent shall come (Genesis 49). For since the fathers came forth from Egypt, judges of their nation ruled until Samuel the prophet, and then kings until the Babylonian captivity. After the return from Babylon, the chief affairs were managed by high priests until King Hyrcanus, who was also a high priest, being vexed by many calamities out of the envy of his brother, and ultimately killed by the deceit of Herod (whose father he had raised from an ignoble foreigner, that is, from the Idumean stock, making him a citizen and exalted), the kingdom of Judea was entrusted to Herod to govern by the command of Caesar Augustus. In the thirty-first year of his reign, according to the aforementioned prophecy, he who was to be sent came. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (in Luc. Evang.) Now the time of Herod, i. e. of a foreign king, bears witness to our Lord’s coming, for it had been foretold, The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come. (Gen. 49:12.) For from the time that our fathers came out of Egypt, they were governed by judges of their own nation, until the Prophet Samuel; and then by kings, until the carrying away to Babylon. But after the return from Babylon, the chief power was in the hands of priests, until the time of Hyrcanus, who was both king and high priest. He was slain by Herod, after which the government of the kingdom was delivered over by the command of Augustus Cæsar to this same Herod, a foreigner, in whose thirty-first year, according to the prophecy we have mentioned, Shiloh came.

(in Homil. in vigil. S. Joh. Bap.) For John was allotted a Priestly tribe, that he might with the more authority herald forth a change of priesthood.

There were Princes of the Sanctuary or High Priests, both of the sons of Eleazar and the sons of Thamar, whose courses according to their respective services when they entered into the House of God David divided into twenty-four lots, of which the family of Abia (from which Zacharias was descended) obtained the eighth lot. (1 Chron. 24.) But it was not without meaning that the first preacher of the new covenant was born with the rights of the eighth lot; because as the old Covenant is often expressed by the seventh number on account of the Sabbath, so frequently is the new Covenant by the eighth, because of the sacrament of our Lord’s or our resurrection. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (noc occ.) St. Luke commences the history of his Gospel with Zacharias and the birth of John; relating one marvellous event before another, the less before the greater. For since a virgin was about to become a mother, it had been fore-ordained by grace that the old should previously conceive. He fixes the time, when he says, In the days of Herod, and in the following words adds his rank, king of Judæa. (in Matt. cap. 2.). There was another Herod, who killed John; he was tetrarch, whereas this one was king. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Maximus of Turin: I do not know what is the most important thing that we should preach—that he [John the Baptist] was wonderfully born or more wonderfully slain—for he was born as a prophecy and murdered for truth. By his birth he announced the coming of the Savior, and by his death he condemned the incest of Herod. This holy and righteous man, who was born in an uncommon way as the result of a promise, merited from God that he should depart this world by an uncommon death—that he should by confessing the Lord lay aside his body, which he had received as a gift from the Lord. Therefore John did everything by the will of God, since he was born and died for the sake of God’s work. — SERMON 5.1-2

Victorinus of Pettau: “The first living creature was like to a lion, and the second was like to a calf, and the third had a face like to a man, and the fourth was like to a flying eagle; and they had six wings, and round about and within they were full of eyes; and they had no rest, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord Omnipotent. And the four and twenty elders, failing down before the throne, adored God.” The four and twenty elders arethe twenty-four books of the prophets and of the law, which give testimonies of the judgment. Moreover, also, they are the twenty-four fathers-twelve apostles and twelve patriarchs.And in that the living creatures are different in appearance, this is the reason: the living creature like to a lion designates Mark, in whom is heard the voice of the lion roaring in the desert. And in the figure of a man, Matthew strives to declareto us the genealogy of Mary, from whom Christ took flesh. Therefore, in enumerating from Abraham to David, and thence to Joseph, he spoke of Him as if of a man: therefore his announcement sets forth the image of a man. Luke, in narrating the priesthood of Zacharias as he offers a sacrifice for the people, and the angel that appears to him with respect of the priesthood, and the victim in the same description bore the likeness of a calf. John the evangelist, like to an eagle hastening on uplifted wings to greater heights, argues about the Word of God. Mark, therefore, as an evangelist thus beginning, “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet; " The voice of one crying in the wilderness,” -has the effigy of a lion. And Matthew, “The hook of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: " this is the form of a man. But Luke said, “There was a priest, by name Zachariah, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron: " this is the likeness of a calf. But John, when he begins, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” sets forth the likeness of a flying eagle. Moreover, not only do the evangelists express their four similitudes in their respective openings of the Gospels, but also the Word itself of God the Father Omnipotent, which is His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, bears the same likeness in the time of His advent. When He preaches to us, He is, as it were, a lion and a lion’s whelp. And when for man’s salvation He was made man to overcome death, and to set all men free, and that He offered Himself a victim to the Father on our behalf, He was called a calf. And that He overcame death and ascended into the heavens, extending His wings and protecting His people, He was named a flying eagle. Therefore these announcements, although they are four, yet are one, because it proceeded from one mouth. Even as the river in paradise, although it is one, was divided into four heads. Moreover, that for the announcement of the New Testament those bring creatures had eyes within and without, shows the spiritual providence which both looks into the secrets of the heart, and beholds the things which are coming after that are within and without. — Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John, From the Fourth Chapter

Luke 1:6

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Here their whole character is comprehended in their justice, but it is well said before God, for a man by affecting a popular good-will might seem just to me, but not be just before God, if that justice instead of springing from simpleness of heart, was a mere pretence carried on by flattery. Perfect then is the praise, “that a man is just before God;” for he only is perfect who is approved by Him who cannot be deceived. St. Luke comprehends the action in the commandment, the doing justice in the justification. Hence it follows, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord. For when we obey the command of heaven we walk in the commandments of the Lord, when we observe justice we seem to possess the justification of the Lord. But to be “blameless” we must “provide things honest, not only before God, but also before men”; (Prov. 3:4.) there is no blame when both motive and action are alike good, but a too austere righteousness often provokes censure. A righteous act may also be done unrighteously, as when a man out of ostentation gives largely to the poor, which is not without just cause of blame. It follows, And they had no son, because Elisabeth was barren. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. Truly righteous before God: for not everyone who is righteous before men is righteous before God. Men see differently, God sees differently. Men see the face, God sees the heart. And therefore, it can happen that someone appears just to me with an affected popular goodness, but before God, he is not just if justice is not formed from the simplicity of the mind, but is simulated with flattery. But blessed is he who is righteous in the sight of God. Blessed is he of whom the Lord deigns to say: Behold, truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. For a true Israelite who sees God, and knows himself to be seen by the Lord, reveals to Him the secrets of the heart. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: Walking (he says) in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. First is the commandment, second is the statute. For when we obey the heavenly commandments, we walk in the commandments of the Lord. When we judge, and judge rightly, we seem to hold the statutes of the Lord. Therefore, it is a full commendation that encompasses lineage, morals, office, deed, and judgment. Lineage in the ancestors, morals in fairness, office in the priesthood, deed in the commandment, in the statute judgment. And what he added: Without blame, this is what the Apostle says: Providing good things, not only in the sight of God but also in the sight of men (Rom. XII). And Ecclesiastes: Be not overly just (Eccl. VII). Because often a harsher justice provokes the complaint of men. But one which is tempered, by the grace of its own sweetness, avoids the resentment of envy. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): John was born of just parents, that so he might the more boldly give precepts of justice to the people, which he had not learnt as novelties, but had received by right of inheritance from his ancestors. Hence it follows, And they were both just before God. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ignatius of Antioch: Having beheld your bishop, I know that he was not selected to undertake the ministry which pertains to the common [weal], either by himself or by men, or out of vainglory, but by the love of Jesus Christ, and of God the Father, who raised Him from the dead; at whose meekness I am struck with admiration, and who by His silence is able to accomplish more than they who talk a great deal. For he is in harmony with the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, even as the strings are with the harp, and is no less blameless than was Zacharias the priest. Wherefore my soul declares his mind towards God a happy one, knowing it to be virtuous and perfect, and that his stability as well as freedom from all anger is after the example of the infinite meekness of the living God. — Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians

Irenaeus: Luke also, the follower and disciple of the apostles, referring to Zacharias and Elisabeth, from whom, according to promise, John was born, says: “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” [Luke 1:6] And again, speaking of Zacharias: “And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense;” and he came to sacrifice, “entering into the temple of the Lord.” [Luke 1:8, etc.] Whose angel Gabriel, also, who stands prominently in the presence of the Lord, simply, absolutely, and decidedly confessed in his own person as God and Lord, Him who had chosen Jerusalem, and had instituted the sacerdotal office. For he knew of none other above Him; since, if he had been in possession of the knowledge of any other more perfect God and Lord besides Him, he surely would never — as I have already shown — have confessed Him, whom he knew to be the fruit of a defect, as absolutely and altogether God and Lord. — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 10), Section 1

Origen of Alexandria: Those who wish to spread over their sins some excuse suppose that no one is without sin, and they make use of the testimony written in Job: “No one is clean from filth, not even if his life upon the earth should be but of a single day; his months, moreover, are numbered”. Of this passage they bring forward only the sound, being wholly ignorant of its interpretation. Against them we shall reply briefly, that to be without sin is understood in the Scriptures in two ways: the one, never to have sinned at all; the other, to have ceased from sinning. If, then, they say that he is called without sin who has never sinned, we too agree that no one is without sin, since all of us as human beings have at some time sinned, even though afterward we have pursued virtue. But if they so understand a man not to be without sin as to deny that anyone, after his vices, so betakes himself to the virtues that he never sins at all, then their opinion is false. For it can come about that one who has sinned before, when he ceases from sinning, is said to be without sin. Thus also our Lord Jesus Christ “presented to himself a glorious Church, not having spot”, not because the churchly man has never had a spot, but because he is by no means spotted any longer: “not having wrinkle”, not that the wrinkle “of the old man” was never at some time in him, but that he has ceased to have it. In this manner also that which follows is to be understood: “that it may be holy and unspotted”, not that from the beginning it was unspotted — for this indeed cannot be supposed of a man, that his soul was not spotted — but that it is reckoned pure and sincere, having ceased to be spotted any longer. We say these things for this reason, that we might teach that a man can, on the ground that he has ceased to sin, be called without sin and “unspotted”. Hence also it is most plainly written concerning Zechariah and Elizabeth: “they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord without reproach”. Let us more carefully contemplate the praises of Zechariah and Elizabeth which holy Luke writes in his history, not only that we may know that they were praiseworthy, but that, taking up their holy zeal, we too may be made worthy of praise. He could have written simply: “they were both righteous, walking in all the commandments”; but now it is necessarily added: “they were both righteous before God”. For it can indeed come about that someone is righteous before men, but is not so “before God”. For example: when a man has nothing evil that he might speak about me, and, considering everything about me, finds nothing to disparage, I am righteous “in the sight” of men. Suppose that all hold the same opinion of me, and seek what they might disparage, and yet cannot find it, but praise me with one accord — I am righteous “in the sight” of very many men. But the judgment of men is not certain: for they do not know whether in the hidden part of my heart I have at some time sinned, whether I have looked upon a woman to lust after her, and adultery has been born in my heart. Men are ignorant, when they have seen me give alms according to my means, whether I did it because of God’s commandment or sought the praise and favor of men. It is a difficult thing to be righteous “before God”, so that you do some good for no other cause than for the sake of the good itself, and seek God alone as the rewarder of your good work. Something like this the Apostle also says: “whose praise is not from men, but from God”. Blessed is he who is righteous and praiseworthy “before God”. For men, although they may seem to have a certain judgment, nevertheless cannot pronounce with clarity. For it happens sometimes that they praise one who is not praiseworthy, and disparage one who is by no means worthy of disparagement. God alone is a righteous judge both in praise and in blame.

Hence worthily now also it is added in the praise of the righteous: “they were both righteous before God”. To something like this Solomon too exhorts us in the Proverbs, saying: “provide good things in the sight of God and of men”. There follows another commendation of Zechariah and Elizabeth: “walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord”. When we judge well and rightly concerning any matters, we walk “in the ordinances of the Lord”; when we do this or that, we walk “in his commandments”. Hence I think that holy Luke also, wishing to proclaim them with perfect praise, said: “they were both righteous, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord”. Let someone say to me: if this praise is perfect, what does this mean, that it is said: “without reproach”? For it was enough to say: “walking in all the ways and ordinances of the Lord”, unless it could come about that one walks in all the commandments of God, and yet does not walk “without reproach”. And how can it happen that one walking “in all the commandments and ordinances of God” should be under reproach? To this I shall briefly say: unless this were so, we should never know it recorded, written in another place: “justly pursue that which is just”. For unless there were something just which we might pursue not justly, it would by no means be enjoined upon us that we should justly pursue that which is just. For when we do the commandment of God and in our conscience are bespattered with the filth of vainglory, so as to please men, or some other cause which does not please God goes before as the motive of the good work, then, although we do the precept of God, nevertheless we do not do it “without reproach”, and we pursue unjustly that which is just. It is therefore difficult to walk “in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord without reproach”, according to the testimony and praise of God in Christ Jesus, which is to be rendered on the day of judgment by him before whom “all of us must be made manifest before his tribunal, that each one may receive the things he has done through the body, whether good or evil”. “For we shall all stand before the tribunal of God”, that we may receive what we deserve in Christ Jesus: to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 2

Luke 1:7

Bede: Allegorically, through Zacharias, the priesthood of the Jews is signified; through Elizabeth, the very law can be indicated, which, exercised by the teachings of the priests as if supported by a manly strength, ought to beget spiritual sons to God, but because of the insult of sterility, it was hardly able. Not that there were not many, both before the law and under the law, of the most perfect life, but because the law brought no one to perfection, which could not unlock the kingdom of heaven unless preceded by Christ. It is well said that both were righteous before God, because just as the law is good, and the commandment holy and just and good, so also the legal priesthood for the dispensation of that time is holy, good, and just. And what follows, that both walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless, may be so explained, that the legal devotion flourished, as if in the adolescence or youth of its time, from the periods of Moses and afterwards: but in the oncoming of the Savior, severe old age bowed it down, when both the order of the priesthood was confused by the ambitions and contentions of the high priests, and the law itself, torn by the traditions of the Pharisees, became less able to beget sons to God. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days. It was divinely ordained that John would be born to parents of advanced age and long deprived of the fruit of marriage, so that the sudden birth of offspring might make the gift more precious to them, and the amazement of the miracle might prepare others to hear the future prophet. Hence, all who heard laid it up in their hearts, saying, What then will this child be? — On the Gospel of Luke

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (ex Hom. in Gen. 49.) Not only Elisabeth, but the wives of the Patriarchs also, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, were barren, which was counted a disgrace among the ancients. Not that their barrenness was the effect of sin, since all were just and virtuous, but ordained rather for your benefit, that when you saw a virgin giving birth to the Lord, you might not be faithless, or perplexing your mind with respect to the womb of the barren. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: First of all, consider what this means, that very many of the holy women in the scriptures are said to have been barren, as Sarah herself, and behold now Rebekah as well. But Rachel too, beloved of Israel, was barren. Hannah also, the mother of Samuel, is written to have been barren. But in the Gospels too Elizabeth is recorded to have been barren. And in all these women this one heading is signified: that after barrenness they all brought forth a holy childbirth. — HOMILIES ON Genesis 12.1

Luke 1:8

Augustine of Hippo: The priest was offering sacrifice on behalf of the people. The people were expecting the Christ. John was the one who would announce the Christ. — SERMON 291.3

Bede: Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood. Indeed, through Moses the Lord appointed one high priest, who, after his death, commanded one to succeed in turn, and this was observed until the times of David, from whom it was decreed that there should be several (as we have said), nevertheless by the Lord’s action, who, ministering in turns, during the time of their division, each would dedicate themselves to chastity, and would not touch their household at all. Thus now Zechariah is declared to have served in the priesthood in the order of his division. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): The Lord appointed by the hand of Moses one High Priest, at whose death another was to succeed in due order. This was observed until the time of David, who by the command of the Lord increased the number of the Priests; and so at this time Zacharias is said to have been performing his Priest’s office in the order of his course, as it follows: But it came to pass, when Zacharias was performing the Priest’s office in the order of his course before God, according to the custom of the Priesthood, his lot was, &c. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:9

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Zacharias seems here to be designated High Priest, because into the second tabernacle went the High Priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and the sins of the people. (Heb. 9:7.) — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): It was not by a new lot that he was chosen when the incense was to be burnt, but by the old lot, whereby according to the order of his Priesthood he succeeded in the course of Abia. It follows, And all the multitude of the people, &c. Incense was ordered to be carried into the Holy of Holies by the High Priest, the whole people waiting without the temple. It was to be on the tenth day of the seventh month, and this day was to be called the day of expiation or propitiation, the mystery of which day the Apostle explaining to the Hebrews, points to Jesus as the true High Priest, who in His own blood has entered the secret places of heaven that he might reconcile the Father unto us, and intercede for the sins of those who still wait praying before the doors. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: Therefore, Zacharias enters the temple because it is the duty of priests to enter the sanctuary of God and to understand the deep mysteries of the heavens. The multitude prays outside, because they cannot penetrate the secrets and mysteries, they must humbly attend to the teachings of the more learned. But while Zacharias places incense on the altar, he learns of the birth of John; for while teachers burn with a greater flame of divine reading, they find that the grace of God through Jesus Christ is to come and emerge from within the depths of scriptures, as from the womb of Elizabeth. And this rightly through an angel, because the law is ordered by angels in the hand of a mediator. — On the Gospel of Luke

John Chrysostom: This man Zechariah came into the Holy of Holies, to the innermost sanctuary, upon which he alone of all men had the right to look. Consider how he was equal in importance to all the people. When he offered prayers for the whole people, when he was making the Master propitious to his servants, he was serving as a mediator between God and men. — ON THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE NATURE OF GOD 2.9-10

Luke 1:10

Bede: By lot he was chosen to burn incense when he entered the temple of the Lord; and the whole multitude of people was praying outside at the hour of incense. He was not chosen by a new lot, for it was the incense to be burned, but he had been chosen by an ancient lot when first in the order of his priesthood he succeeded in the division of Abijah. But it was commanded that incense be carried into the Holy of Holies by the high priest, while all the people were waiting outside the temple, on the tenth day of the seventh month. And this day of atonement, or which they call the day of propitiation, which among us, due to the varied course of the moon by which the Hebrews compute their months, sometimes falls in the month of September, sometimes in October; because the month in which Passover is held, both by the ordained order and by the decree of the law, holds the beginning of the year, as the Lord said to Moses: “This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. On the tenth day of this month, every man shall take a lamb, etc.” (Exodus XII). But of this day the Apostle, writing to the Hebrews, thus mentions: “Into the first tabernacle the priests always entered, performing the duties of the sacrifices; but into the second, the high priest alone once a year, not without blood which he offers, etc.” (Hebrews IX). Expanding the mystery of this day, he shows that Jesus is true high priest, who, having completed the days of his office, that is, having fulfilled the dispensation of the flesh with his own blood, entered the secrets of heaven, to make the Father gracious unto us, and to intercede for the sins of those who are still waiting outside, praying and loving his coming. Therefore, fittingly, his descent on that day is announced by an angel, on which his ascension by the law was figured. For he who descended is the same also that ascended. (Ephesians IV): And, as the Psalm says, “His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his meet is unto the end of it.” (Psalm XVIII). — On the Gospel of Luke

Luke 1:11

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): It is well said that there appeared an angel to Zacharias, who suddenly beheld him; and this is the expression especially used by Divine Scripture with respect to angels or God, that what cannot be seen beforehand may be said to appear. For things which are the objects of our senses are not seen as He is seen, Who is seen only as He will, and Whose nature is not to be seen.

It was not without good reason that the angel appeared in the temple, for the coming of the true High Priest was now announced, and the Heavenly Sacrifice was preparing at which angels were to minister. For one cannot doubt that an angel stands by where Christ is sacrificed. But he appeared at the right hand of the altar of incense, because he brought down the token of Divine mercy. For the Lord is on my right hand, so that I should not be moved. (Ps. 16:8.) — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Augustine of Hippo: The angel Gabriel came to Zechariah, not to Elizabeth. Why? Because it was through Zechariah that John was going to be in Elizabeth. The angel, in announcing that John was going to come by being born, went not to the receptacle of the womb but to the source of the seed. He announced they would both have a son, but he made the announcement to the father. John, after all, was going to come from the marriage of male and female. And once more the same Gabriel came to Mary—not to Joseph. The angel came to the one from whom that flesh was to begin, from whom it was to take its starting point. — SERMON 291.3

Bede: But an angel appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. An angel appears well, and in the temple, and beside the altar, and on the right side, because clearly it proclaims both the coming of the true priest, and the mystery of the universal sacrifice, and the joy of the heavenly gift. For just as often the presence by the left portends evils, so by the right eternal goods are predicted. As it is sung in the praise of wisdom: Length of days is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and glory. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: We must note that the angel bore witness to the grace about which he had come to give the good news—not only by the power of the words which he brought forward but also by the point in time and the location of the place in which he appeared. He appeared at the time when the priest was making an offering to express the fact that he was proclaiming the coming of the true and eternal high priest, who would be the true sacrificial offering for the salvation of the world. He stood beside the altar of incense to teach that he had come as the herald of a new covenant. There were two altars in the temple, which expressed the two covenants in the church. The first, the altar of burnt offerings, which was plated with bronze and was situated in front of the doors of the temple, was for the offering up of victims and sacrifices. It signified the fleshly-minded worshipers of the old covenant. Then there was the altar of incense, which was covered with gold and set near the entrance of the Holy of Holies, and was used to burn fragrant gums. This signified the interior and more perfect grace of the new covenant and its worshipers. — Homilies on the Gospels 2.19

Ephrem the Syrian: John, herald of the Lord of the right, was announced from the right of the altar. It was at the time of worship that he was announced to show he was the end of the former worship. — COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 1.10

Jerome: [Daniel 8:16-17] “And I heard the voice of a man in the midst of the Ulai, and he cried out and said: ‘Gabriel, make this vision intelligible (Vulgate: make this man to understand the vision).’ And he came and stood near to where I was standing.” The Jews claim that this man who directed Gabriel to explain the vision to Daniel was Michael. Quite appropriately it was Gabriel, who has been put in charge of battles, to whom this duty was assigned, inasmuch as the vision had to do with battles and contests between kings and even between kingdoms themselves. For Gabriel is translated into our language as “the strength of, or the mighty one of, God.” And so at that time also when the Lord was about to be born and to declare war against the demons and to triumph over the world, Gabriel came to Zacharias (Luke 1:11-20) and to Mary (Luke 1:26-27). And then we read in the Psalms concerning the Lord in His triumph: “Who is this king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle; He is the King of glory” (Psalms 24:8). But whenever it is medicine or healing that is needed, it is Raphael who is sent, for his name is rendered as “the healing of,” or “the medicine of God” - that is, if one cares to accept the authority of the Book of Tobias (Tobit 12:11-15). And then, when favorable promises are made to the people, and hilasmos, which we might render as “propitiation” or “expiation,” is the thing required, then it is Michael who is directed to go, for his name means, “Who is like God?” Of course the significance of the name indicates the fact that the only true remedy is to be found in God.

“And he said to me: ‘Son of man, understand that in the time of the end the vision shall be fulfilled.’” Inasmuch as Ezekiel and Daniel and Zechariah behold themselves to be often in the company of angels, they were reminded of their frailty, lest they should be lifted up in pride and imagine themselves to partake of the nature or dignity of angels. Therefore they are addressed as sons of men, in order that they might realize that they are but human beings. — St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER EIGHT

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Hom. 2. de Inc. Dei Nat.) When Zacharias entered into the temple to offer up prayers to God for all men, interceding between God and man, he saw an angel standing within, as it is said, And there appeared unto him an angel.

(Hom. li. in Matt.) But the angel evidently came not in a dream, because the tidings he brought were too hard to be understood, and needed therefore a more visible and marvellous manifestation. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

John Damascene ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (de fide Orthodox. ii. 3.) Angels, however, are revealed not as they really are, but transformed (as men are able to behold them) into whatever the Lord commands. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): And we speak thus not only of the present time, but also of the future. When we shall have passed from the world, God will not appear unto all men, nor will the angels, but unto him only who has a clean heart. The place will neither hinder nor serve any one. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: Concerning what is written: “an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense”.

Things that are corporeal and lacking in sense-perception, so as to be seen by another, contribute nothing of themselves, but only the eye of another, intent upon them—whether they will it or not—sees them, wherever it has directed its gaze and contemplation. For what can a man, or any other thing surrounded by a gross body, do, when it is present, to keep from being perceived? On the contrary, those things which are heavenly and divine, even when they are present, are not seen unless they themselves will it; and it lies in their will to be seen or not to be seen. It was the grace of God that He appeared to Abraham or to the rest of the prophets—not because the eye of Abraham’s heart alone was the cause of his beholding God, but because the grace of God freely offered itself to be looked upon by the just man. And this you are to understand not only concerning God the Father, but also concerning the Lord the Savior and concerning the Holy Spirit and—to descend to lesser beings—concerning the Cherubim and Seraphim. For it can happen that even now, while we are speaking, an angel is present, and yet, because we do not deserve it, we are unable to see him. For although the eye whether of our body or of our soul strains itself to contemplate, unless the angel appears of his own accord and offers himself to be seen, the one who desires to see will not see. And so, wherever it is written: “God appeared” to this or that person, and, as now: “an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense”, understand it as I have said. Whether God or an angel, to Abraham or to Zechariah, whether he is unwilling or willing, either will not be seen or will be seen. And this we say not only in the “present age”, but also in the age to come, when we shall have departed from the world: that not to all do either God or the angels appear—that is, that he who has gone out from the body should straightway deserve to see both the angels and the Holy Spirit and the Lord the Savior and God the Father Himself; rather, he alone will see who has a clean heart and has shown himself such as to be worthy of the sight of God. And although he who is clean of heart and he who is still bespattered with some filth may be in the same place, the one place will be able neither to harm nor to help anyone, because he who has a clean heart will see God, but he who is not such will not see that which is beheld by another. Something of this kind I think must also be understood concerning Christ, when He was seen in the body: that not all who saw Him were able to see Him. For they saw only His body, but according to that which Christ was, they could not see Him. The disciples, however, saw Him and contemplated the greatness of His divinity. On which account I think that to Philip too, who entreated and said: “show us the Father, and it is enough for us”, the Savior replied: “am I so long a time with you, and you have not known me? Philip, he who sees me sees also the Father”. For neither did Pilate, who was seeing Jesus, behold the Father, nor did the traitor Judas—since neither Pilate himself nor Judas saw Christ according to that which Christ was, nor did the multitude that pressed upon Him. Those alone saw Jesus whom He judged worthy of His sight. Let us therefore, we also, labor that even in the present God may appear to us—for the holy word of the Scriptures has promised: “because He is found by those who do not tempt Him, and He appears to those who are not unbelieving toward Him”—and that in the age to come He may not be hidden from us, but that we may see Him “face to face” and have confidence of a good life and enjoy the sight of Almighty God in Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit: to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 3

Tertullian: But what kind of deed is it, to permit to your own choice what you grant not to the command of God? Shall human volition have more licence than Divine power? I am mindful that I am free from the world, not from God. Thus it is my part to perform, without external suggestion thereto, an act of respect to my Lord, it is His to enjoin. I ought not merely to pay a willing obedience to Him, but withal to court Him; for the former I render to His command, the latter to my own choice. — On Prayer

Luke 1:12

Athanasius of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (in vita Anton.) Whereby it is not difficult to discern between good and bad spirits, for if joy has succeeded to fear, we may know that relief has come from God, because 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. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Athanasius of Alexandria: Whenever the soul continues to be fearful, it is the enemy who is present. The evil spirits do not dispel the fear of their presence, as the great archangel Gabriel did for Mary and Zechariah. — LIFE OF ST. ANTHONY 37

Bede: And Zacharias was troubled when he saw, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, etc. The angel comforts the trembling Zacharias, because just as it is of human frailty to be troubled by the vision of a spiritual creature, so it is of angelic kindness to soothe mortals, frightened by its presence, by immediately offering reassurance. On the contrary, it is of demonic ferocity always to shake those who are terrified by their presence with even greater horror, which is better overcome by no other reason than unwavering faith. — On the Gospel of Luke

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (de Inc. Dei Nat.) The justest of men can not without fear behold an angel; Zacharias therefore, not sustaining the sight of the angel’s presence, nor able to withstand his brightness, is troubled, as it is added, Zacharias was troubled. But as it happens, when a charioteer is frightened, and has let loose his reins, the horses run headlong, and the chariot is overturned; so is it with the soul, when it is taken by any surprise or alarm; as it is here added, and fear fell upon him. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): A new face suddenly presenting itself to the human eye, troubles and startles the mind. The angel knowing this to be the nature of man, first dispels the alarm, as it follows, But the angel said unto him, Fear not.

The angel not only soothes his fears, but gladdens him with good tidings, adding, For thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear a son. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:13

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Or, as follows; Divine mercy is ever full and overflowing, not narrowed to a single gift, but pouring in an abundant store of blessings; as in this case, where first the fruit of his prayer is promised; and next, that his barren wife shall bear a child, whose name is announced as follows; And thou shalt call his name John. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (de Quæst. Evan. l. i. q. l.) Now here we must first consider that it is not likely that Zacharias, when offering sacrifice for the sins or for the salvation or redemption of the people, would neglect the public petitions, to pray (though himself an old man, and his wife also old) that he might receive children; and, next, above all that no one prays for what he despairs of ever obtaining. And even up to this time, sc much had he despaired of ever having children, that he would not believe, even when an angel promised it to him. The words, Thy prayer is heard, must be understood therefore to refer to the people; and as salvation, redemption, and the putting away of the sins of the people was to be through Christ, it is told Zacharias that a son shall be born to him, because that son was ordained to be the forerunner of Christ. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: Whenever in the Scriptures a name is imposed or changed … by God, it is indicative of great praise and virtue. It was good that our Redeemer’s precursor was ordered to be called John. The name John means “the grace of the Lord” or “in whom there is grace.” He received a special grace beyond other saints, that of being Christ’s precursor. He came to proclaim a previously unheard of grace to the world, that of entry into heaven. Therefore he who was full of grace himself and who brought the good news of God’s grace to the rest of humankind expressed even by his name a proclamation of grace. It was rightly foretold that there was to be cause for exultation for many persons at his birth, since it was through him that the Author of their regeneration was manifested to the world. — Homilies on the Gospels 2.19

Bede: And your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; and you shall call his name John. By saying the prayer is heard, he immediately promises the birth of his wife. Not that he who had entered to sacrifice for the people could have prayed for obtaining children, especially since no one prays for what he despairs of receiving. But so much did he despair of having children, remembering his own old age and his barren wife, that he did not believe the angel promising this; but what he says, your prayer has been heard, signifies for the redemption of the people: And your wife will bear you a son, unfolds the ordinance of that same redemption, namely that the son born to Zechariah would make way by proclaiming for that redeemer of the people. A sign of singular merit is given whenever a name is either imposed or changed by God upon men. Thus Abram, because he was to be the father of many nations, was called Abraham. Thus Jacob, because he saw God, deserved to be called Israel. Thus King Josiah, on account of the summit of his exceptional virtue, was named by God long before he was born. Therefore John is interpreted: in whom is grace, or the grace of the Lord. By this name it is declared that first, the grace is given to his parents, to whom a son would be born in their old age; then to John himself, who would be great before the Lord, and would be enriched by the gift of the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb; finally also to the sons of Israel, whom he would turn to the Lord their God. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): It is meant as a token of particular merit, when a man has a name given him or changed by God. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): John is therefore interpreted, “one in whom is grace, or the grace of God;” by which name it is declared, first, that grace was given to his parents, to whom in their old age a son was to be born; next, to John himself, who was to become great before the Lord; lastly, also to the children of Israel, whom he was to convert to the Lord. Hence it follows, And he shall be a joy unto thee, and a cause of rejoicing. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Cosmas Indicopleustes: He saw a vision of an angel which also said unto him: Fear not, Zacharias, because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son; as if he had said, “Thou hast entered here to ask for the people remission of their sins, lo! I bring to you the good tidings that your prayer will be fulfilled, for there shall be born to thee a son by Elizabeth to be the forerunner of Him who of his grace will bestow upon the world a complete remission of their sins.” — The Christian Topography, Book 5

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (sup.) Or it means, that this was to be the proof of his prayer having been heard, namely, that a son should be born to him, crying, Behold the Lamb of God!

(Joann. Hom. xviii.) Which must be the meaning here, for those who from their earliest years were destined to shine forth in virtue, received their names at the very first from a divine source; while those who were to rise up in later years, had a name given them afterwards. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: Zechariah, when he had seen the angel, was terrified. For indeed a strange countenance, presenting itself to human sight, disturbs the mind and dismays the spirit. Hence the angel, knowing that this belongs to human nature, first remedies the disturbance, saying: “fear not, Zechariah”, and revives the trembling man and gladdens him with new tidings, adding: “your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear a son, and you shall call his name John; and he shall be to you a joy and an exultation”. When some righteous person arises in the world and enters the course of this life, the ministers of his birth rejoice and lift themselves up on high. But when one is born who is destined for an evil life, and is consigned, as if for punishments, to the workhouse, the minister is dismayed and falls down. Do you wish to receive an example of a holy man, whose every fruit lies in praise? Look at Jacob, who begot twelve male children, who all came forth as the people of God and as the patriarchs and princes of that portion: in all these Jacob the father rejoiced, just as now too joy is announced to all concerning the birth of John; and whoever has once, for the benefit of others, descended to the works of begetting children and has willed to bind himself to this ministry, let him beseech God that such a one from among his sons may enter the world, over whose birth he may be the more glad. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 4

Luke 1:14

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But a saint is not only the blessing of his parents, but also the salvation of many; as it follows, And many shall rejoice at his birth. Parents are reminded here to rejoice at the birth of saints, and to give thanks. For it is no slight gift of God to vouchsafe unto us children, to be the transmitters of our race, to be the heirs of succession. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And there will be joy to you and exultation, and many will rejoice at his birth. The father rightfully rejoices because either born in old age or has received a son of such grace. Others also rejoice, to whom he will preach the hitherto unheard entrance of the kingdom of heaven. And it should be noted that many rejoice at the birth of the forerunner, but at the birth of the Lord, the angel announces great joy which will be for all the people. For evidently, this one comes to preach salvation to many, that one to grant it to all who wish. — On the Gospel of Luke

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): For when a just man is born into the world, the authors of his birth rejoice; but when one is born who is to be as it were an exile to labour and punishment, they are struck with terror and dismay. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:15

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Next to his becoming the rejoicing of many, the greatness of his virtue is prophesied; as it is said, For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord. The greatness signified is not of the body, but of the soul. Greatness in the sight of the Lord is greatness of soul, greatness of virtue.

He extended not the boundaries of an empire, nor brought back in triumph the spoils of war, (but, what is far greater,) preaching in the desert he overcame by his great virtue the delights of the world, and the lusts of the flesh. Hence it follows; And he shall drink no wine nor strong drink.

On whomsoever the Holy Spirit is poured, in him there is fulness of great virtue; as in St. John, who before he was born, when yet in his mother’s womb, bore witness to the grace of the Spirit which he had received, when leaping in the womb of his parent he hailed the glad tidings of the coming of the Lord. There is one spirit of this life, another of grace. The former has its beginning at birth, its end at death; the latter is not tied down to times and seasons, is not quenched by death, is not shut out of the womb. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ambrose of Milan: Here, not the size of the body, but the greatness of the soul is declared. The magnitude of the soul is in the presence of the Lord, the magnitude of virtue: there is also the smallness of the soul, and the youthfulness of virtue. Therefore, John will be great not in the virtue of the body, but in the greatness of the soul. Ultimately, he did not propagate the boundaries of any empire, nor did he prefer any triumphs of war; but what is more, preaching in the desert, he suppressed the delights of men and the indulgence of the body with great virtue of the soul. Therefore, small in the world, great in spirit. Ultimately, like a great person, he did not change his steadfastness of conviction in the desire to live, captivated by the allurements of life. There is no doubt that this promise was true, for the holy John, while still in his mother’s womb, recognized and received the grace of the Holy Spirit. For when neither his father nor his mother had yet done anything remarkable, he leaped in his mother’s womb and announced the coming of the Lord to his mother. Thus you have what happened when the mother of the Lord came to Elizabeth, as she said: “Behold, as soon as the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” For he did not yet have the spirit of life, but the spirit of grace. Indeed, in other instances we were able to anticipate the grace of sanctification preceding the living substance, as the Lord says: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” For another is the spirit of this life, another the spirit of grace. — EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF Luke 1.31-33

Bede: For he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. It is a great virtue before the Lord to scorn earthly delights entirely while preaching heavenly joys in the desert. But also this stands out greatly before the Lord, even though it seems to be despised by men, that he, of whom no one among those born of women is greater, was beheaded by the whim of a wanton girl. The angel, who proposed his rank of greatness, explained afterwards, “And he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.” Sicera signifies drunkenness, a term used by the Hebrews for any drink that can cause inebriation, whether made from fruits, grains, or any other material. It was a specific rule in the law of the Nazarenes to abstain from wine and strong drink during the time of consecration. Thus, John, Samson, and Jeremiah, and others like them, strive to abstain from these things always, so that they may remain perpetual Nazarenes, that is, holy. For it is fitting that a vessel dedicated to heavenly grace be restrained from worldly enticements and not be inebriated with wine, in which is debauchery, but rather be filled with the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, correctly, as the inebriation of wine is taken away, the grace of the Spirit is accumulated. He showed himself to be filled with this grace (as it was foretold), when he leapt in the womb of his mother at the entrance of the blessed Mary, recognizing his office of forerunner and, as much as he could, proclaimed the coming of the Lord. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Sicera is interpreted “drunkenness,” and by the word the Hebrews understand any drink that can intoxicate, (whether made from fruits, corn, or any other thing.) But it was part of the law of the Nazarites to give up wine and strong drink at the time of their consecration. (Numb. 6:5.) Hence John, and others like him, that they might always remain Nazarites, (i. e. holy,) are careful always to abstain from these things. For he ought not to be drunk with wine (in which is licentiousness) who desires to be filled with the new wine of the Holy Spirit; rightly then is he, from whom all drunkenness with wine is utterly put away, filled with the grace of the Spirit. But it follows, And he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Cyprian: And now by certain of us the baptism of heretics is asserted to occupy the (like) ground, and, as if by a certain dislike of re-baptizing, it is counted unlawful to baptize after God’s enemies. And this, although we find that they were baptized whom John had baptized: John, esteemed the greatest among the prophets; John, filled with divine grace even in his mother’s womb; who was sustained with the spirit and power of Elias; who was not an adversary of the Lord, but His precursor and announcer; who not only foretold our Lord in words, but even showed Him to the eyes; who baptized Christ Himself by whom others are baptized. — Epistle LXXII.25

Irenaeus: And then, speaking of John, he thus says: “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” For whom, then, did he prepare the people, and in the sight of what Lord was he made great? Truly of Him who said that John had something even “more than a prophet,” and that “among those born of women none is greater than John the Baptist;” who did also make the people ready for the Lord’s advent, warning his fellow-servants, and preaching to them repentance, that they might receive remission from the Lord when He should be present, having been converted to Him, from whom they had been alienated because of sins and transgressions. As also David says, “The alienated are sinners from the womb: they go astray as soon as they are born.” And it was on account of this that he, turning them to their Lord, prepared, in the spirit and power of Elias, a perfect people for the Lord. — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 10), Section 1

Origen of Alexandria: It is written, then, of John: “he shall be great in the sight of the Lord”. This, which is said—“he shall be great in the sight of the Lord”—shows the greatness of John’s soul, which lies open to the eyes of God; and there is something lesser, which is properly beheld in the virtue of the soul. Thus I understand also that which is said in the Gospel: “do not despise one of these least ones”, who are in the Church. “Least” there is understood in distinction from the greater. I am not commanded not to despise the one who is great, because he who is great cannot be despised, but it is said to me: “do not despise one of the least”. And that you may know that “least” and “little” is not said by chance, but with the reasoning we have set forth, it is written: “whoever shall scandalize one of these least ones”.

The “least” one is scandalized; the great one cannot sustain a scandal. There follows concerning John: “and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb”. And the birth of John is full of miracle. For just as an Archangel announced the coming of our Lord and Savior, so also an Archangel announces the birth of John. “He shall be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb”. The people of the Jews in no way saw our Lord working “signs and wonders” and healing their infirmities; but John, still set in his mother’s womb, exults and cannot be contained, and at the coming of the mother of Jesus longs to burst forth from the womb. “For behold”, says Elizabeth, “as your greeting was made in my ears, the infant exulted for joy in my womb”. John was still in his mother’s womb and already he had the Holy Spirit. For that was not the beginning of his substance and nature. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 4

Luke 1:16

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Metaphrastes sup.) But what John’s work is to be, and what he will do through the Holy Spirit, is shown as follows; And many of the children of Israel shall he turn, &c.

Or else; The Jews were the parents of John and the Apostles; but, nevertheless, from pride and infidelity raged violently against the Gospel. Therefore, like dutiful children, John first, and the Apostles after him, declared to them the truth, winning them over to their own righteousness and wisdom. So also will Elias convert the remnant of Hebrews to the truth of the Apostles. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah. When John, who bore witness to Christ, was baptizing people in his faith, he is said to have turned the children of Israel to the Lord their God; it is indeed clear that Christ is the Lord God of Israel. If, however, Christ is, or rather, since Christ is the Lord God of Israel, let the Arians cease from denying that Christ is the Lord God. Let the Photinians blush for giving Christ a beginning from the virgin. Let the Manicheans stop believing that there is one God of the people of Israel and another of the Christians. And because John is said to go before him, let them see that the eternal God before the ages was born as a man in time, and therefore is named by his precursor now as a man coming after him, now as the Son of God. He is well said to go before in the spirit and power of Elijah, for just as that one was the herald of the coming judge, so this one became the herald of the Redeemer. Whence both, following a very similar way of life, pursued the desert, lived frugally, were dressed simply, and were regarded with contempt. Both tolerate the madness of king and queen. That one divided the Jordan when he was about to seek heaven, this one converted men to the saving bath by which heaven may be sought. This one is associated with the Lord on earth, that one is manifested with him in glory. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Now since John (who, bearing witness to Christ, baptized the people in His faith) is said to have turned the children of Israel to the Lord their God, it is plain that Christ is the God of Israel. Let the Arians then cease to deny that Christ our Lord is God. Let the Photinians blush to ascribe Christ’s beginning to the Virgin. Let the Manichæns no longer believe that there is one God of the people of Israel, another of the Christians. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): John indeed turned many, but it is the Lord’s work to turn all to God their Father. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: Then Scripture says that “he shall convert very many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God”. John converts “very many”, but the Lord not many, rather all. This is his work, that he should convert all to God the Father. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 4

Luke 1:17

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But we need no testimony that St. John turned the hearts of many, for to this point we have the express witness of both prophetic and and evangelical Scriptures. For the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make His paths straight; and his baptisms thronged by the people, declare the rapid progress of conversion. For the forerunner of Christ preached, not himself, but the Lord; and therefore it follows, And he shall go before Him. It was well said, that he shall go before Him, who both in birth and in death was His forerunner.

For never is the spirit without power, nor power without the spirit. And therefore it is said, in the spirit and power; because holy Elijah had great power and grace. Power, so that he turned back the false hearts of the people to faith; power of abstinence, and patience, and the spirit of prophecy. Elijah was in the wilderness, in the wilderness also was John. The one sought not the favour of king Ahab; the other despised that of Herod. The one divided Jordan; the other brought men to the Saving waters; John, the forerunner of our Lord’s first coming; Elijah of His latter. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ambrose of Milan: Well, these things are connected; for the spirit is never without virtue, nor is virtue without the spirit. And therefore, perhaps in the spirit and virtue of Elijah; for the holy Elijah had great power and grace: the power to turn the hearts of the people to faith from wickedness, the power of abstinence and patience, and the spirit of prophecy. In the wilderness, Elijah; in the wilderness, John: the former was fed by ravens, the latter in the bushes; and while he trampled on all the allurements of pleasure, he preferred frugality and despised luxury: he did not seek the favor of King Ahab, but spurned Herod’s favor; he divided the Jordan, he turned it into a saving bath: he dwells on earth with the Lord, he appears in glory with the Lord: he is the precursor of the first advent of the Lord, he is the precursor of the second advent of the Lord: after three years of drought, he watered the earth with rain, and after three years he poured the rain of faith on the ground of our bodies. — EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF Luke 1.36

Bede: And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient, etc. To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children means to infuse the spiritual knowledge of the holy ancients into the people through preaching. But the wisdom of the just is not to presume righteousness from the works of the law but to seek salvation through faith. So that although they observe the commands of the law, they may understand that they are saved by the grace of God through Christ. For the just shall live by faith (Rom. 1). And Peter spoke of the yoke of the law: “Which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear, but we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus we shall be saved, just as they (Acts 15).” Because this wisdom is long imparted to the unbelievers through John and through Elijah, it is rightly said about Elijah by Malachi in almost the same words as it was said about John by the angel: “Prepare a perfect people for the Lord.” For because it was said that Zacharias was heard when supplicating for the people, it teaches in what order that people ought to be saved and perfected, namely by the preaching of John in repenting and believing in Christ. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: Both Elijah and John were celibate. Both wore rough dress. Both spent their lives in the wilderness. Both were heralds of the truth. Both underwent persecution for justice’s sake at the hands of a king and queen—the former at the hands of Ahab and Jezebel, the latter at the hands of Herod and Herodias. The former, lest he be killed by the wicked, was carried up to heaven in a fiery chariot. The latter, lest he be overcome by the wicked, sought the heavenly kingdom by his martyrdom, which was accomplished in spiritual combat. — Homilies on the Gospels 2.23

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But what was foretold of Elias by Malachi, is now spoken by the angel of John; as it follows, That he should turn the hearts of the parents to the children; (Mal. 4:5, 6.) pouring into the minds of the people, by his preaching, the spiritual knowledge of the ancient saints. And the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; i. e. not laying claim to righteousness from the works of the law, but seeking salvation by faith. (Rom. 10. sup.) — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But because he had said that Zacharias’ prayer for the people was heard, he adds, To make ready a people prepared for the Lord; by which he teaches in what manner the same people must be healed and prepared; namely, by repenting at the preaching of John and believing on Christ. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Gregory the Dialogist: For the angel says to Zechariah concerning John: “He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah.” He is said to be coming in the spirit and power of Elijah because just as Elijah will precede the second coming of the Lord, so John preceded the first. Just as the former will be the precursor of the Judge, so the latter was made the precursor of the Redeemer. John therefore was Elijah in spirit; he was not Elijah in person. What the Lord therefore declares concerning the spirit, John denies concerning the person. — Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 7

Hippolytus of Rome: But since the Saviour was the beginning of the resurrection of all men, it was meet that the Lord alone should rise from the dead, by whom too the judgment is to enter for the whole world, that they who have wrestled worthily may be also crowned worthily by Him, by the illustrious Arbiter, to wit, who Himself first accomplished the course, and was received into the heavens, and was set down on the right hand of God the Father, and is to be manifested again at the end of the world as Judge. It is a matter of course that His forerunners must appear first, as He says by Malachi and the angel, “I will send to you Elias the Tishbite before the day of the Lord, the great and notable day, comes; and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, lest I come and smite the earth utterly.” These, then, shall come and proclaim the manifestation of Christ that is to be from heaven; and they shall also perform signs and wonders, in order that men may be put to shame and turned to repentance for their surpassing wickedness and impiety. — Hippolytus Dogmatical and Historical Fragments

Irenaeus: Wherefore also Mark, the interpreter and follower of Peter, does thus commence his Gospel narrative: “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make the paths straight before our God.” Plainly does the commencement of the Gospel quote the words of the holy prophets, and point out Him at once, whom they confessed as God and Lord; Him, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who had also made promise to Him, that He would send His messenger before His face, who was John, crying in the wilderness, in “the spirit and power of Elias,” “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight paths before our God.” For the prophets did not announce one and another God, but one and the same; under various aspects, however, and many titles. — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 10), Section 5

Irenaeus: And that we may not have to ask, Of what God was the Word made flesh? he does himself previously teach us, saying, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came as a witness, that he might bear witness of that Light. He was not that Light, but [came] that he might testify of the Light.” By what God, then, was John, the forerunner, who testifies of the Light, sent [into the world]? Truly it was by Him, of whom Gabriel is the angel, who also announced the glad tidings of his birth: [that God] who also had promised by the prophets that He would send His messenger before the face of His Son, who should prepare His way, that is, that he should bear witness of that Light in the spirit and power of Elias. But, again, of what God was Elias the servant and the prophet? Of Him who made heaven and earth, as he does himself confess. John, therefore, having been sent by the founder and maker of this world, how could he testify of that Light, which came down from things unspeakable and invisible? For all the heretics have decided that the Demiurge was ignorant of that Power above him, whose witness and herald John is found to be. Wherefore the Lord said that He deemed him “more than a prophet.” For all the other prophets preached the advent of the paternal Light, and desired to be worthy of seeing Him whom they preached; but John did both announce [the advent] beforehand, in a like manner as did the others, and actually saw Him when He came, and pointed Him out, and persuaded many to believe on Him, so that he did himself hold the place of both prophet and apostle. For this is to be more than a prophet, because, “first apostles, secondarily prophets;” but all things from one and the same God Himself. — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 11), Section 4

Methodius of Olympus: In order that by the miracle of these the hearts of the fathers might be turned to the children, and the disobedient unto the wisdom of the just. … O ye disobedient as regards the wisdom of the just, turn your hearts to your children. Learn the mysteries of God; the very thing itself which is being done bears witness that it is God that is thus hymned by uninstructed tongues. Search the Scriptures, as ye have heard from the Lord; for they are they which testify of Him, and be not ignorant of this miracle. Hear ye men without grace, and thankless, what good tidings the prophet Zechariah brings to you. He says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; behold thy King cometh unto thee: just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon the foal of an ass. Why do ye repel the joy? Why, when the sun shineth, do ye love darkness? Why do ye against unconquerable peace meditate war? If, therefore, ye be the sons of Zion, join in the dance together with your children. Let the religious service of your children be to you a pretext for joy. Learn from them who was their Teacher; who called them together; whence was the doctrine; what means this new theology and old prophecy. And if no man hath taught them this, but of their own accord they raise the hymn of praise, then recognise the work of God, even as it is written in the law: “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou perfected praise.” Redouble, therefore, your joy, that you have been made the fathers of such children who, under the teaching of God, have celebrated with their praises things unknown to their seniors. Turn your hearts to your children, and close not your eyes against the truth. But if you remain the same, and hearing, hear not, and seeing, perceive not, and to no purpose dissent from your children, then shall they be your judges according to the Saviour’s word. — Methodius Oration on the Psalms

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): In the spirit and power of Elijah.—He says not, in the mind of Elijah, but in the spirit and power. For the spirit which was in Elijah came upon John, and in like manner his power.

This sacrament of preparation is even now fulfilled in the world, for even now the spirit and power of John must come upon the soul, before it believes in Jesus Christ. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: “And he shall go before Christ in the spirit and power of Elijah”. He does not say: in the soul of Elijah, but: “in the spirit and power of Elijah”. There was in Elijah a power and a spirit, as in all the prophets, and, according to the dispensation of the body, in the Lord and Savior himself also, of whom a little later it is said to Mary: “the Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you”. The spirit, therefore, which had been in Elijah, came into John, and the power which was in him appeared in this one also. The former was translated, but the latter was the forerunner of the Lord and died before him, so that, descending also to the lower regions, he might there proclaim his coming.

I think that the mystery of John is fulfilled in the world down to this very day. Whoever is to believe in Christ Jesus, first the spirit and power of John comes to his soul and “prepares for the Lord a perfect people”, and in the ruggednesses of the heart makes the ways level and straightens the paths. Not at that time only were the ways prepared and the paths made straight, but down to this very day the spirit and power of John goes before the coming of the Lord and Savior. O the great mysteries of the Lord and of his dispensation! Angels run before Jesus, angels daily either ascend or descend upon the salvation of men in Christ Jesus: to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 4

Tertullian: But further, if Christ reproves the scribes and Pharisees, sitting in the official chair of Moses, but not doing what they taught, what kind of (supposition). is it that He Himself withal should set upon His own official chair men who were mindful rather to enjoin-(but) not likewise to practise-sanctity of the flesh, which (sanctity) He had in all ways recommended to their teaching and practising?-first by His own example, then by all other arguments; while He tells (them) that “the kingdom of heavens” is “children’s; " while He associates with these (children) others who, after marriage, remained (or became)virgins; " while He calls (them) to (copy) the simplicity of the dove, a bird not merely innocuous, but modest too, and whereof one male knows one female; while He denies the Samaritan woman’s (partner to be) a husband, that He may show that manifold husbandry is adultery; while, in the revelation of His own glory, He prefers, from among so many saints and prophets, to have with him Moses and Elias -the one a monogamist, the other a voluntary celibate (for Elias was nothing else than John, who came “in the power and spirit of Elias” ); while that “man gluttonous and toping,” the “frequenter of luncheons and suppers, in the company of publicans and sinners,” sups once for all at a single marriage, though, of course, many were marrying (around Him); for He willed to attend (marriages) only so often as (He willed) them to be. — On Monogamy

Luke 1:18

Augustine of Hippo: The church observes the birth of John as in some way sacred.… When we celebrate John’s, we also celebrate Christ’s.…John is born of an old woman who is barren. Christ is born of a young woman who is a virgin. Barrenness gives birth to John, virginity to Christ. The normal and proper age of parents was lacking with the birth of John. No marital embrace occurred for the birth of Christ. The former is announced in the declaration of the angel. With the angel’s annunciation the latter is conceived. That John will be born is not believed, and his father is silenced. That Christ will be born is believed, and he is conceived by faith. First of all faith makes its entry into the heart of the virgin, and there follows fruitfulness in the mother’s womb. And yet, Zechariah used nearly the same words, when the angel announced John: “By what shall I know this? For I myself am an old man, and my wife is already advanced in her days,” and by holy Mary when the angel announced that she was going to give birth: “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” These are practically the same words.… Finally, John is born when the daylight begins to diminish and the night begins to grow longer. Christ is born when the night begins to be curtailed and the day begins to increase. — SERMON 293

Bede: And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days.” Hesitating because of the magnitude of the promises, he seeks a sign by which he might be able to believe, to whom the mere vision or address of the angel should have been sufficient for a sign. Therefore, he suffered the deserved punishment of silence for his disbelief, where the same silence was both the sign of the faith he sought and the punishment for the unbelief he deserved. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): As if he says, “If it were man who promised these miracles, one might with impunity demand a sign, but when an angel promises, it is then not right to doubt. It follows; And I am sent to speak to thee. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

John Chrysostom: Zechariah looked at his age, his gray hair, his body that had lost its strength. He looked at his wife’s sterility, and he refused to accept on faith what the angel revealed would come to pass. — ON THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE NATURE OF GOD 2.11

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Hom. ii. De Inc. Nat. Dei sup.) Considering his own age, and moreover the barrenness of his wife, Zacharias doubted; as it is said, And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? as if he said, “How shall this be?” And he adds the reason of his doubting; For I am an old man. An unseasonable time of life, an ill-suited nature; the planter infirm, the soil barren. But it is thought by some a thing unpardonable. in the priest, that he raises a course of objections; for whenever God declares any thing, it becomes us to receive it in faith, and moreover, disputes of this kind are the mark of a rebellious spirit. Hence it follows; And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, who stand before God. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Maximus of Turin: Yet… we ought not to be so astonished that John merited such grace in his birth. For the precursor and forerunner of Christ ought to have had something similar to the birth of the Lord, the Savior. Indeed, the Lord was begotten of a virgin and John of a sterile woman, the one of an unstained girl and the other of an already exhausted old woman. John’s birth, then, also has something of the glorious and the wondrous. Although it would seem to be less noble for a matron to give birth than for a virgin to give birth, yet as we look up to Mary for having given birth as a virgin we also wonder at Elizabeth for having done so as an old woman. Indeed, I think that this fact contains a certain mystery. John, who was a figure of the Old Testament, should have been born of the already cold blood of an old woman, while the Lord, who would preach the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, came forth from a woman in the flower of glowing youth. Mary, conscious of her virginity, marvels at the fruit hidden in her belly, while Elizabeth, conscious of her old age, blushes that her womb is heavy with the one she has conceived. Thus the Evangelist says, “She hid herself for five months.” How wonderful it is, though, that the same archangel Gabriel performs an office with respect to each birth! He comforts the unbelieving Zechariah and encourages the believing Mary. He lost his voice because he doubted. But she, because she believed immediately, conceived the saving Word. — SERMON 5.3-4

Luke 1:19

Bede: And the angel answered him, saying: I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words. It should be understood that if a man were to promise such things, it would be permissible to demand a sign with impunity; but since it is an angel who promises, it no longer becomes appropriate to doubt. And he gives a sign that is requested, so that he who spoke in disbelief may now learn to believe by remaining silent. It is to be noted here that the angel declares that he stands before God and has been sent to announce the good news to Zechariah. Because even when angels come to us, they fulfill their ministry outwardly, yet they are never absent inwardly through contemplation. And so they are both sent and present, because although an angelic spirit is circumscribed, the highest spirit himself who is God is not circumscribed. Therefore, angels are both sent and stand before Him, because whenever they come sent, they run within Him. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Here we must remark, that the angel testifies, that he both stands before God, and is sent to bring good tidings to Zacharias. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Hom. xxxiv. in Evang.) For when angels come to us, they so outwardly fulfil their ministry, as at the same time inwardly to be never absent from His sight; since, though the angelic spirit is circumscribed, the highest Spirit, which is God, is not circumscribed. The angels therefore even when sent are before Him, because on whatever mission they go, they pass within Him. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (sup.) That when you hear that I am sent from God, you should deem none of the things which are said unto thee to be of man, for I speak not of myself, but declare the message of Him who sends me. And this is the merit and excellence of a messenger to relate nothing of his own. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:20

Bede: But he who pretends not to believe what he has heard is punished with the penalty of silence, because he is mute who does not understand the spiritual sense within the letters. Nor does such a one know how to give words to the people like a teacher, but, lacking the word and reason, he, so to speak, makes silent gestures. Such was then the priesthood of the Jews, when they did not care to understand the reason for sacrifices or the declarations of the prophets. While Zacharias remains mute, Elisabeth conceives John, because although the priests may not understand the distinction of faith, and the Pharisees and Scribes lose it, so that neither themselves enter nor permit their listeners to enter, yet the interior of the law abounds with the sacraments of Christ. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But he gives him the sign which he asks for, that he who spoke in unbelief, might now by silence learn to believe; as it follows; and, behold, thou shall be dumb. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ephrem the Syrian: It was in the middle of the sanctuary that Zechariah became dumb, to show that the mysteries of the sanctuary had become silent, for he who was to fulfill these mysteries had come. Because Zechariah did not believe that his wife’s barrenness had been healed, he was bound in his speech. — COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 1.10

Hippolytus of Rome: But we, who know the economy, adore His mercy, because He hath come to save and not to judge the world. Wherefore John, the forerunner of the Lord, who before knew not this mystery, on learning that He is Lord in truth, cried out, and spake to those who came to be baptized of him, “O generation of vipers,” why look ye so earnestly at me? “I am not the Christ; " I am the servant, and not the lord; I am the subject, and not the king; I am the sheep, and not the shepherd; I am a man, and not God. By my birth I loosed the barrenness of my mother; I did not make virginity barren. I was brought up from beneath; I did not come down from above. I bound the tongue of my father; I did not unfold divine grace. I was known by my mother, and I was not announced by a star. I am worthless, and the least; but “after me there comes One who is before me” -after me, indeed, in time, but before me by reason of the inaccessible and unutterable light of divinity. “There comes One mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” I am subject to authority, but He has authority in Himself. I am bound by sins, but He is the Remover of sins. apply the law, but He bringeth grace to light. teach as a slave, but He judgeth as the Master. I have the earth as my couch, but He possesses heaven. I baptize with the baptism of repentance, but He confers the gift of adoption: “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” Why give ye attention to me? I am not the Christ. — Hippolytus Dogmatical and Historical Fragments

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (sup.) That the bonds might be transferred from the powers of generation to the vocal organs. From no regard to the priesthood was he spared, but for this reason was the more smitten, because in a matter of faith he ought to have set an example to others.

(sup.) But the Angel says, And, behold; in other words, “At this instant.” But mark the mercy of God in what follows: Until the day in which these things shall be performed. As if he said, “When by the issues of events I shall have proved my words, and thou shalt perceive that thou art rightly punished, I will remove the punishment from thee.” And he points out the cause of the punishment, adding, Because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season; not considering His power Who sent me, and before Whom I stand. But if he who was incredulous about a mortal birth is punished, how shall he escape vengeance, who speaks falsely of the heavenly and unspeakable birth? — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Tertullian: For Zacharias, when punished with a temporary privation of voice, holds colloquy with his mind, and, passing by his bootless tongue, with the help of his hands dictates from his heart, and without his mouth pronounces the name of his son. Thus, in his pen there speaks a hand clearer than every sound, in his waxen tablet there is heard a letter more vocal that every mouth. — On Idolatry

Luke 1:21

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Antipater Bostrensis.) Now while these things were going on within, the delay excited surprise among the multitudes who were waiting without, as it follows: And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried. And while various suspicions were going about, each man repeating them as it pleased him, Zacharias coming forth told by his silence what he secretly endured. Hence it follows, And when he came out, he could not speak. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And the people were waiting for Zechariah and were wondering at his delay in the temple. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them. And they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple, and he was making signs to them and remained mute. And it happened that when the days of his service were completed, he went home. This is what I said: that during their turn of duty, priests, being engaged solely in the temple’s duties, not only refrained from the embrace of their wives but also from entering their own homes. From this, an example of maintaining perpetual chastity is given to the priests of our time, who are always commanded to serve at the altar. For since in those days the priesthood succession was sought from the line of Aaron, it was necessary to provide for a time to produce offspring. But because now it is not a carnal succession but a spiritual perfection that is sought, consequently, priests are commanded to always abstain from wives and always maintain chastity, so they can always serve at the altar. — On the Gospel of Luke

Luke 1:22

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But a nod is a certain action of the body, without speech endeavouring to declare the will, yet not expressing it. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But in one man the voice of the people was put to silence, because in one man the whole people was addressing God. For the word of God has come over to us, and in us is not silent. He is dumb who understands not the Law; for why should you think the man who knows not a sound, to be more dumb than him who knows not a mystery. The Jewish people are like to one beckoning, who cannot make his actions intelligible. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: Zechariah the priest, while he offers incense in the temple, is condemned to silence and holds his peace; indeed, he speaks only by nods, and remains mute right up to the birth of his son John. To what does this history point? The silence of Zechariah is the silence of the prophets among the people of Israel. In no way does God speak to them, and “the word, which in the beginning was God with the Father”, has passed over to us, and Christ is not silent to us, though among them he is silent even to this day: for which reason also the prophet Zechariah kept silent. For it is most clearly proved from his very words that he was both a prophet and a priest. But what does this mean, which follows: “he was making signs to them” and made up for the loss of his voice by nods? I think that such works are those which, being without speech and reason, differ in nothing from nods. But where reason and speech have gone before and the work has thus followed after, they ought not to be reckoned mere nods, which are adorned with speech and reason. If therefore you see the manner of life of the Jews to be without reason and speech, so that they cannot render a reason for the things they do, understand that what then took place in Zechariah is even now being fulfilled in them as in an image. Their circumcision is like nods. For unless a reason for circumcision be rendered, circumcision is a nod and a mute work. The Passover and the other solemn feasts are nods rather than truth. To this day the people of Israel is deaf and “mute”; for it could not be otherwise than that he should be deaf and “mute” who had cast speech away from himself. And of old indeed Moses said: “but I am ἄλογος (without speech or reason)” — which, though the Latin has rendered it otherwise, can nevertheless be more properly translated: “without speech or reason” —, and after he said this, he received reason or speech, which he had confessed that he did not before possess. But the people of Israel in Egypt, before it received the law, was in a certain way “mute”, without speech and reason; then it received speech, of which Moses was an image. This people, therefore, does not now confess what it then confessed in Moses, namely that it is “mute” and ἄλογος, but by nods and silence indicates that it does not have speech and does not have reason. Does it not seem to you to be a confession of foolishness, when none of them can render a reason for the legal precepts and the prophetic oracle? Christ has ceased to be in them, speech has abandoned them, and that has been fulfilled which is written in Isaiah: “the daughter of Zion shall be left like a booth in a vineyard, and like a lodge in a cucumber-field, like a city that is stormed”. These being abandoned, salvation has been transferred to the nations, that those others might be stirred up to jealousy. Beholding, therefore, the dispensation and the hidden purpose of God, how Israel has been cast off unto our salvation, we ought to take care lest perhaps those others have been cast out for our sake, and we be worthy of greater punishment — we for whose sake others also have been abandoned, and we have done nothing worthy of God’s adoption and of his mercy, who adopted us and reckoned us among his own sons in Christ Jesus: to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 5

Luke 1:23

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): During the time of their course, the priests of the temple were so occupied by their office, that they kept themselves not only from the society of their wives, but even from the very threshold of their houses. Hence it is said, And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days were accomplished, &c. For as there was then required a priestly succession from the root of Aaron, of necessity then a time was appointed for keeping up the inheritance. But as now not a carnal succession, but spiritual perfection, is looked for, the priests are enjoined (in order that they might ever be able to serve the altar) the perpetual observance of chastity. It follows: But after those days, &c. that is, after the days of Zacharias’s ministration were completed. But these things were done in the month of September, the twenty-second day of the month, upon which the Jews were bound to observe the feast of the Tabernacles, just before the equinox, at which the night began to be longer than the day, because Christ must increase, but John must decrease. And those days of fasting were not without their meaning; for by the mouth of John, repentance and mortification were to be preached to men. It follows: And she hid herself. (see John 3:30.) — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:24

Ambrose of Milan: Great care is given to modesty by the saints, so that often shame is in their very desires; as we observe in this place the holy Elizabeth, who desired to have children and concealed herself for five months. What is the reason for this concealment, if not modesty? For there is a prescribed age for everyone’s duty: and what is fitting at one time is not fitting at another; the change of age often changes the nature of an action. — Commentary on Luke

Ambrose of Milan: She who was hiding herself, because she had conceived a son, began to boast because she was giving birth to a prophet. And she who was ashamed before, now gives blessings; and she who was doubtful before, is strengthened. Behold, she says, how the voice of your greeting has become in my ears, the baby in my womb rejoiced with joy. Therefore, she cried out with a loud voice when she sensed the coming of the Lord; because she believed in the religious birth. For there was no cause for shame, when she bore a prophet, not acquiring faith in the generation by pretense. — Commentary on Luke

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): What reason then for concealment, except shame? For there are certain allowed times in wedlock, when it is becoming to attend to the begetting of children; while the years thrive, while there is hope of child-bearing. But when in good time old age has come on, and the period of life is more fitted for governing children, than begetting them, it is a shame to bear about the signs of pregnancy, however lawful. It is a shame to be laden with the burden of another age, and for the womb to swell with the fruit of not one’s own time of life. It was a shame then to her on account of her age; and hence we may understand the reason why they did not at this time come together, for surely she who blushed not at their coming together in their old age, would not blush at her child-bearing; and yet she blushes at the parental burden, while she yet is unconscious of the religious mystery. But she who hid herself because she had conceived a son, began to glory that she carried in her womb a prophet. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: After these days, Elizabeth, his wife, conceived. Specifically, after the days of Zacharias’ duty were completed. John, the bishop of the city of Constantinople, mentioning this most holy conception, said: “These events occurred in the month of September, on the eighth day before the Kalends of October, when the moon was beginning its eleventh day, at the time when it was necessary for the Jews to celebrate the fast of Scenopegia. And it was found that the same day, the eighth day before the Kalends of October, was the equinox, on which the beginning of the night is longer than the day. For he must increase, but I must decrease,” (John 3). Indeed, the light had been diminished by the darkness, when the Jews, according to the law and prophecy, offered sacrifices to God; in which time John was conceived. For these are the things that were offered for the people’s sins, which were to cease when John, the Baptist, was conceived. And therefore, Zacharias, his father, a priest of the Jews, became mute, because their sacrifices, which were offered for the people’s sins, had to cease and fall silent. For the only priest was coming, who from his own lamb offered as a sacrifice, would offer the sacrifice to God for the sins of all. From the words of the Blessed John, we are taught that on the first day after the day of atonement, the change of the priestly order was celebrated, and therefore on this day the conception of the Lord’s forerunner occurred. This day, not by chance, is a day of fasting and affliction foretold by the angel, because through him affliction of repentance was to be preached to men. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: And Elisabeth rightly hides her conception for five months, whether because the lawgiver Moses in five books mystically designated the mysteries of Christ, or because the entire series of the Old Testament prefigures that same dispensation of Christ through the deeds or words of saintly people in the five ages of the world. And therefore, because the incarnation of Christ would happen either in the sixth age of the world or to fulfill the law, it is rightly in the sixth month of Elisabeth’s conception that the angel was sent to Mary to announce that the Savior would be born, as the following lesson in order explains. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Now mystically by Zacharias may be signified the Jewish Priesthood, by Elisabeth the law itself; which, well administered by the teaching of the Priests, ought to have borne spiritual children to God, but was not able, because the Law made no one perfect. (Heb. 7:19, 1 Tim. 1:8.) Both were just, because the law is good, and the Priesthood for that time holy; both were well stricken in years, because at Christ’s coming both the Law and Priesthood were just bending to old age. Zacharias enters the temple, because it is the priest’s office to enter into the sanctuary of heavenly mysteries. There was a multitude without the doors, because the multitude cannot penetrate mysteries. When he places frankincense on the altar, he discovers that John will be born; for while the teachers are kindled with the flame of divine reading, they find the grace of God flow to them through Jesus: and this is done by an angel, for the Law was ordained by angels. (Gal. 3:19.)

And yet Elisabeth conceives John, because the more inward parts of the Law abound with sacraments of Christ. She conceals her conception five months, because Moses in five books set forth the mysteries of Christ; or because the dispensation of Christ is represented by the words or deeds of the saints, in the five ages of the world. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ephrem the Syrian: Elizabeth hid herself because of Zechariah’s grief. Or alternatively, she hid herself because she was ashamed on account of the fact that she had resumed intercourse. So it was because of her old age that Elizabeth hid herself. But see, Moses did not write in relation to Sarah that she hid herself, when at the age of ninety she carried Isaac, nor with regard to Rebecca, who was pregnant with twins. Elizabeth hid herself for five months, until her infant would be sufficiently formed in his members to exult before his Lord, and because Mary was about to receive the annunciation. — COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 1.24

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Truly He has loosed her barrenness, a supernatural gift He has bestowed upon her, and the unfruitful rock has produced the green blade. He has taken away her disgrace, in that He has made her to bring forth. Hence it follows: In the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

(Homil. de Anna.) Her joy therefore is twofold. The Lord has taken away from her the mark of barrenness, and also given her an illustrious offspring. In the case of other births, the coming together of the parents only occurs; this birth was the effect of heavenly grace. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): And therefore he says, Five months, that is, until Mary should conceive, and her babe leaping with joy should prophesy. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: “When Elizabeth conceived, she hid herself for five months, saying: for thus has the Lord done for me in the days in which he looked upon me to take away my reproach among men”. I ask for what reason, after she understood that she was pregnant, she withdrew from the public eye? Unless I am mistaken, this is the reason: Even those who are joined in marriage do not have every time free for intercourse between themselves, but there is a time when they withdraw from the work of marriage. For if a man be old and a woman aged, it is a matter of the greatest shame for them to be slaves to lust, to be slaves to the conjugal act, when they seem, by the decay of the body and by old age and by the will of God, to have been lifted above such things. But this woman, because at the word of the angel and by the dispensation of God she had again been joined to her husband, was ashamed that, being aged and almost decrepit, she had returned to the work of the young. Hence too she “hid herself for five months” — not until the ninth month, until the birth pressed upon her, but until such time as Mary also should conceive. For when Mary conceived and came to her, and “the greeting was made in” her “ears”, “the infant leapt for joy in the womb” of Elizabeth, and she prophesied. And, filled “with the Holy Spirit”, she spoke those things which the Gospel narrative describes. And “these words were spread abroad throughout all the hill country”. For when a rumor went out among the people that she had a prophet in her womb, and that what she carried was greater than a man, then she is no longer hidden, but with all freedom she reveals herself and rejoices that she has in her womb the forerunner of the Savior. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 6

Luke 1:25

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): And though she might blush at the time of her child-bearing, on the other hand she rejoiced that she was free from reproach, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me.

For it is a shame among women not to receive that reward of marriage, which is the only cause of their being married. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And she hid herself for five months, saying, “Thus has the Lord dealt with me in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” How much care the saints take to admit nothing shameful that should make them blush is shown by Elisabeth, who is even embarrassed by the gifts she desired to receive. And although she rejoices in the removal of the reproach of sterility, she is modest regarding the birth in her advanced age. But the burden of motherhood is a cause of shame only as long as the honor of having a child remains hidden. For she who concealed herself because she had conceived a son, when the blessed Mother of God came in, joyfully exclaimed, because she was about to bear a prophet. — On the Gospel of Luke

Luke 1:26

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Scripture has rightly mentioned that she was espoused, as well as a virgin, a virgin, that she might appear free from all connection with man; espoused, that she might not be branded with the disgrace of sullied virginity, whose swelling womb seemed to bear evident marks of her corruption. But the Lord had rather that men should cast a doubt upon His birth than upon His mother’s purity. He knew how tender is a virgin’s modesty, and how easily assailed the reputation of her chastity, nor did He think the credit of His birth was to be built up by His mother’s wrongs. It follows therefore, that the holy Mary’s virginity was of as untainted purity as it was also of unblemished reputation. Nor ought there, by an erroneous opinion, to be left the shadow of an excuse to living virgins, that the mother of our Lord even seemed to be evil spoken of. But what could be imputed to the Jews, or to Herod, if they should seem to have persecuted an adulterous offspring? And how could He Himself say, I came not to abolish the law, but to fulfil it, (Matt. 5:18.) if He should seem to have had his beginning from a violation of the law, for the issue of an unmarried person is condemned by the law? (Deut. 23:17.) Not to add that also greater credit is given to the words of Mary, and the cause of falsehood removed? For it might seem that unmarried becoming pregnant, she had wished to shade her guilt by a lie; but an espoused person has no reason for lying, since to women child-birth is the reward of wedlock, the grace of the marriage bed. Again, the virginity of Mary was meant to baffle the prince of the world, who, when he perceived her espoused to a man, could cast no suspicion on her offspring.

But still more has it baffled the princes of the world, for the malice of devils soon detects even hidden things, while they who are occupied in worldly vanities, can not know the things of God. But moreover, a more powerful witness of her purity is adduced, her husband, who might both have been indignant at the injury, and revenged the dishonour, if he also had not acknowledged the mystery; of whom it is added, Whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Basil of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (in Esai. 6.) The heavenly spirits visit us, not as it seems fit to them, but as the occasion conduces to our advantage, for they are ever looking upon the glory and fulness of the Divine Wisdom; hence it follows, The angel Gabriel was sent. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): And yet Elisabeth conceives John, because the more inward parts of the Law abound with sacraments of Christ. She conceals her conception five months, because Moses in five books set forth the mysteries of Christ; or because the dispensation of Christ is represented by the words or deeds of the saints, in the five ages of the world.

Because either the Incarnation of Christ was to be in the sixth age of the world, or because it was to serve to the fulfilling of the law, rightly in the sixth month of John’s conception was an angel sent to Mary, to tell her that a Saviour should be born. Hence it is said, And in the sixth month, &c. We must understand the sixth month to be March, on the twenty-fifth day of which our Lord is reported to have been conceived, and to have suffered, as also to have been born on the twenty-fifth day of December. But if either the one day we believe to be the vernal equinox, or the other the winter solstice, it happens that with the increase of light He was conceived or born Who lighteneth every man that cometh into the world. But if any one shall prove, that before the time of our Lord’s nativity or conception, light began either to increase, or supersede the darkness, we then say, that it was because John, before the appearance of His coming, began to preach the kingdom of heaven.

(in Homil. de fest Annunt.) It was a fit beginning for man’s restoration, that an angel should be sent down from God to consecrate a virgin by a divine birth, for the first cause of man’s perdition was the Devil sending a serpent to deceive a woman by the spirit of pride.

(in Homil. de Annunt. sup.) Which last applies not only to Joseph, but also to Mary, for the Law commanded that every one should take a wife out of his own tribe or family. It follows, And the virgin’s name was Mary.

Maria, in Hebrew, is the star of the sea; but in Syriac it is interpreted Mistress, and well, because Mary was thought worthy to be the mother of the Lord of the whole world, and the light of endless ages. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. Therefore, angels are called by private names so that it may be understood by the names even in their activities what they are capable of. For neither in that holy city, which He perfects with full knowledge of the vision of Almighty God, do they thus receive proper names, nor can their persons be unknown without names: but when they come to minister something to us, they also take names from their ministries among us. To Mary the virgin, then, Gabriel is sent, who is named the strength of God. For he was indeed coming to announce Him who deigned to appear humble to wrestle down the airy powers. Of whom the Psalmist says, “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle” (Psalms 24). And again, “The Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory” (ibid.). Therefore, by the strength of God He was to be announced, who is the Lord of powers and mighty in battle, coming to war against the airy powers. Understand the sixth month as March, on the twenty-fifth day of which our Lord is said both to have been conceived and to have suffered, just as He is said to have been born on the twenty-fifth day of the month of December. Because whether we believe that the vernal equinox happens today (as some think) or that the winter solstice occurs at that time, it is surely fitting that He who illuminates every man coming into the world should be conceived or born with the increase of light. But if someone should prove that before the time of the Lord’s nativity and conception, light either increased or overcame the darkness, we also say that John then preached the kingdom of heaven before His face and now too, preachers are commanded, “Prepare the way for him who ascends above the sunset” (Psalms 68). Why John was conceived around the autumn equinox and born around the summer solstice, he himself teaches either from his own or from the persona of the Old Testament (as many claim); “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3). — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: Now Gabriel means “strength of God.” Rightly he shone forth with such a name, since by his testimony he bore witness to the coming birth of God in the flesh. The prophet said this in the psalm, “The Lord strong and powerful, the Lord powerful in battle”—that battle, undoubtedly, in which he [Christ] came to fight “the powers of the air” and to snatch the world from their tyranny. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.3

Bede: The first cause of human perdition occurred when a serpent was sent by the devil to a woman who was to be deceived by the spirit of pride. Moreover, the devil himself came in the serpent, who, once he had deceived our first parents, stripped humankind of the glory of immortality. Because death made its entrance through a woman, it was fitting that life return through a woman. The one, seduced by the devil through the serpent, brought a man the taste of death. The other, instructed by God through the angel, produced for the world the Author of salvation. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.3

Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Hom. 34, in Evan.) To the virgin Mary was sent, not any one of the angels, but the archangel Gabriel; for upon this service it was meet that the highest angel should come, as being the bearer of the highest of all tidings. He is therefore marked by a particular name, to signify what was his effectual part in the work. For Gabriel is interpreted, “the strength of God.” By the strength of God then was He to be announced Who was coming as the God of strength, and mighty in battle, to put down the powers of the air. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Gregory the Dialogist: Gabriel, who is called the strength of God, is also sent to Mary. For he came to announce him who deigned to appear humble to conquer the powers of the air. Of whom it is said through the Psalmist: “Lift up your gates, O princes, and be lifted up, eternal gates, and the King of glory shall enter. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” And again: “The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.” Therefore, he who was the Lord of hosts and mighty in battle, coming to wage war against the powers of the air, was to be announced through the strength of God.

It should also be known that the word “angel” is a name of office, not of nature. For those holy spirits of the heavenly homeland are indeed always spirits, but they cannot always be called angels, since they are angels only when something is announced through them. Moreover, those who announce lesser things are called angels, while those who announce the greatest things are called archangels. This is why not just any angel, but the archangel Gabriel, was sent to the Virgin Mary. For it was fitting that the highest angel should come for this ministry, since he was announcing the highest of all things. — Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 34

Hippolytus of Rome: But concerning the creation of this (Jesus), he expresses himself thus: That powers emanating from the second tetrad fashioned Jesus, who appeared on earth, and that the angel Gabriel filled the place of the Logos, and the Holy Spirit that of Zoe, and the “Power of the Highest” that of Anthropos, and the Virgin that of Ecclesia. And so it was, in Marcus’ system, that the man (who appeared) in accordance with the dispensation was born through Mary. And when He came to the water, (he says) that He descended like a dove upon him who had ascended above and filled the twelfth number. And in Him resides the seed of these, that is, such as are sown along with Him, and that descend with (Him), and ascend with (Him). And that this power which descended upon Him, he says, is the seed of the Pleroma, which contains in itself both the Father and the Son, and the unnameable power of Sige, which is recognised through these and all the Aeons. And that this (seed) is the spirit which is in Him and spoke in Him through the mouth of the Son, the confession of Himself as Son of man, and of His being one who would manifest the Father; (and that) when this spirit came down upon Jesus, He was united with Him. The Saviour, who was of the dispensation, he says, destroyed death, whereas He made known (as) the Father Christ (Jesus). He says that Jesus, therefore, is the name of the man of the dispensation, and that it has been set forth for the assimilation and formation of Anthropos, who was about to descend upon Him; and that when He had received Him unto Himself, He retained possession of Him. And (he says) that He was Anthropos, (that) He (was) Logos, (that) He (was) Pater, and Arrhetus, and Sige, and Aletheia, and Ecclesia, and Zoe. — Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book VI

Jerome: [Daniel 8:16-17] “And I heard the voice of a man in the midst of the Ulai, and he cried out and said: ‘Gabriel, make this vision intelligible (Vulgate: make this man to understand the vision).’ And he came and stood near to where I was standing.” The Jews claim that this man who directed Gabriel to explain the vision to Daniel was Michael. Quite appropriately it was Gabriel, who has been put in charge of battles, to whom this duty was assigned, inasmuch as the vision had to do with battles and contests between kings and even between kingdoms themselves. For Gabriel is translated into our language as “the strength of, or the mighty one of, God.” And so at that time also when the Lord was about to be born and to declare war against the demons and to triumph over the world, Gabriel came to Zacharias (Luke 1:11-20) and to Mary (Luke 1:26-27). And then we read in the Psalms concerning the Lord in His triumph: “Who is this king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle; He is the King of glory” (Psalms 24:8). But whenever it is medicine or healing that is needed, it is Raphael who is sent, for his name is rendered as “the healing of,” or “the medicine of God” - that is, if one cares to accept the authority of the Book of Tobias (Tobit 12:11-15). And then, when favorable promises are made to the people, and hilasmos, which we might render as “propitiation” or “expiation,” is the thing required, then it is Michael who is directed to go, for his name means, “Who is like God?” Of course the significance of the name indicates the fact that the only true remedy is to be found in God.

“And he said to me: ‘Son of man, understand that in the time of the end the vision shall be fulfilled.’” Inasmuch as Ezekiel and Daniel and Zechariah behold themselves to be often in the company of angels, they were reminded of their frailty, lest they should be lifted up in pride and imagine themselves to partake of the nature or dignity of angels. Therefore they are addressed as sons of men, in order that they might realize that they are but human beings. — St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER EIGHT

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (sup. Mat. Hom. 4.) The angel announces the birth to the virgin not after the conception, lest she should be thereby too much troubled, but before the conception he addresses her, not in a dream, but standing by her in visible shape. For as great indeed were the tidings she receives, she needed before the issue of the event an extraordinary visible manifestation. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Pseudo-Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Hieron. vol. xi. 92. De Assumpt.) And rightly an angel is sent to the virgin, because the virgin state is ever akin to that of angels. Surely in the flesh to live beyond the flesh is not a life on earth but in heaven. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Tertullian: Clearly enough is the nativity announced by Gabriel. But what has he to do with the Creator’s angel? The conception in the virgin’s womb is also set plainly before us. — On the Flesh of Christ

Tertullian: Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, “God,” he says, “sent His own Son, made of a woman,” who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to “a virgin.” But when he is blessing her, it is “among women,” not among virgins, that he ranks her: “Blessed (be) thou among women.” The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. — On the Veiling of Virgins

Luke 1:27

Ambrose of Milan: Therefore he who undertook to prove the mystery of the Incarnation in its incorrupt state, did not think it necessary to pursue at length the testimony of the Virgin Mary’s virginity, lest he should be thought to be a defender rather than an assertor of the mystery. Certainly, when Joseph had made lawful the marriage he was about to contract, he sufficiently showed that the temple of the Holy Ghost, the abode of the mystery, the mother of the Lord could not have been violated.

We have learned the series of truth, we have learned the counsel: let us also learn the mystery. Well betrothed, but a virgin; for she is a type of the Church, which is immaculate, but married. The virgin conceives us by the Spirit, the virgin gives birth to us without groaning. And therefore perhaps holy Mary is married to one, filled by another; for indeed individual Churches and souls are filled by the Spirit and grace; yet they are joined to the outward appearance of a temporal priest. — Commentary on Luke

Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (de san. Virg. cap. vi.) To a virgin, for Christ could be born from virginity alone, seeing He could not have an equal in His birth. It was necessary for our Head by this mighty miracle to be born according to the flesh of a virgin, that He might signify that his members were to be born in the spirit of a virgin Church. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: To a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. For many reasons, the Savior wished to be born not of a simple virgin, but of one betrothed. Firstly, evidently, so that through Joseph’s lineage, to whom Mary was a relative, Mary’s origin could also be known. For it is not the custom of Scripture to trace the genealogy of women. For it can be understood from both that it is said of the house of David. Next, lest she should be stoned by the Jews as an adulteress, preferring that some should doubt her origin rather than the chastity of the parent. At the same time, it removes the occasion for impudent virgins, lest they say the mother of the Savior was defamed by false suspicions. Thirdly, so that while fleeing to Egypt and then returning, she would have the solace of a husband, who would exist equally as a protector and witness of her intact virginity. Fourthly, lest her birth be exposed to the devil; who if he knew he was born of a virgin, might perhaps fear to hand him over to death as eminently as other men. But Mary is called in Hebrew the star of the sea, and in Syriac lady; and rightly so, because she deserved to give birth to the Lord of the whole world, and the perpetual light for the ages. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: As to why he wished to be conceived and born not of a simple virgin but of one who was betrothed to a man, several of the Fathers have put forward reasonable answers. The best of these is to prevent her from being condemned as guilty of defilement if she were to bear a son when she had no husband. Then too, in the things the care of a home naturally demands, the woman in labor would be sustained by a husband’s care. Therefore blessed Mary had to have a husband who would be both a perfectly sure witness to her integrity and a completely trustworthy foster father for our Lord and Savior, who was born of her. He was a husband who would, in accordance with the law, make sacrificial offerings to the temple for him when he was an infant. He would take him, along with his mother, to Egypt when persecution threatened. He would bring him back and would minister to the many other needs consequent upon the weakness of the humanity which he had assumed. It did no great harm if, for a time, some believed that he was Joseph’s son, since from the apostles’ preaching after his ascension it would be plainly evident to all believers that he had been born of a virgin. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.3

Jerome: Holy Mary, blessed Mary, mother and virgin, virgin before giving birth, virgin after giving birth! I, for my part, marvel how a virgin is born of a virgin, and how, after the birth of a virgin, the mother is a virgin.Would you like to know how he is born of a virgin and, after his nativity, the mother is still a virgin? “The doors were closed, and Jesus entered.” There is no question about that. He who entered through the closed doors was neither a ghost nor a spirit. He was a real man with a real body. Furthermore, what does he say? “Touch me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” He had flesh and bones, and the doors were closed. How do flesh and bones enter through closed doors? The doors are closed, and he enters, whom we do not see entering. Whence has he entered? Everything is closed up. There is no place through which he may enter. Nevertheless he who has entered is within, and how he entered is not evident. You do not know how his entrance was accomplished, and you attribute it to the power of God. Attribute to the power of God, then, that he was born of a virgin and the virgin herself after bringing forth was a virgin still. — HOMILY 87

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): For if she had had no husband, soon would the thought have stolen into the Devil’s mind, how she who had known no man could be pregnant. It was right that the conception should be Divine, something more exalted than human nature. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: Then Scripture recalls that “in the sixth month” of Elizabeth’s conception “the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, whose name was Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary”. Again, turning it over in my mind, I ask why God, when once he had determined that the Savior should be born of a “virgin”, did not choose a girl without a betrothed, but rather her especially who had already been “betrothed”. And unless I am mistaken, this is the reason: He ought to be born of that virgin who not only had a betrothed, but, as Matthew writes, had already been handed over to a man, although the man did not yet know her, lest her very condition should display the shame of a virgin, if she were seen to be a virgin with a swelling womb. Hence I found it elegantly written in the letter of a certain martyr — I mean Ignatius, the second bishop of Antioch after Peter, who in the persecution at Rome fought against the beasts: “the virginity of Mary was hidden from the prince of this world”; it was hidden because of Joseph, hidden because of the marriage, hidden because she was thought to have a husband. For if she had not had a betrothed and, as was supposed, a husband, she could in no way have been hidden from “the prince of this world”. For at once a silent thought would have crept upon the devil: how is this woman, who has not lain with a man, pregnant? This conception must be divine, it must be something loftier than human nature. On the contrary, the Savior had arranged his dispensation and the assumption of a body so that the devil should not know it: hence in his birth he concealed him, and afterward he charged his disciples “not to make him manifest”. And when he was tempted by the devil himself, he nowhere confessed himself to be the Son of God, but answered only: it is not fitting that I should worship you, nor that I should make these stones into bread, nor that I should cast myself down from on high. And while he said these things, he was always silent that he was the Son of God. Look also in another Scripture, and you will find that it was Christ’s will that the devil should not know the coming of the Son of God. For the Apostle, affirming that the opposing powers did not know his passion, says: “we speak wisdom among the perfect, yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the princes of this world, who are brought to nothing; but we speak the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery, which none of the princes of this world knew. For if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory”. The mystery of the Savior, therefore, was hidden from the princes of this world. But as for what can be objected on the contrary, it seems to me it must be resolved before it is put forward by another — namely, by what reasoning that which was hidden from the princes of this world was not hidden from the demon who spoke in the Gospel: “have you come here before the time to torment us? we know who you are, the Son of God”. But consider that the lesser in malice knew the Savior; whereas he who is greater in wickedness and crafty and vile, by that very fact that he is greater in evil, is hindered from knowing the Son of God. We ourselves too, if we have less of evil, can more easily advance to virtue; but if there be more of evil in us, we must sweat with immense labor to be freed from the greater malice. So much concerning the fact that Mary had a betrothed. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 6

Tertullian: " For to none of men was the universal aggregation of spiritual credentials appropriate, except to Christ; paralleled as He is to a “flower” by reason of glory, by reason of grace; but accounted “of the root of Jesse,” whence His origin is to be deduced,-to wit, through Mary. For He was from the native soil of Bethlehem, and from the house of David; as, among the Romans, Mary is described in the census, of whom is born Christ. — An Answer to the Jews

Luke 1:28

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Mark the virgin by her manner of life. Alone in an inner chamber, unseen by the eyes of men, discovered only by an angel; as it is said, And the angel came in unto her. That she might not be dishonoured by any ignoble address, she is saluted by an angel.

But mark the Virgin by her bashfulness, for she was afraid, as it follows; And when she heard, she was troubled, It is the habit of virgins to tremble, and to be ever afraid at the presence of man, and to be shy when he addresses her. Learn, O virgin, to avoid light talking. Mary feared even the salutation of an angel.

She wondered also at the new form of blessing, unheard of before, reserved for Mary alone. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Geometer) But that she was judged worthy of the nuptials is attested by his saying, Full of grace. For it is signified as a kind of token or marriage gift of the bridegroom, that she was fruitful in graces. For of the things which he mentions, the one appertains to the bride, the other to the bridegroom.

(Geometer) But this is the sum of the whole message. The Word of God, as the Bridegroom, effecting an incomprehensible union, Himself, as it were, the same both planting, and being planted, hath moulded the whole nature of man into Himself. But comes last the most perfect and comprehensive salutation; Blessed art thou among women. i. e. Alone, far before all other women; that women also should be blessed in thee, as men are in thy Son; but rather both in both. For as by one man and one woman came at once both sin and sorrow, so now also by one woman and one man hath both blessing and joy been restored, and poured forth upon all. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Maria, in Hebrew, is the star of the sea; but in Syriac it is interpreted Mistress, and well, because Mary was thought worthy to be the mother of the Lord of the whole world, and the light of endless ages. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And the angel entered to her and said, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women. It is rightly that she is called full of grace, because she obviously attained the grace that no other had merited, that she would conceive and bear the author of grace himself. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: Truly full of grace was she, upon whom it was conferred by divine favor that, first among women, she should offer God the most glorious gift of her virginity. Hence she who strove to imitate the life of an angel was rightfully worthy to enjoy the experience of seeing and speaking with an angel. Truly full of grace was she to whom it was granted to give birth to Jesus Christ, the very one through whom grace and truth came. And so the Lord was truly with her whom he first raised up from earthly to heavenly desires, in an unheard of love of chastity, and afterwards sanctified, by means of his human nature, with all the fullness of his divinity. Truly blessed among women was she who without precedent in the womanly state rejoiced in having the honor of parenthood along with the beauty of virginity, inasmuch as it was fitting that a virgin mother bring forth God the Son. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.3

Gregory of Nyssa ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Diem Nat. Orat. in Christi.) Far different then to the news formerly addressed to the woman, is the announcement now made to the Virgin. In the former, the cause of sin was punished by the pains of childbirth; in the latter, through gladness, sorrow is driven away. Hence the angel not unaptly proclaims joy to the Virgin, saying, Hail. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: But because the angel greeted Mary with a new form of speech, which I could not find in all of Scripture, a few things must be said about this also. For what he says, “Hail, full of grace”, which in Greek is “κεχαριτωμένη” (one filled with grace), where I have read it elsewhere in the Scriptures I do not recall; nor is such a form of speech addressed to a man — “hail, full of grace”. This greeting was reserved for Mary alone. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 6

Peter Chrysologus: “The Lord is with you.” Why is the Lord with you? Because he is coming to you not merely to pay a visit, but he is coming down into you in a new mystery, that of being born. Fittingly did the angel add, “You are blessed among women.” Through the curse she incurred, Eve brought pains upon the wombs of women in childbirth. Now, in this very matter of motherhood, Mary, through the blessing she received, rejoices, is honored, is exalted. Now too womankind has become truly the mother of those who live through grace, just as previously by nature are subject to death. — SERMON 140

Pseudo-Augustine ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Aug. in Serm. de Annunt. iii. app. 195.) More than with me, for He Himself is in thy heart, He is (made) in thy womb, He fills thy soul, He fills thy womb. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Pseudo-Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Jerome sup.) And it is well said, Full of grace, for to others, grace comes in part; into Mary at once the fulness of grace wholly infused itself. She truly is full of grace through whom has been poured forth upon every creature the abundant rain of the Holy Spirit. But already He was with the Virgin Who sent the angel to the Virgin. The Lord preceded His messenger, for He could not be confined by place Who dwells in all places. Whence it follows, The Lord is with thee. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:29

Ambrose of Milan: Learn the virgin in morals, learn the virgin in modesty, learn the virgin in prayer, learn the virgin in mystery. To tremble is for virgins, and to fear the approach of every man, to fear the speech of every man. Let women learn to imitate the purpose of modesty. Alone in the inner chambers, where no man could see, only the angel would find her: alone without a companion, alone without a witness; lest she be corrupted by any improper speech, she is greeted by the angel. Learn, O virgin, to avoid lascivious words: even Mary feared the greeting of the angel. — Commentary on Luke

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (sup.) But as she might be accustomed to these visions, the Evangelist ascribes her agitation not to the vision, but to the things told her, saying, she was troubled at his words. Now observe both the modesty and wisdom of the Virgin; the soul, and at the same time the voice. When she heard the joyful words, she pondered them in her mind, and neither openly resisted through unbelief, nor forthwith lightly complied; avoiding equally the inconstancy of Eve, and the insensibility of Zacharias. Hence it is said, And she cast in her mind what manner of salutation this was, it is not said conception, for as yet she knew not the vastness of the mystery. But the salutation, was there aught of passion in it as from a man to a virgin? or was it not of God, seeing that he makes mention of God, saying, The Lord is with thee. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: When she heard this, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of salutation this might be. Learn the virgin by her manners, learn the virgin by her modesty, learn the virgin by her prophecy, learn the virgin by her mystery. It is the nature of virgins to be startled and to fear every man’s approach, to revere every man’s speech. Let women learn to imitate the resolve of modesty. Alone in her innermost chambers where no men might see her, the angel alone found her, alone without a companion, alone without a witness, lest she be corrupted by any degenerate affection, she is greeted by the angel. Learn, virgin, to avoid the wantoness of words. Even Mary feared the angel’s salutation. Nevertheless, she was thinking, he said, what manner of salutation this might be. And so with modesty, because she was afraid; with prudence, because she marveled at the new formula of blessing, which had been nowhere read, nowhere before discovered. — On the Gospel of Luke

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): For if Mary had known that similar words had been addressed to others, such a salutation would never have appeared to her so strange and alarming. When the angel saw that she was troubled at this unusual salutation, calling her by her name as if she was well known to him, he tells her she must not fear, as it follows; And the angel said, Fear not, Mary. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: For if Mary had known that such a word had been spoken to any other as well — for she had knowledge of the Law and was holy and had come to know the oracles of the prophets by daily meditation — the greeting would never have terrified her as something strange. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 6

Peter Chrysologus: She soon realized that she was receiving within herself the heavenly judge, there in that same place where with lingering gaze she had just seen the harbinger from heaven. It was by a soothing motion and holy affection that God transformed the virgin into a mother for himself and made his handmaid into a parent. Nevertheless her bosom was disturbed, her mind recoiled, and her whole state became one of trembling when God, whom the whole of creation does not contain, placed his whole Self inside her bosom and made himself a man. — SERMON 140

Luke 1:30

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Photius.) As if he said, I came not to deceive you, nay rather to bring down deliverance from deception; I came not to rob you of your inviolable virginity, but to open a dwelling-place for the Author and Guardian of thy purity; I am not a servant of the Devil, but the ambassador of Him that destroyeth the Devil. I am come to form a marriage treaty, not to devise plots. So far then was he from allowing her to be harassed by distracting thoughts, lest he should be counted a servant unfaithful to his trust.

(ubi sup.) For the Virgin found favour with God, in that decking her own soul in the bright robes of chastity, she prepared a dwelling-place pleasing to God. Not only did she retain her virginity inviolate, but her conscience also she kept from stain. As many had found favour before Mary, he goes on to state what was peculiar to her. Behold, thou shall conceive in thy womb. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. Having seen that she was troubled by an unusual greeting, as it were, which was kept for her alone, calling her more familiarly by her name, he bids her not to fear. And because he had called her full of grace, he further establishes that grace and explains it more abundantly, saying: — On the Gospel of Luke

Cyprian: That Christ was to be born of the seed of David, according to the flesh. In the second of Kings: “And the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shall not build me an house to dwell in; but it shall come to pass, when thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shall sleep with thy fathers, I will raise up thy seed after thee who shall come from thy loins, and I will establish His kingdom. He shall build me a house in my name, and I will set up His throne for ever; and I will be to; Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son; and His house shall obtain confidence, and His kingdom for ever in my sight.” Also in Isaiah: “And a rod shall go forth of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall go up from his root; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety; and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill Him.” Also in the cxxxist Psalm: “God hath sworn the truth unto David himself, and He has not repudiated it; of the fruit of thy belly will I set upon my throne.” Also in the Gospel according to Luke: “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary. For thou hast found favour before God. Behold, thou shall conceive, and shalt bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus. The same shall be great, and He shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” Also in the Apocalypse: “And I saw in the right hand of God, who sate on the throne, a book written within, and on the back sealed with seven seals; and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to receive the book, and to open its seals? Nor was there any one either in heaven or upon the earth, or under the earth, who was able to open the book, nor even to look into it. And I wept much because nobody was found worthy to open the book, nor to look into it. And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose its seven seals.” — Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews

Gregory of Nyssa ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Orat. in Diem Nat.) While the expectation of child-birth strikes a woman with terror, the sweet mention of her offspring calms her, as it is added, And thou shall call his name Jesus. The coming of the Saviour is the banishing of all fear. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But he who earns favour in the sight of God has nothing to fear. Hence it follows, For thou hast found favour before God. But how shall any one find it, except through the means of his humility. For God giveth grace to the humble. (James 4:6, 1 Pet. 5:5.) — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): For if Mary had known that similar words had been addressed to others, such a salutation would never have appeared to her so strange and alarming. When the angel saw that she was troubled at this unusual salutation, calling her by her name as if she was well known to him, he tells her she must not fear, as it follows; And the angel said, Fear not, Mary. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:31

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But all are not as Mary, that when they conceive the word of the Holy Spirit, they bring forth; for some put forth the word prematurely, others have Christ in the womb, but not yet formed. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Geometer.) By the word behold, he denotes rapidity and actual presence, implying that with the utterance of the word the conception is accomplished.

(Sev. Antiochenus.) Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, that he might show that our Lord from the very Virgin’s womb, and of our substance, took our flesh upon Him. For the Divine Word came to purify man’s nature and birth, and the first elements of our generation. And so without sin and human seed, passing through every stage as we do, He is conceived in the flesh, and carried in the womb for the space of nine months.

(Geometer.) But since it happens also that to the spiritual mind is given in an especial manner to conceive the Divine Spirit, and bring forth the Spirit of salvation, as says the Prophet; therefore he added, And thou shalt bring forth a Son. (Is. 26:18.) — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: We should carefully note the order of the words here, and the more firmly they are engrafted in our heart, the more evident it will be that the sum total of our redemption consists in them. For they proclaim with perfect clarity that the Lord Jesus, that is, our Savior, was both the true Son of God the Father and the true Son of a mother who was a human being. “Behold,” he says, “you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son” - acknowledge that this true human being assumed the true substance of flesh from the flesh of the Virgin! “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” - confess too that this same Son is true God of true God, coeternal Son forever of the eternal Father! — Homilies on the Gospels 1.3

Bede: Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call his name Jesus. Jesus is interpreted as savior or saving. The angel addressing Joseph explained the sacrament of this name: For he, he said, shall save his people from their sins. He did not say the people of Israel, but his people, that is, called into the unity of faith from among the uncircumcision and the circumcision, where, gathered from different parts, there might be one shepherd and one flock. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Jesus is interpreted Saviour, or Healing. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Cyril of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (de fide ad Theod.) But this name was given anew to the Word in adaptation to His nativity in the flesh; as that prophecy saith, Thou shalt be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord hath named. (Is. 62:2.)

(contra Julian lib. viii.) Not however from Joseph proceeded the most pure descent of Christ. For from one and the same line of connection had sprung both Joseph and the Virgin, and from this the only-begotten had taken the form of man. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ephrem the Syrian: The words “in the sixth month” are reckoned in relation to Elizabeth’s pregnancy. “The angel was sent to a virgin,” and he said to her, “Behold, in your virginity you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” He was speaking about him who was to appear in the body. He did not say to her, “that name which is called Jesus,” but “you shall call his name.” This shows that this name is of the economy which is through the body, since Jesus in Hebrew means “Savior.” For the angel said, “You shall call his name Jesus,” that is, Savior, “for he shall save his people from sins.” This name therefore refers not to his nature but to his deeds. — COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 25

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (non occ.) But since it seems shocking or unworthy to some men that God should inhabit a body, is the Sun, I would ask, the heat whereof is felt by each body that receives its rays, at all sullied as to its natural purity? Much more then does the Sun of Righteousness, in taking upon Himself a most pure body from the Virgin’s womb, escape not only defilement, but even show forth His own mother in greater holiness. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Justin Martyr: And hear again how Isaiah in express words foretold that He should be born of a virgin; for he spoke thus: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bring forth a son, and they shall say for His name, `God with us.’” For things which were incredible and seemed impossible with men, these God predicted by the Spirit of prophecy as about to come to pass, in order that, when they came to pass, there might be no unbelief, but faith, because of their prediction. But lest some, not understanding the prophecy now cited, should charge us with the very things we have been laying to the charge of the poets who say that Jupiter went in to women through lust, let us try to explain the words. This, then, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive,” signifies that a virgin should conceive without intercourse. For if she had had intercourse with any one whatever, she was no longer a virgin; but the power of God having come upon the virgin, overshadowed her, and caused her while yet a virgin to conceive. And the angel of God who was sent to the same virgin at that time brought her good news, saying, “Behold, thou shalt conceive of the Holy Ghost, and shalt bear a Son, and He shall be called the Son of the Highest, and thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins,” -as they who have recorded all that concerns our Saviour Jesus Christ have taught, whom we believed, since by Isaiah also, whom we have now adduced, the Spirit of prophecy declared that He should be born as we intimated before. It is wrong, therefore, to understand the Spirit and the power of God as anything else than the Word, who is also the first-born of God, as the foresaid prophet Moses declared; and it was this which, when it came upon the virgin and overshadowed her, caused her to conceive, not by intercourse, but by power. And the name Jesus in the Hebrew language means Σωτήρ (Saviour) in the Greek tongue. Wherefore, too, the angel said to the virgin, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” And that the prophets are inspired by no other than the Divine Word, even you, as I fancy, will grant. — The First Apology, Chapter XXXIII

Tertullian: But is this the only statement of prophecy which will be frustrated? Will not the angel’s announcement also be subverted, that the virgin should “conceive in her womb and bring forth a son? " And will not in fact every scripture which declares that Christ had a mother? For how could she have been His mother, unless He had been in her womb? But then He received nothing from her womb which could make her a mother in whose womb He had been. — On the Flesh of Christ

Luke 1:32

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): It was said also of John, that he shall be great, but of him indeed as of a great man, of Christ, as of the great God. For abundantly is poured forth the power of God; widely the greatness of the heavenly substance extended, neither confined by place, nor grasped by thought; neither determined by calculation, nor altered by age. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Geom. sup.) And he says, Thou shalt call, not His father shall call, for He is without a father as regards His lower birth, as He is without a mother in respect of the higher.

(sup.) But as this name was common to Him with the successor of Moses, the angel therefore implying that He should not be after Joshua’s likeness, adds, He shall be great. (Josh. 1.)

(Photius.) The assumption of our flesh does not diminish ought from the loftiness of the Deity, but rather exalts the lowness of man’s nature. Hence it follows, And he shall be called the Son of the Highest. Not, Thou shalt give Him the name, but He Himself shall be called. By whom, but His Father of like substance with Himself? For no one hath known the Son but the Father. (Matt. 11:27.) But He in Whom exists the infallible knowledge of His Son, is the true interpreter as to the name which should be given Him, when He says, This is my beloved Son; (Matt. 17:5.) for such indeed from everlasting He is, though His name was not revealed till now; therefore he says, He shall be called, not shall be made or begotten. For before the worlds He was of like substance with the Father. Him therefore thou shalt conceive; His mother thou shalt become; Him shall thy virgin shrine enclose, Whom the heavens were not able to contain. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Basil of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Epist. 236. ad Amphil.) Our Lord sat not on the earthly throne of David, the Jewish kingdom having been transferred to Herod. The seat of David is that on which our Lord reestablished His spiritual kingdom which should never be destroyed. Hence it follows, And he shall reign over the house of Jacob. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: The time had come when, having redeemed the world through his blood, he was to be acknowledged as king not of the house of David alone but also of the whole church; moreover, that he was maker and governor of all generations. Hence the angel properly said afterwards, “and the Lord God will give him the seat of David his father,” and he immediately added, “and he will reign in the house of Jacob forever.” Now the house of Jacob refers to the universal church, which through its faith in and confession of Christ pertains to the heritage of the patriarchs—either among those who took their physical origin from the stock of the patriarchs or among those who, though brought forth with respect to the flesh from other countries, were reborn in Christ by the spiritual washing. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.3

Bede: He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. It is said of John that he will be great, but he as a great man, this one however as a great God. For he will be great before the Lord, but this one, it says, will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. Therefore, the same Son of the Most High who was conceived and born in the virginal womb. The same man in time, created from the mother, who is God born from the Father before all times. But if the same man who is God, Nestorius must cease to say that only a man was born from a virgin, and that he was received by the Word of God, not into the unity of person, but into an inseparable association. Otherwise, he is found to assert not one Christ, true God and man, but two (which is impious to say), and thus to preach not the Trinity, but a quaternity. However, the Catholic faith rightly confesses one Christ as one man of both flesh and soul, just as the angelic words signify, which had asserted that the throne of David his father was to be given to him. For he who would have the same father David, whom he declares will be called the Son of the Most High, demonstrates one person of Christ in two natures. He received the throne of David, so that certainly he might call to the eternal kingdom the people to whom David once and his sons provided temporal rule, which has been prepared for them from the foundation of the world. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Let Nestorius then cease to say that the Virgin’s Son is only man, and to deny that He is taken up by the Word of God into the unity of the Person. For the Angel when he says that the very same has David for His father whom he declares is called the Son of the Highest, demonstrates the one Person of Christ in two natures. The Angel uses the future tense (vocabitur, regnabit) not because, as the Heretics say, Christ was not before Mary, but because in the same person, man with God shares the same name of Son. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Irenaeus: And again, speaking in reference to the angel, he says: “But at that time the angel Gabriel was sent from God, who did also say to the virgin, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favour with God.” [Luke 1:26, etc.] And he says concerning the Lord: “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: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” [Luke 1:32-33] For who else is there who can reign uninterruptedly over the house of Jacob for ever, except Jesus Christ our Lord, the Son of the Most High God, who promised by the law and the prophets that He would make His salvation visible to all flesh; so that He would become the Son of man for this purpose, that man also might become the son of God? — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 10), Section 2

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): See then the greatness of the Saviour, how it is diffused over the whole world. Go up to heaven, see there how it has filled the heavenly places; carry thy thoughts down to the deep, behold, there too He has descended. If thou seest this, then, in like manner, beholdest thou fulfilled in very deed, He shall be great. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: On account of this the angel says to her: “fear not, Mary! for you have found grace before the Lord. Behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and you shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High”. Of John also it is said, “he shall be great”, and Gabriel the angel testifies to this very thing; but when Jesus came, truly great, truly exalted, he who before had been “great” was made lesser. For “he”, he says, “was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a while to rejoice in his light”. The greatness of our Savior did not appear then, when he was born, but now — after he seemed to be crushed by his adversaries — it has shone forth.

See the greatness of the Lord: “into all the earth has the sound of his teaching gone out, and his words unto the ends of the world”. Our Lord Jesus, because he is the power of God, has been poured out over the whole world, and at the present moment is with us according to that which is read in the Apostle: “when you are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of the Lord Jesus”. The power of the Lord and Savior is both with those who are separated from our world in Britain, and with those in Mauritania, and with all who under the sun have believed in his name. See, then, the greatness of the Savior, how it has been poured out over the whole world — and certainly I have not yet set forth his true greatness. Ascend into the heavens and see him, how he has filled the heavenly places: for indeed “he appeared to the angels”. Descend in thought into the depths, and you will see that he descended there also. For “he who descended is the same also who ascended, that he might fill all things”, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth”. Consider the power of the Lord, how he has filled the world — that is, the heavenly and the earthly and the infernal things — how he has penetrated heaven itself and ascended to the things above. For we read that the Son of God passed through the heavens. If you see these things, you will likewise perceive that it was not said in passing, “he shall be great”, but that the word was fulfilled in deed. Great is our Lord Jesus, both present and absent, and he grants a share of his strength even to this gathering and assembly of ours; and that we each may deserve to receive it, let us beseech the Lord Jesus: to whom be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 6

Luke 1:33

Acts of Peter and Paul: Peter said: We preach one God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that has made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that therein is, who is the true King; and of His kingdom there shall be no end. [Luke 1:33] Nero said: What king is lord? Paul said: The Saviour of all the nations. Simon said: I am he whom you speak of. Peter and Paul said: May it never be well with you, Simon, magician, and full of bitterness. — The Acts of Peter and Paul

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Severus Antiochenus.) And to make the Virgin mindful of the prophets, he adds, And the Lord God shall give unto him the seat of David, that she might know clearly, that He Who is to be born of her is that very Christ, Whom the prophets promised should be born of the seed of David.

(Geometer.) But to reign for ever is of none save God alone; and hence though because of the incarnation Christ is said to receive the seat of David, yet as being Himself God He is acknowledged to be the eternal King. It follows, And, his kingdom shall have no end, not in that He is God, but in that He is man also. Now indeed He has the kingdom of many nations, but finally he shall reign over all, when all things shall be put under Him. (1 Cor. 15:25.) — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Isaiah said: His empire will be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace. Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it in judgement and in justice (Isa. IX). He did not say in the acquisition of earthly glories and treasures, not in the victory over many nations or the subjugation of proud cities, but in judgment and justice. For by these the kingdom of Christ is multiplied and established, both in each of the faithful and in the universal Church throughout the earth. For he calls the whole Church the house of Jacob, which, whether born from a good root or grafted in, although it was a wild olive, is rightfully grafted into a good olive tree by faith. After the triumph of his passion, the Savior addressing it says: “You who fear the Lord, praise him; all you offspring of Jacob, glorify him” (Psal. XXI). However, Jesus is not said to be great in future words and to be called the Son of the Most High, to accept the scepter of David, and to reign over the house of Jacob, because, as the heretics senselessly think and fall away from the truth, Christ did not exist before Mary, but that the man assumed into God was glorified by that glory which the Word of God had with the Father before the world was; that is, the same name of the Son would mean the same person of Christ, man with God, full of grace and truth. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Or by the house of Jacob he means the whole Church which either sprang from a good root, or though formerly a wild olive branch, has yet been for a reward of its faith grafted into the good olive tree. (Rom. 11:17.) — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Cosmas Indicopleustes: if that expression for ever be taken as applying to the Lord Christ, it signifies endless duration, in accordance with what Gabriel also says to the Virgin: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his Kingdom there shall be no end — The Christian Topography, Book 2

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Hom. vii. in Matt.) Now He assigns to the present house of Jacob all those who were of the number of the Jews that believed on Him. For as Paul says, They are not all Israel which are of Israel, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:34

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): It was Mary’s part neither to refuse belief in the Angel, nor too hastily take unto herself the divine message. How subdued her answer is, compared with the words of the Priest. Then said Mary to the Angel, How shall this be? She says, How shall this be? He answers, Whereby shall I know this? He refuses to believe that which he says he does not know, and seeks as it were still further authority for belief. She avows herself willing to do that which she doubts not will be done, but how, she is anxious to know. Mary had read, Behold, she shall conceive and bear a son. (Is. 7:14.) She believed therefore that it should be, but how it was to take place she had never read, for even to so great a prophet this had not been revealed. So great a mystery was not to be divulged by the mouth of man, but of an Angel. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ambrose of Milan: It seems that Mary did not believe here, unless you pay careful attention; for it is not right for the chosen one to be seen as unbelieving in conceiving the only-begotten Son of God. But in what way could it happen (although the prerogative of the mother is preserved, to whom it certainly had to be deferred to a greater extent: but as a greater prerogative, a greater faith should also have been reserved for her), therefore in what way could it happen, that Zacharias, who did not believe, was condemned to silence: but Mary, if she had not believed, would be exalted by the infusion of the Holy Spirit? But Mary neither should not believe, nor should she rashly usurp: not believe the angel, usurp divine things. For it was not easy to know the mystery hidden in God from the ages, which even the higher Powers could not know. And yet she did not refuse faith, did not reject the duty: but she adjusted her emotions, promised obedience. For when she says: How will this be done? she did not doubt the outcome, but sought the quality of the effect itself. — EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF Luke 2.14

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Geometer.) But mark, how the Angel solves the Virgin’s doubts, and shows to her the unstained marriage and the unspeakable birth. And the Angel answered, and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee.

(Victor Presbyter.) But observe, how the Angel has declared the whole Trinity to the Virgin, making mention of the Holy Spirit, the Power, and the Most High, for the Trinity is indivisible.c — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Athanasius of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Ep. ad Epictetum.) For we confess that which then was taken up from Mary to be of the nature of man and a most real body, the very same also according to nature with our own body. For Mary is our sister, seeing we have all descended from Adam. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Augustine of Hippo: Her virginity also itself was on this account more pleasing and accepted, in that it was not that Christ being conceived in her, rescued it beforehand from a husband who would violate it, Himself to preserve it; but, before He was conceived, chose it, already dedicated to God, as that from which to be born. This is shown by the words which Mary spoke in answer to the Angel announcing to her her conception; “How,” says she, “shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” Which assuredly she would not say, unless she had before vowed herself unto God as a virgin. But, because the habits of the Israelites as yet refused this, she was espoused to a just man, who would not take from her by violence, but rather guard against violent persons, what she had already vowed. Although, even if she had said this only, “How shall this take place?” and had not added, “seeing I know not a man,” certainly she would not have asked, how, being a female, she should give birth to her promised Son, if she had married with purpose of sexual intercourse. She might have been bidden also to continue a virgin, that in her by fitting miracle the Son of God should receive the form of a servant, but, being to be a pattern to holy virgins, lest it should be thought that she alone needed to be a virgin, who had obtained to conceive a child even without sexual intercourse, she dedicated her virginity to God, when as yet she knew not what she should conceive, in order that the imitation of a heavenly life in an earthly and mortal body should take place of vow, not of command; through love of choosing, not through necessity of doing service. Thus Christ by being born of a virgin, who, before she knew Who was to be born of her, had determined to continue a virgin, chose rather to approve, than to command, holy virginity. And thus, even in the female herself, in whom He took the form of a servant, He willed that virginity should be free. — Of Holy Virginity, Section 4

Augustine of Hippo: The first sinner, the first transgressor, begot sinners liable to death. To heal them, the Savior came from the Virgin; because he didn’t come to you the way you came, seeing that he did not originate from the sexual appetite of male and female, not from that chain of lust. The Holy Spirit, it says, will come upon you. That was said to the Virgin glowing with faith, not seething with carnal lust. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [Luke 1:35]. Being overshadowed like that, how could she be seething with the heat of sexual desire? So, because he didn’t come to you the way you came, he sets you free. — Sermon 153.14

Basil of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (235. Ep. Amph.) Knowledge is spoken of in various ways. The wisdom of our Creator is called knowledge, and an acquaintance with His mighty works, the keeping also of His commandments, and the constant drawing near to Him; and besides these the marriage union is called knowledge, as it is here.

(Lib. de Spirit. Sanct. c. v.) Hence also, St. Paul says, God sent forth his Son, born not (through a woman) but of a woman. For the words through a woman might convey only a notion of birth as a passing through, but when it is said, of a woman, (Gal. 4:4.) there is openly declared a communion of nature between the son and the parent. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Let Nestorius then cease to say that the Virgin’s Son is only man, and to deny that He is taken up by the Word of God into the unity of the Person. For the Angel when he says that the very same has David for His father whom he declares is called the Son of the Highest, demonstrates the one Person of Christ in two natures. The Angel uses the future tense  (vocabitur, regnabit) not because, as the Heretics say, Christ was not before Mary, but because in the same person, man with God shares the same name of Son.

Thou shalt conceive then not by the seed of man whom thou knowest not, but by the operation of the Holy Spirit, with which thou art filled. There shall be no flame of desire in thee when the Holy Spirit shall overshadow thee. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: But Mary said to the angel: How will this be, since I do not know a man? She reverently expressed the purpose of her mind, that is, that she had decided to lead a virginal life. Because she was the first among women to devote herself to such great virtue, she rightfully deserved, by unique merit, to excel in blessedness above other women. How, she said, will this be? She did not say: How will I know this; but, How will this be, she said, since I do not know a man. She inquired about the order of obedience to which she should submit, not asking for a sign to believe. For it did not befit the virgin chosen to bear God to exist in doubtful mistrust but in cautious prudence, since man could not easily know the mystery that was hidden in God through the ages. Therefore, because she had read, Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, but had not read how it could happen, rightfully believing in what she had read, she asked the angel about what she did not find in the prophet (Isaiah VII). — On the Gospel of Luke

Ephrem the Syrian: It was fitting that the Architect of the works of creation should come and raise up the house that had fallen and that the hovering Spirit should sanctify the buildings that were unclean. Thus, if the Progenitor entrusted the judgment that is to come to his Son, it is clear that he accomplished the creation of humanity and its restoration through him as well. He was the live coal, which had come to kindle the briars and thorns. He dwelt in the womb and cleansed it and sanctified the place of the birth pangs and the curses. The flame, which Moses saw, was moistening the bush and distilling the fat lest it be inflamed. The likeness of refined gold could be seen in the bush, entering into the fire but without being consumed. This happened so that it might make known that living fire which was to come at the end, watering and moistening the womb of the Virgin and clothing it like the fire that enveloped the bush. — COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 1.25

Gregory of Neocaesarea: If any one affirms that Christ was born of the seed of man by the Virgin, in the same manner as all men are born, and refuses to acknowledge that He was made flesh by the Holy Spirit and the holy Virgin Mary, mad became man of the seed of David, even as it is written, let him be anathema.

Explication: How could one say that Christ was born of the seed of man by the Virgin, when the holy Gospel and the angel, in proclaiming the good tidings, testify of Mary the Virgin that she said, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? " [Luke 1:34] Wherefore he says, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the highest shall overshadow you: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of the Highest.” [Luke 1:35] And to Joseph he says, “Fear not to take unto you Mary your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” [Matthew 1:20-21] — Twelve Topics on the Faith, Topic 4

Gregory of Nyssa ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Orat. in Diem Nat. Christi.) Hear the chaste words of the Virgin. The Angel tells her she shall bear a son, but she rests upon her virginity, deeming her inviolability a more precious thing than the Angel’s declaration. Hence she says, Seeing that I know not a man.

(sup.) These words of Mary are a token of what she was pondering in the secrets of her heart; for if for the sake of the marriage union she had wished to be espoused to Joseph, why was she seized with astonishment when the conception was made known unto her? seeing in truth she might herself be expecting at the time to become a mother according to the law of nature. But because it was meet that her body being presented to God as an holy offering-should be kept inviolate, therefore she says, Seeing that I know not a man. As if she said, Notwithstanding that thou who speakest art an Angel, yet that I should know a man is plainly an impossible thing. How then can I be a mother, having no husband? For Joseph I have acknowledged as my betrothed.

(Orat. in Diem Nat.) O blessed is that womb which because of the overflowing purity of the Virgin Mary has drawn to itself the gift of life! For in others scarcely indeed shall a pure soul obtain the presence of the Holy Spirit, but in her the flesh is made the receptacle of the Spirit.

(Lib. de Vita Moysis.) For the tables of our nature which guilt had broken, the true Lawgiver has formed anew to Himself from our dust without cohabitation, creating a body capable of taking His divinity, which the finger of God hath carved, that is to say, the Spirit coming upon the Virgin.

(in Diem Natal.) Moreover, the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Christ is the power of the most high King, who by the coming of the Holy Spirit is formed in the Virgin.

(Orat. in Diem Nat.) Or he says, overshadow thee, because as a shadow takes its shape from the character of those bodies which go before it, so the signs of the Son’s Deity will appear from the power of the Father. (non occ. in Greg. Nyss.). For as in us a certain life-giving power is seen in the material substance, by which man is formed; so in the Virgin, has the power of the Highest in like manner, by the life-giving Spirit, taken from the Virgin’s body a fleshly substance inherent in the body to form a new man. Hence it follows, Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Gregory of Nyssa: Then the virgin was initiated into the mystery by Gabriel. The words of the mystagogy were a blessing. “Hail,” he says, “blessed woman, the Lord is with you.” […] He says, “You will conceive in your womb and will bear a son and you shall call his name ‘Jesus’.” [Luke 1:31, Protevangelium of James 11.3] And what did Mary do? Listen to the pure virgin’s utterance. The angel declared the birth, and she clings to her virginity, judging incorruption to be nobler than the angelic appearance and could neither disbelieve the angel nor abandon her judgments. She says, I have no experience of intercourse with a husband: “How will this happen to me, since I have not known a husband?” [Luke 1:34] Mary’s very utterance is proof of what is narrated in the apocryphal book [the Protevangelium of James]. For if she had been taken by Joseph for marriage, how could she be totally astonished at the one who announced the birth to her if she was quite favorably disposed to becoming a mother according to the law of nature? But since the flesh that had been consecrated to God had to be kept inviolate like one of the holy dedicated things, this is why she says, “Even if you are an angel, even if you have come from heaven, even if the appearance was beyond humanity, still for a husband to know me is not possible. How will I become a mother without a husband? I know Joseph as a fiancé, but I have not known a husband.” And what did Gabriel (the bridal escort) do? What sort of bridal chamber did he announce for the pure and undefiled marriage? “The Holy Spirit,” he says, “will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” [Luke 1:35, Protevangelium of James 11.3] — Oration on the Savior’s Nativity (Greek)

Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (18 Moral. c. 20. super Job 27:21.) By the term overshadowing, both natures of the Incarnate God are signified. For shadow is formed by light and matter. But the Lord by His Divine nature is light. Because then immaterial light was to be embodied in the Virgin’s womb, it is well said unto her, The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, that is, the human body in thee shall receive an immaterial light of divinity. For this is said to Mary for the heavenly refreshing of her soul.

(18 Moral. c. 52. super Job 28:19.) To distinguish His holiness from ours, Jesus is stated in an especial manner to be born holy. For we although indeed made holy, are not born so, for we are constrained by the very condition of our corruptible nature to cry out with the Prophet, Behold, I was conceived in iniquity. (Ps. 51:5.) But He alone is in truth holy, who was not conceived by the cementing of a fleshly union, nor as the heretics rave, one person in His human nature, another in His divine; not conceived and brought forth a mere man, and afterwards by his merits, obtained that He should be God, but the Angel announcing and the Spirit coming, first the Word in the womb, afterwards within the womb the Word made flesh. Whence it follows, Shall be called the Son of God. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Hom. 49 in Gen.) As if he said, Look not for the order of nature in things which transcend and overpower nature. Dost thou say, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? Nay rather, shall it happen to thee for this very reason, that thou hast never known a husband. For if thou hadst, thou wouldest not have been thought worthy of the mystery, not that marriage is unholy, but virginity more excellent. It became the common Lord of all both to take part with us, and to differ with us in His nativity; for the being born from the womb, He shared in common with us, but in that He was born without cohabitation, He was exalted far above us. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Leo the Great: But the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ exceeds all understanding and goes beyond any precedent. — SERMON 30.4.2

Leo the Great: Each one is a partaker of this spiritual origin in regeneration. To every one, when he is reborn, the water of baptism is like the Virgin’s womb, for the same Holy Spirit fills the font, who filled the Virgin, that the sin, which that sacred conception overthrew, may be taken away by this mystical washing. — SERMON 24.3

Leo the Great: In this nativity also, Isaiah’s saying is fulfilled, “let the earth produce and bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together.” [Isaiah 45:8] For the earth of human flesh, which in the first transgressor, was cursed, in this Offspring of the Blessed Virgin only produced a seed that was blessed and free from the fault of its stock. And each one is a partaker of this spiritual origin in regeneration; and to every one when he is re-born, the water of baptism is like the Virgin’s womb; for the same Holy Spirit fills the font, Who filled the Virgin, that the sin, which that sacred conception overthrew, may be taken away by this mystical washing. — Sermon 24, Section III

Prudentius: He had to be redeemed: my Spirit came down And impregnated flesh made from the dust With the divine nature; God has assumed Humanity, joining it with divinity, And kindled in men’s hearts new love of me. — AGAINST SYMMACHUS 2.265-69

Prudentius: When God’s coming draws near, the angel Gabriel advances From the Father’s high throne and enters the house of the Virgin. “Mary,” he says, “the Holy Spirit will render you fruitful, And you shall give birth to the Christ, O glorious Virgin.” — SCENES FROM SACRED HISTORY 25

Prudentius: A heavenly fire engenders him, not flesh Nor blood of father, nor impure desire. By power of God a spotless maid conceives, As in her virgin womb the Spirit breathes. The mystery of this birth confirms our faith That Christ is God: a maiden by the Spirit Is wed, unstained by love; her purity Remains intact; with child within, untouched Without, bright in her chaste fertility, Mother yet virgin, mother that knew not man. Why, doubter, do you shake your silly head? An angel makes this known with holy lips. Will you not hearken to angelic words? The Virgin blest, the shining messenger Believed, and by her faith she Christ conceived. Christ comes to men of faith and spurns the heart Irresolute in trust and reverence. The Virgin’s instant faith attracted Christ into her womb and hid him there till birth. — THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST 566-84

Luke 1:35

Bede: And the angel, responding, said to her: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Not by the seed of man, which you do not know, he said, but by the work of the Holy Spirit by which you are filled, you will conceive. There will be conception in you, desire will not be. There will be no heat of lust, where the Holy Spirit makes a shadow. Indeed, in that he said, And the power of the Most High will overshadow you, both natures of the incarnate Savior can also be indicated. For a shadow is usually formed by both light and a body. And to whom it is overshadowed, indeed by the light or heat of the sun it is refreshed as much as is sufficient, but the heat of the sun itself, lest it be unbearable, is moderated by an intervening light cloud or some other body. Therefore, to the Blessed Virgin, because as a pure human she could not fully contain all the fullness of the divinity bodily, the power of the Most High overshadowed, that is, the incorporeal light of divinity assumed a body in her of humanity. Of which the prophet beautifully says: Behold, the Lord, he says, ascends upon a light cloud, and will enter Egypt (Isaiah 19), which is to say: Behold, the Word of God coeternal with the Father, and light from light born before the ages, will assume flesh at the end of the ages and a soul not weighed down by any burden of sin, and from the virginal womb, as a bridegroom from his chamber, (Psalms 18) will come forth into the world. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: Therefore, the holy one to be born from you will be called the Son of God. In distinction from our holiness, Jesus is asserted to be uniquely holy in his birth. For we, even if we are made holy, are not born holy, because we are constrained by the condition of corruptible nature itself. Rightly, then, we each lament with the Prophet, saying: “Behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me” (Psalms 50). But He alone is truly holy who, to overcome the condition of corruptible nature itself, was not conceived from a commingling of carnal union. “The holy one,” He says, “will be called the Son of God.” What do you say here, Nestorian, who denies the blessed Mary to be the Mother of God, trying to attack the clearly open truth? Behold, It said that God will come, the Son of God will be born. How, then, either is the Son of God not God, or the one who bore God, how can she not be Θεοτόκος, that is, the Mother of God? — On the Gospel of Luke

Cyprian: That Christ is both man and God, compounded of both natures, that He might be a Mediator between us and the Father. In Jeremiah: “And He is man, and who shall know Him? Also in Numbers: “A Star shall arise out of Jacob, and a man shall rise up from Israel.” Also in the same place: “A Man shall go forth out of his seed, and shall rule over many nations; and His kingdom shall be exalted as Gog, and His kingdom shall be increased; and God brought Him forth out of Egypt. His glory is as of the unicorn, and He shall eat the nations of His enemies, and shall take out the marrow of their fatnesses, and will pierce His enemy with His arrows. He couched and lay down as a lion, and as a lion’s whelp. Who shall raise Him up? Blessed are they who bless Thee, and cursed are they who curse Thee.” Also in Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; on account whereof He hath anointed me: He hath sent me to tell good tidings to the poor; to heal the bruised in heart, to preach deliverance to the captives, and sight to the blind, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of retribution.” Whence, in the Gospel according to Luke, Gabriel says to Mary: “And the angel, answering, said to her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Wherefore that holy thing which is born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: “The first man is of the mud of the earth; the second man is from heaven. As was he from the soil, such are they also that are of the earth; and as is the heavenly, such also are the heavenly. As we have borne the image of him who is of the earth, let us also bear the image of Him who is from heaven.” — Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews

Gregory the Dialogist: The Lord rests in those hearts which the love of the present age does not inflame, which the desires of the flesh do not burn up, which, set ablaze by their anxieties, do not wither in the lusts of this world. Hence it is also said to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” Therefore, the young deer seeks shady places at midday for feeding, because the Lord is fed by such minds as are not burned by bodily desires through the regard of tempering grace. — Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 33

Hippolytus of Rome: All the prophets, therefore, and the law spoke by means of the Demiurge,-a silly god, he says, (and themselves) fools, who knew nothing. On account of this, he says, the Saviour observes: “All that came before me are thieves and robbers.” And the apostle (uses these words) “The mystery which was not made known to former generations.” For none of the prophets, he says, said anything concerning the things of which we speak; for (a prophet) could not but be ignorant of all (these) things, inasmuch as they certainly had been uttered by the Demiurge only. When, therefore, the creation received completion, and when after (this) there ought to have been the revelation of the sons of God-that is, of the Demiurge, which up to this had been concealed, and in which obscurity the natural man was hid, and had a veil upon the heart;-when (it was time), then, that the veil should be taken away, and that these mysteries should be seen, Jesus was born of Mary the virgin, according to the declaration (in Scripture), “The Holy Ghost will come upon thee”-Sophia is the Spirit-” and the power of the Highest will overshadow thee”-the Highest is the Demiurge,-“wherefore that which shall be born of thee shall be called holy.” For he has been generated not from the highest alone, as those created in (the likeness of) Adam have been created from the highest alone-that is, (from) Sophia and the Demiurge. Jesus, however, the new man, (has been generated) from the Holy Spirit-that is, Sophia and the Demiurge-in order that the Demiurge may complete the conformation and constitution of his body, and that the Holy Spirit may supply his essence, and that a celestial Logos may proceed from the Ogdoad being born of Mary. — Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book 6

Hippolytus of Rome: Now this (mystery) was not made known to previous generations, as he says, it has been written, “By revelation was made known unto me the mystery; " and, “I have heard inexpressible words which it is not possible for man to declare.” The light, (therefore,) which came down from the Ogdoad above to the Son of the Hebdomad, descended from the Hebdomad upon Jesus the son of Mary, and he had radiance imparted to him by being illuminated with the light that shone upon him. This, he says, is that which has been declared: “The Holy Spirit will come upon thee,” (meaning) that which proceeded from the Sonship through the conterminous spirit upon the Ogdoad and Hebdomad, as far as Mary; “and the power of the Highest will overshadow thee,” (meaning) the power of the anointing, (which streamed) from the (celestial) height above (through) the Demiurge, as far as the creation, which is (as far as) the Son. And as far as that (Son) he says the world consisted thus. And as far as this, the entire Sonship, which is left behind for benefiting the souls in Formlessness, and for being the recipient in turn of benefits,-(this Sonship, I say,) when it is transformed, followed Jesus, and hastened upwards, and came forth purified. And it becomes most refined, so that it could, as the first (Sonship), hasten upwards through its own instrumentality. For it possesses all the power that, according to nature, is firmly connected with the light which from above shone down (upon earth). — Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book VII

Hippolytus of Rome: This is the Spirit that at the beginning “moved upon the thee of the waters; " by whom the world moves; by whom creation consists, and all things have life; who also wrought mightily in the prophets, and descended in flight upon Christ. This is the Spirit that was given to the apostles in the form of fiery tongues. This is the Spirit that David sought when he said, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Of this Spirit Gabriel also spoke to the Virgin, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.” By this Spirit Peter spake that blessed word, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” By this Spirit the rock of the Church was stablished. This is the Spirit, the Comforter, that is sent because of thee, that He may show thee to be the Son of God. — Fragments - Dogmatic and Historical

Irenaeus: For the one and the same Spirit of God, who proclaimed by the prophets what and of what sort the advent of the Lord should be, did by these elders give a just interpretation of what had been truly prophesied; and He did Himself, by the apostles, announce that the fulness of the times of the adoption had arrived, that the kingdom of heaven had drawn nigh, and that He was dwelling within those that believe on Him who was born Emmanuel of the Virgin. To this effect they testify, [saying,] that before Joseph had come together with Mary, while she therefore remained in virginity, “she was found with child of the Holy Ghost;” [Matthew 1:18] and that the angel Gabriel said unto her, “The Holy Ghost shall come 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;” [Luke 1:35] and that the angel said to Joseph in a dream, “Now this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, Behold, a virgin shall be with child.” [Matthew 1:23] But the elders have thus interpreted what Esaias said: “And the Lord, moreover, said unto Ahaz, Ask for thyself a sign from the Lord thy God out of the depth below, or from the height above. And Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord. And he said, It is not a small thing for you to weary men; and how does the Lord weary them? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son; and ye shall call His name Emmanuel. Butter and honey shall He eat: before He knows or chooses out things that are evil, He shall exchange them for what is good; for before the child knows good or evil, He shall not consent to evil, that He may choose that which is good.” [Isaiah 7:10-17] Carefully, then, has the Holy Ghost pointed out, by what has been said, His birth from a virgin, and His essence, that He is God (for the name Emmanuel indicates this). And He shows that He is a man, when He says, “Butter and honey shall He eat;” and in that He terms Him a child also, [in saying,] “before He knows good and evil;” for these are all the tokens of a human infant. But that He “will not consent to evil, that He may choose that which is good,"— this is proper to God; that by the fact, that He shall eat butter and honey, we should not understand that He is a mere man only, nor, on the other hand, from the name Emmanuel, should suspect Him to be God without flesh. — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 21), Section 4

Tertullian: After a space of two days, on the third day” -which is His glorious resurrection-He received back into the heavens (whence withal the Spirit Himself had come to the Virgin ) Him whose nativity and passion alike the Jews have failed to acknowledge. — An Answer to the Jews

Tertullian: These facts he had also received from the angel, according to our Gospel: “Wherefore that which shall be born of thee shall be called the Holy One, the Son of God; " and, “Thou shalt call his name Jesus. — Against Marcion Book IV

Tertullian: Forasmuch, however, as it has been declared concerning the Son Himself, Thou hast made Him a little lower than the angels” how will it appear that He put on the nature of angels if He was made lower than the angels, having become man, with flesh and soul as the Son of man? As “the Spirit of God.” however, and “the Power of the Highest,” can He be regarded as lower than the angels,-He who is verily God, and the Son of God? Well, but as bearing human nature, He is so far made inferior to the angels; but as bearing angelic nature, He to the same degree loses that inferiority. — On the Flesh of Christ

Tertullian: I will not here largely use the support of the other Gospels, which confirm our belief by the Lord’s nativity: it is sufficient to remark that He who had to be born of a virgin is announced in express terms by the angel himself as the Son of God: “The Spirit of God shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also the Holy Thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” On this passage even they will wish to raise a cavil; but truth will prevail. — Against Praxeas

Tertullian: See, say they, it was announced by the angel: “Therefore that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Therefore, (they argue, ) as it was the flesh that was born, it must be the flesh that is the Son of God. — Against Praxeas

Tertullian: Of them Jesus consists-Man. of the flesh; of the Spirit, God-and the angel designated Him as “the Son of God,” in respect of that nature, in which He was Spirit, reserving for the flesh the appellation “Son of Man. — Against Praxeas

Luke 1:36

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): So it was then, lest the virgin should despair of being able to bear a son, that she received the example of one both old and barren about to bring forth, in order that she might learn that all things are possible with God, even those which seem to be opposed to the order of nature. Whence it follows, For there shall be no word (verbum) impossible with God. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And behold, your cousin Elizabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age. And this is the sixth month for her who was called barren, for with God, nothing will be impossible. Lest the Virgin doubt her ability to give birth, she receives the example of the barren old woman who is to give birth, in order to learn that all things are possible with God, even those that seem contrary to the natural order. If anyone is troubled by how he calls Elizabeth the cousin of Blessed Mary, since one comes from the house of David and the other from the daughters of Aaron, let him note that their ancestors of both tribes could have joined in marriage by children given to each other. And if this explanation is not sufficient for one arguing more contentiously, as though this could not have happened contrary to the interdiction of the law, let him read Exodus, where it is written: “Aaron took Elizabeth, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, as a wife, and she bore him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar” (Exodus 6). And let him see that before the law’s decree, by divine providence, the priestly and royal lineage had already been joined. Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ, who according to the flesh was to be a true King and Priest, would take this flesh from both lineages, namely David and Aaron. Hence, in this dual lineage, the mystical chrism was celebrated according to the law, a foretelling of both the name and generation of Christ. And David himself, entering the house of God, received the holy bread and the sword as a king and priest. He was prefiguring the one who would come from his seed, who would fight for our freedom by the right of a king, and for our absolution would offer the bread of his flesh. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: Now when the mediator between God and human beings appeared in the world, it was fitting that he had his physical origin from both tribes because, in the humanity which he assumed, he would possess the roles of both priest and king. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.3

Ephrem the Syrian: From what the angel said to Mary, namely, “Elizabeth, your kinswoman,” it could be supposed that Mary was from the house of Levi. Nevertheless up to this, the prophecy was established within the framework of the husbands. The family of David continued as far as Joseph, who had espoused her, and the birth of her child was reckoned through the framework of the men, for the sake of the family of David. It is in Christ that the seed and family of David are brought to completion. Scripture is silent about Mary’s genealogy since it is the generations of men that it numbers and reckons. If Scripture had been accustomed to indicate the family line through the mothers, it would be in order for one to seek the family of Mary. But, lest the words “Elizabeth, your kinswoman” were to show that Mary was also from the house of Levi, take note that the Evangelist has said elsewhere, concerning Joseph and Mary, that “they were both of the house of David.” The angel did not say to Mary that Elizabeth was her sister but “Elizabeth, your kinswoman.” — COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 1.25

Gregory of Nazianzus ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Carm. 18. de Geneal. Christi.) But some one will ask, How is Christ related to David, since Mary sprang from the blood of Aaron, the angel having declared Elisabeth to be her kinswoman? But this was brought about by the Divine counsel, to the end that the royal race might be united to the priestly stock; that Christ, Who is both King and Priest, might be descended from both according to the flesh. For it is written, that Aaron, the first High Priest according to the law, took from the tribe of Judah for his wife Elisabeth, the daughter of Aminadab. (Exod. 6:23.) And observe the most holy administration of the Spirit, in ordering that the wife of Zacharias should be called Elisabeth, so bringing us back to that Elisabeth whom Aaron married. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Irenaeus: That the Lord then was manifestly coming to His own things, and was sustaining them by means of that creation which is supported by Himself, and was making a recapitulation of that disobedience which had occurred in connection with a tree, through the obedience which was [exhibited by Himself when He hung] upon a tree, [the effects] also of that deception being done away with, by which that virgin Eve, who was already espoused to a man, was unhappily misled — was happily announced, through means of the truth [spoken] by the angel to the Virgin Mary, who was [also espoused] to a man. For just as the former was led astray by the word of an angel, so that she fled from God when she had transgressed His word; so did the latter, by an angelic communication, receive the glad tidings that she should sustain (portaret) God, being obedient to His word. And if the former did disobey God, yet the latter was persuaded to be obedient to God, in order that the Virgin Mary might become the patroness (advocata) of the virgin Eve. And thus, as the human race fell into bondage to death by means of a virgin, so is it rescued by a virgin; virginal disobedience having been balanced in the opposite scale by virginal obedience. For in the same way the sin of the first created man (protoplasti) receives amendment by the correction of the First-begotten, and the coming of the serpent is conquered by the harmlessness of the dove, those bonds being unloosed by which we had been fast bound to death. — Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter 19), Section 1

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (49 in Gen.) Seeing that his previous words had overcome the mind of the virgin, the angel drops his discourse to a humbler subject, persuading her by reference to sensible things. Hence he says, And, behold, Elisabeth thy cousin, &c. Mark the discretion of Gabriel; he did not remind her of Sarah, or Rebecca, or Rachel, because they were examples of ancient times, but he brings forward a recent event, that he might the more forcibly strike her mind. For this reason also he noticed the age, saying, She also hath conceived a son in her old age; and the natural infirmity also. As it follows, And this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For not immediately at the beginning of Elisabeth’s conception did he make this announcement, but after the space of six months, that the swelling of her womb might confirm its truth. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:37

Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (contra Faust. l. xxvi. c. 5.) But whoever says, “If God is omnipotent, let Him cause those things which have been done to have not been done,” does not perceive that he says, “Let Him cause those things which are true, in that very respect in which they are true to be false.” For He may cause a thing not to be which was, as when He makes a man who began to be by birth, not to be by death. But who can say that He makes not to be that which no longer is in being? For whatever is past is no longer in being. But if aught can happen to a thing, that thing is still in being to which any thing happens, and if it is, how is it past? Therefore that is not in being which we have truly said has been, because the truth is, in our opinions, not in that thing which no longer is. But this opinion God can not make false; and we do not so call God omnipotent as supposing also that He could die. He plainly is alone truly called omnipotent, who truly is, and by whom alone that is, whatever in any wise exists, whether spirit or body. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): For the Lord of nature can do all things as He will, Who executes and disposes all things, holding the reins of life and death. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Tertullian: It has learnt not to respect life; how much more food? [You ask] “How many have fulfilled these conditions? “But what with men is difficult, with God is easy. Let us, however, comfort ourselves about the gentleness and clemency of God in such wise, as not to indulge our “necessities” up to the point of affinities with idolatry, but to avoid even from afar every breath of it, as of a pestilence. — On Idolatry

Luke 1:38

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Behold now the humility, the devotion of the virgin. For it follows, But Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord. She calls herself His handmaid, who is chosen to be His mother, so far was she from being exalted by the sudden promise. At the same time also by calling herself handmaid, she claimed to herself in no other way the prerogative of such great grace than that she might do what was commanded her. For about to bring forth One meek and lowly, she was bound herself to show forth lowliness. As it follows, Be it unto me according to thy word. You have her submission, you see her wish. Behold the handmaid of the Lord, signifies the readiness of duty. Be it unto me according to thy word, the conception of the wish. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Geometer.) Some men will highly extol one thing, some another, in these words of the virgin. One man, for example, her constancy, another her willingness of obedience; one man her not being tempted by the great and glorious promises of the great archangel; another, her self-command in not giving an instant assent, equally avoiding both the heedlessness of Eve and the disobedience of Zacharias. But to me the depth of her humility is an object no less worthy of admiration — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: But Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word. How great the humility with devotion, who wishes for the angel’s promise to be fulfilled, and calls herself, though chosen to be the mother, the handmaid. She most explicitly insinuates that she claims no merit for herself in that she complies with the Lord’s commands. Let it be (she says), conceived without a man’s seed in the virgin, let it be born of the Holy Spirit in full flesh, let the Holy one be born from a mother woman without a human father, let him be called the Son of God. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: And the angel departed from her. Rising in those days, Mary went into the hill country with haste to a city of Judah. With the virgin’s consent granted, the angel soon returned to the heavens, she sought the mountains. She hastens to visit Elizabeth, not as one who is incredulous about the oracle, nor doubtful about the example, but joyful for the vow, and devout for the duty. At the same time, she provides a typical example, that every soul which has conceived the word of God in the mind immediately ascends the lofty peaks of virtues with the step of love, so as to penetrate the city of Judah, that is, of confession and praise, and to be able to dwell as it were for three months in it, up to the perfection of faith, hope, and charity. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Having received the consent of the virgin, the angel soon returns heavenward, as it follows, And the angel departed from her. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Eusebius of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (vel Geometer.) Not only having obtained what he wished, but wondering at her virgin beauty, and the ripeness of her virtue. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Through an ineffable sacrament of a holy conception and a birth inviolable, agreeable to the truth of each nature, the same virgin was both the handmaid and mother of the Lord. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Irenaeus: In accordance with this design, Mary the Virgin is found obedient, saying, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” [Luke 1:38] But Eve was disobedient; for she did not obey when as yet she was a virgin. And even as she, having indeed a husband, Adam, but being nevertheless as yet a virgin (for in Paradise “they were both naked, and were not ashamed,” [Genesis 2:25] inasmuch as they, having been created a short time previously, had no understanding of the procreation of children: for it was necessary that they should first come to adult age, and then multiply from that time onward), having become disobedient, was made the cause of death, both to herself and to the entire human race; so also did Mary, having a man betrothed [to her], and being nevertheless a virgin, by yielding obedience, become the cause of salvation, both to herself and the whole human race. And on this account does the law term a woman betrothed to a man, the wife of him who had betrothed her, although she was as yet a virgin; thus indicating the back-reference from Mary to Eve, because what is joined together could not otherwise be put asunder than by inversion of the process by which these bonds of union had arisen; so that the former ties be cancelled by the latter, that the latter may set the former again at liberty. And it has, in fact, happened that the first compact looses from the second tie, but that the second tie takes the position of the first which has been cancelled. For this reason did the Lord declare that the first should in truth be last, and the last first. And the prophet, too, indicates the same, saying, “instead of fathers, children have been born unto thee.” For the Lord, having been born “the First-begotten of the dead,” and receiving into His bosom the ancient fathers, has regenerated them into the life of God, He having been made Himself the beginning of those that live, as Adam became the beginning of those who die. Wherefore also Luke, commencing the genealogy with the Lord, carried it back to Adam, indicating that it was He who regenerated them into the Gospel of life, and not they Him. And thus also it was that the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith. — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 22), Section 4

Tertullian: The handmaid of God dwells amid alien labours; and among these (labours), on all the memorial days of demons, at all solemnities of kings, at the beginning of the year, at the beginning of the month, she will be agitated by the odour of incense. — To His Wife Book II

Luke 1:39

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): The Angel, when he announced the hidden mysteries to the Virgin, that he might build up her faith by an example, related to her the conception of a barren woman. When Mary heard it, it was not that she disbelieved the oracle, or was uncertain about the messenger, or doubtful of the example, but rejoicing in the fulfilment of her wish, and consicentious in the observance of her duty, she gladly went forth into the hill country. For what could Mary now, filled with God, (plena Deo) but ascend into the higher parts with haste!

The grace of the Holy Spirit knows not of slow workings. Learn, ye virgins, not to loiter in the streets, nor mix in public talk. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Geometer.) But to Elisabeth alone she has recourse, as she was wont to do from their relationship, and other close bonds of union. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: She went so that she could offer her congratulations concerning the gift which she had learned her fellow servant had received. This was not in order to prove the word of the angel by the attestation of a woman. Rather it was so that as an attentive young virgin she might commit herself to ministry to a woman of advanced age. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.4

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But every soul which has conceived the word of God in the heart, straightway climbs the lofty summits of the virtues by the stairs of love, so as to be able to enter into the city of Juda, (into the citadel of prayer and praise, and abide as it were for three months in it,) to the perfection of faith, hope, and charity. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Hom. iv. in Matt.) Or else the Virgin kept to herself all those things which have been said, not revealing them to any one, for she did not believe that any credit would be given to her wonderful story; nay, she rather thought she would suffer reproach if she told it, as if wishing to screen her own guilt. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: Those who are better come to those who are worse, in order to grant them some benefit by their coming. So too the Savior came to John, that he might sanctify John’s baptism; and Mary, as soon as she heard the angel announcing that she had conceived the Savior and that her kinswoman Elizabeth had a child in her womb, “rose up and went with haste into the hill country, and entered the house of Elizabeth”. For Jesus, who was in her womb, was hastening to sanctify John, still set within his mother’s belly. Indeed, before Mary came and greeted Elizabeth, the “infant did not leap in the womb”; but as soon as Mary spoke the word which the Son of God had prompted in the belly of His mother, “the infant leaped for joy”, and then for the first time Jesus made His forerunner a prophet. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 7

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): For Jesus who was in her womb hastened to sanctify John, still in the womb of his mother. Whence it follows, with haste. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: It was fitting also that Mary, most worthy of the offspring of God, should after the angel’s address go up into the hill country and dwell in the loftier places. Whence it is written: “Mary, rising up in those days, went into the hill country”. It was fitting too that she, since she was not sluggish in her earnestness, should hasten with earnest care, and, being full of the Holy Spirit, should be led up to the loftier places and be protected by the power of God, by which she had already been overshadowed. She came therefore “into a city of Judah and into the house of Zechariah, and greeted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the infant leaped in her womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit”. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 7

Luke 1:40

Bede: And she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. Learn, O virgin, the humility of Mary, so that you may be chaste in body and devout in heart. The younger visits the elder, the virgin greets the wife. For it is fitting that the more chaste the virgin, the more humble she should be, and by deferring to elders, she may commend the habit of chastity with the testimony of humility. Alternatively: Mary to Elizabeth, the Lord came to John, so that this one might be filled with the Holy Spirit, and that one might consecrate baptism. The humility of the greater is indeed the exaltation of the lesser. Consequently, it follows: — On the Gospel of Luke

Luke 1:41

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But soon the blessed fruits of Mary’s coming and our Lord’s presence are made evident. For it follows, And it came to pass, that when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. Mark the distinction and propriety of each word. Elisabeth first heard the word, but John first experienced the grace. She heard by the order of nature, he leaped by reason of the mystery. She perceived the coming of Mary, he the coming of the Lord. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Geometer.) For the Prophet sees and hears more acutely than his mother, and salutes the chief of Prophets; but as he could not do this in words, he leaps in the womb, which was the greatest token of his joy. Who ever heard of leaping at a time previous to birth? Grace introduced things to which nature was a stranger. Shut up in the womb, the soldier acknowledged his Lord and King soon to be born, the womb’s covering being no obstacle to the mystical sight. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Augustine of Hippo: We see instances of leaping not only in children but even in animals, although certainly not for any faith or religion or rational recognition of someone coming. But this case stands out as utterly uncommon and new, because it took place in a womb, and at the coming of her who was to bring forth the Savior of humankind. Therefore this leaping, this greeting, so to speak, offered to the mother of the Lord is miraculous. It is to be reckoned among the great signs. It was not effected by human means by the infant, but by divine means in the infant, as miracles are usually wrought. — LETTER 187.23

Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Epist. ad Dardanum 57.) But in order to say this, as the Evangelist has premised, she was filled with the Holy Spirit, by whose revelation undoubtedly she knew what that leaping of the child meant; lamely, that the mother of Him had come unto her, whose forerunner and herald that child was to be. Such then night be the meaning of so great an event; to be known indeed by grown up persons, but not understood by a little child; for she said not, “The babe leaped in faith in my womb,” but leaped for joy. Now we see not only children leaping for joy, but even the cattle; not surely from any faith or religious feeling, or any rational knowledge. But this joy was strange and unwonted, for it was in the womb; and at the coming of her who was to bring forth the Saviour of the world. This joy, therefore, and as it were reciprocal salutation to the mother of the Lord, was caused (as miracles are) by Divine influences in the child, not in any human way by him. For even supposing the exercise of reason and the will had been so far advanced in that child, as that he should be able in the bowels of his mother to know, believe, and assent; yet surely that must be placed among the miracles of Divine power, not referred to human examples. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And it happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. See the distinction and the proprieties of each word. Elizabeth heard the voice first, but John felt the grace first. She heard by the order of nature, he leaped by the reason of the mystery. She sensed the coming of Mary, he sensed the coming of the Lord. These speak of grace, those inwardly work, and they undertake the mystery of piety by the progress of the mothers, and with a double miracle, the mothers prophesy by the spirit of the little ones. The infant leaped, and the mother was filled. The mother was not filled before the child, but as the child was filled with the Holy Spirit, he also filled the mother. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Nor is it to be wondered at, that our Lord, about to redeem the world, commenced His mighty works with His mother, that she, through whom the salvation of all men was prepared, should herself be the first to reap the fruit of salvation from her pledge. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Cyprian: That although from the beginning He had been the Son of God, yet He had to be begotten again according to the flesh. In the second Psalm: “The Lord said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance, and the bounds of the earth for Thy possession.” Also in the Gospel according to Luke: “And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and she was filled with the Holy Ghost, and she cried out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? " Also Paul to the Galatians: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent His Son, horn of a woman.” Also in the Epistle of John: “Every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. But whosoever denies that He is come in the flesh is not of God, but is of the spirit of Antichrist.” — Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews

Ephrem the Syrian: John jumped for joy to make an announcement concerning his future preaching. The infant of the barren woman exulted before the infant of the virgin. He sought out his mother’s tongue and desired to pronounce a prophecy concerning the Lord. Therefore Elizabeth’s conception was kept hidden from Mary for six months, until the infant would have limbs sufficiently formed to exult before the Lord with his jumping and become a witness to Mary through his exultation. Moreover, that he exulted in the womb of his mother was not of himself, nor because of his five months, but so that the divine gifts might show themselves in the barren womb that was now carrying him. It was also so that the other womb, that of the Virgin, would know the great gifts given to Elizabeth, and that the two soils might believe in the seeds they had received through the word of Gabriel, cultivator of both grounds. Since John could not cry out in his exultation and render witness to his Lord, his mother began to say, “You are blessed among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Our Lord prepared his herald in a dead womb, to show that he came after a dead Adam. He vivified Elizabeth’s womb first, and then vivified the soil of Adam through his body. — COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 1.30

Maximus of Turin: Not yet born, already John prophesies and, while still in the enclosure of his mother’s womb, confesses the coming of Christ with movements of joy—since he could not do so with his voice. As Elizabeth says to holy Mary, “As soon as you greeted me, the child in my womb exulted for joy.” John exults, then, before he is born. Before his eyes can see what the world looks like, he can recognize the Lord of the world with his spirit. In this regard, I think that the prophetic phrase is appropriate: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you.” Thus we ought not to marvel that after Herod put him in prison, he continued to announce Christ to his disciples from his confinement, when even confined in the womb he preached the same Lord by his movements. — SERMON 5.4

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (vid. etiam Tit. Bos.) He was not filled with the Spirit, until she stood near him who bore Christ in her womb. Then indeed he was both filled with the Spirit, and leaping imparted the grace to his mother; as it follows, And Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. But we cannot doubt that she who was then filled with the Holy Spirit, was filled because of her son. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: There is therefore no doubt that she who then “was filled with the Holy Spirit” was “filled” on account of her son! For the mother did not first merit the Holy Spirit, but rather, when John, still enclosed in the womb, had received the Holy Spirit, then she too, after the sanctification of her son, “was filled with the Holy Spirit”. You will be able to believe this if you learn something similar also concerning the Savior. Blessed Mary is found—as we have discovered in a good number of copies—to prophesy. For we are not unaware that, according to other manuscripts, it is Elizabeth who utters these words in prophecy. Mary, then, was filled with the Holy Spirit at that time when she began to have the Savior in her womb. For as soon as she received the Holy Spirit, the fashioner of the Lord’s body, and the Son of God began to be in her womb, she herself too was filled with the Holy Spirit. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 7

Tertullian: However, even these have life, each of them in his mother’s womb. Elizabeth exults with joy, (for) John had leaped in her womb; Mary magnifies the Lord, (for) Christ had instigated her within. — A Treatise on the Soul

Tertullian: Therefore even Elisabeth must be silent although she is carrying in her womb the prophetic babe, which was already conscious of his Lord, and is, moreover, filled with the Holy Ghost. For without reason does she say, “and whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? " If it was not as her son, but only as a stranger that Mary carried Jesus in her womb, how is it she says, “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb? What is this fruit of the womb, which received not its germ from the womb, which had not its root in the womb, which belongs not to her whose is the womb, and which is no doubt the real fruit of the womb-even Christ? Now, since He is the blossom of the stem which sprouts from the root of Jesse; since, moreover, the root of Jesse is the family of David, and the stem of the root is Mary descended from David, and the blossom of the stem is Mary’s son, who is called Jesus Christ, will not He also be the fruit? For the blossom is the fruit, because through the blossom and from the blossom every product advances from its rudimental condition to perfect fruit. — On the Flesh of Christ

Luke 1:42

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): She who had hid herself because she conceived a son, began to glory that she carried in her womb a prophet, and she who had before blushed, now gives her blessing; as it follows, And she spake out with a loud voice, Blessed art thou among women. With a loud voice she exclaimed when she perceived the Lord’s coming, for she believed it to be a holy birth. But she says, Blessed art thou among women. For none was ever partaker of such grace or could be, since of the one Divine seed, there is one only parent. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Severus.) From this place we derive the refutation of Eutyches, in that Christ is stated to be the fruit of the womb. For all fruit is of the same nature with the tree that bears it. It remains then that the virgin was also of the same nature with the second Adam, who takes away the sins of the world. But let those also who invent curious fictions concerning the flesh of Christ, blush when they hear of the real child-bearing of the mother of God. For the fruit itself proceeds from the very substance of the tree. Where too are those who say that Christ passed through the virgin as water through an aqueduct? Let these consider the words of Elisabeth who was filled with the Spirit, that Christ was the fruit of the womb. It follows, And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Geometer.) This fruit alone then is blessed, because it is produced without man, and without sin. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: [Elizabeth is attributed] properly with a great voice because she recognized the great gifts of God … [and] she sensed that he whom she knew to be present everywhere was also present bodily there. Indeed, by a “great” voice is not to be understood so much a loud voice as a devoted one. She was not capable of praising the Lord with the devotion of a moderate voice. Being full of the Holy Spirit, she was on fire, harboring in her womb the one than whom no one of those born of woman would be greater. She rejoiced that he had come there—he who, conceived from the flesh of a virgin mother, would be called, and would be, the Son of the Most High. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.4

Bede: “Blessed is the fruit of your womb”—since through you we have recovered both the seed of incorruption and the fruit of our heavenly inheritance, which we lost in Adam. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.4

Bede: And she cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. It should be noted that the prophecy about Christ mentioned previously is fulfilled not only through the miracles of events but also through the specificity of the words. For this is the fruit that is promised to the patriarch David under oath: From the fruit of your womb, I will place someone on my throne (Psalms 131). At the same time, it should be observed that Mary is blessed by Elizabeth with the same voice as by Gabriel, showing that she is to be revered by both angels and humans and rightly preferred above all other women. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Mary is blessed by Elisabeth with the same words as before by Gabriel, to show that she was to be reverenced both by men and angels. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): This is the fruit which is promised to David, Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. (Ps. 132:11.) — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Irenaeus: And when He says, “Hear, O house of David,” He performed the part of one indicating that He whom God promised David that He would raise up from the fruit of his belly (ventris) an eternal King, is the same who was born of the Virgin, herself of the lineage of David. For on this account also, He promised that the King should be “of the fruit of his belly,” which was the appropriate [term to use with respect] to a virgin conceiving, and not “of the fruit of his loins,” nor “of the fruit of his reins,” which expression is appropriate to a generating man, and a woman conceiving by a man. In this promise, therefore, the Scripture excluded all virile influence; yet it certainly is not mentioned that He who was born was not from the will of man. But it has fixed and established “the fruit of the belly,” that it might declare the generation of Him who should be [born] from the Virgin, as Elisabeth testified when filled with the Holy Ghost, saying to Mary, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy belly;” [Luke 1:42] the Holy Ghost pointing out to those willing to hear, that the promise which God had made, of raising up a King from the fruit of [David’s] belly, was fulfilled in the birth from the Virgin, that is, from Mary. Let those, therefore, who alter the passage of Isaiah thus, “Behold, a young woman shall conceive,” and who will have Him to be Joseph’s son, also alter the form of the promise which was given to David, when God promised him to raise up, from the fruit of his belly, the horn of Christ the King. But they did not understand, otherwise they would have presumed to alter even this passage also. — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 21), Section 5

Origen of Alexandria: The “infant”, then, “leaped in the womb of Elizabeth, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed art thou among women”. In this place we must, lest any of the simple be deceived, refute the objections that heretics are accustomed to raise. For a certain man—I know not who—broke out into such madness as to assert that Mary was disowned by the Savior, on the ground that after His birth she was joined to Joseph; and he spoke words which, with what sort of mind he uttered them, he himself who spoke them knows. If therefore heretics should ever bring some such objection against you, answer them and say: Surely Elizabeth, full “of the Holy Spirit”, says: “blessed art thou among women”. If Mary is proclaimed blessed by the Holy Spirit, how did the Savior disown her? Furthermore, as for their assertion that she married after the birth, they have no source from which to prove it; for those sons who were called Joseph’s were not born of Mary, nor is there any Scripture which mentions such a thing. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 7

Prudentius: Believe what says the angel who was sent From the Father’s throne, or if your stolid ear Catch not the voice from heaven, be wise and hear The cry of aged woman, now with child. O wondrous faith! The babe in senile womb Greets through his mother’s lips the Virgin’s Son, Our Lord; the child unborn makes known the cry Of the Child bestowed on us, for speechless yet, He caused that mouth to herald Christ as God. — THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST 585-93

Titus of Bostra ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Now she rightly calls the Lord the fruit of the virgin’s womb, because He proceeded not from man, but from Mary alone. For they who are sown by their fathers are the fruits of their fathers. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:43

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): She says it not ignorantly, for she knew it was by the grace and operation of the Holy Spirit that the mother of the prophet should be saluted by the mother of his Lord, to the advancement and growth of her own pledge; but being aware that this was of no human deserving, but a gift of Divine grace, she therefore says, Whence is this to me, that is, By what right of mine, by what that I have done, for what good deeds? — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And how has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? She does not inquire as if she does not know what she indeed recognizes to be of the Holy Spirit, namely, that she is blessed by the mother of the Lord for the advancement of her offspring, but, struck by the novelty of the miracle, she confesses that this is not of her own merit but of divine gift. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: “And whence does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Oh! What great humility in the mind of the prophet! How true the utterance of the Lord, in which he said, “Upon whom does my spirit rest if not upon one who is humble and quiet and who trembles at my words?” As soon as Elizabeth saw the one who had come to her, she recognized that she was the mother of the Lord. But she discovered in herself no such merit by which she might have become worthy to be visited by such a guest. “Whence does this happen to me,” she asked, “that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Undoubtedly the very Spirit who conferred upon her the gift of prophecy at the same time endowed her with the favor of humility. Filled with the prophetic spirit, she understood that the mother of the Savior had drawn near to her. But being discreet in the spirit of humility, she understood that she herself was less than worthy of Mary’s coming. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.4

Cosmas Indicopleustes: This is the prophetess Elisabeth, who by the Holy Spirit was privileged to prophesy both concerning the Lord Christ and the Holy Virgin, speaking thus: And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Thus both the father and the mother of the forerunner were privileged to announce beforehand the Lord Christ. — The Christian Topography, Book 5

Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (super Ezech. lib. i. Hom. i. 8.) She was touched with the spirit of prophecy at once, both as to the past, present, and future. She knew that Mary had believed the promises of the Angel; she perceived when she gave her the name of mother, that Many was carrying in her womb the Redeemer of mankind; and when she foretold that all things would be accomplished, she saw also what was to follow in the future. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (non occ. vide Theoph. et. Tit. Bost.) Now in saying this, she coincides with her son. For John also felt that he was unworthy of our Lord’s coming to him. But she gives the name of “the mother of our Lord” to one still a virgin, thus forestalling the event by the words of prophecy. Divine foreknowledge brought Mary to Elisabeth, that the testimony of John might reach the Lord. For from that time Christ ordained John to be a prophet. Hence it follows, For, to, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded, &c. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” This which she says, “whence is this to me?” she does not say out of ignorance—and least of all when full of the Holy Spirit, as though she did not know that according to the will of God the mother of the Lord had come to her; but she speaks in this sense: what good have I done? what works of mine are so great that the mother of the Lord should come to me? through what righteousness, by what good deeds, by what fidelity of mind have I merited this, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 7

Luke 1:44

Bede: For behold, as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the child leaped for joy in my womb. Elizabeth was embarrassed by the burden of pregnancy as long as she did not know the mystery of the religion. But she who hid herself because she had conceived a son began to boast because she was bearing a prophet. And she who was previously embarrassed now blesses, and she who doubted before is now affirmed. For behold (she says), as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the child leaped for joy in my womb. Therefore, she cried out with a loud voice when she sensed the Lord’s coming, because she believed the birth to be religious. For there was no cause for shame where faith in the given birth of the prophet newly ascended, not affected. — On the Gospel of Luke

Origen of Alexandria: “For behold, as soon as thy greeting came into my ears, the infant leaped for exultation in my womb”. Holy was the soul of blessed John, and while still enclosed in his mother’s womb and yet to come into the world he knew Him whom Israel did not know; whence he “leaped”, and not simply “leaped”, but “for joy”. For he had perceived that his Lord had come to sanctify His servant, before he came forth from his mother’s belly. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 7

Luke 1:45

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): You see that Mary doubted not but believed, and therefore the fruit of faith followed.

But happy are ye also who have heard and believed, for whatever soul hath believed, both conceives and brings forth the word of God, and knows His works. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ambrose of Milan: You see that Mary did not hesitate, but believed; and therefore she obtained the fruit of faith. Blessed, he says, are you who believed. But blessed are you also, who have heard and believed; for whatever the soul believes, it conceives and gives birth to the Word of God, and recognizes His works. Let the soul of Mary be in each one of us, so that we may magnify the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one of us, so that we may rejoice in God. If according to the flesh she is the one mother of Christ, yet according to faith Christ is the fruit of all. Indeed, the soul receives the Word of God, but only if it is immaculate and free from vices, preserving chastity with unblemished modesty. — EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF Luke 2.26

Bede: And blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord. You see that Mary did not doubt, but believed, and therefore attained the fruit of faith. Blessed (she says) is she who believed. And indeed she is truly blessed, who is more excellent than the priest. While the priest doubted, the virgin corrected the error. Nor is it surprising if the Lord, about to redeem the world, began His work with His mother, so that she through whom salvation was being prepared for all, might receive the first fruit of salvation from the pledge. And it is equally noteworthy how much grace adorned the soul of Elizabeth when Mary entered, whom she enlightened simultaneously concerning the past, present, and future by the spirit of prophecy. For by saying, Blessed is she who believed, she clearly indicates that she recognized by the spirit the words of the angel that were spoken to Mary. And by adding: For there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told you by the Lord, she also foresaw what would follow in the future. And naming her the mother of her Lord, because she understood that she was carrying the Redeemer of the human race in her womb. — On the Gospel of Luke

Origen of Alexandria: Would that it might befall me to be called a fool by the unbelieving, I who have believed such things. The work itself and the truth show that I have believed not in folly but in wisdom, since this which is reckoned foolishness among them becomes for me the occasion of salvation. For unless the nativity of the Savior had been heavenly and blessed, unless it had had something divine and surpassing the humanity of men, His teaching would never have penetrated throughout the whole world. If there had been only a man in Mary’s womb and not the Son of God, how could it have come to pass that both at that time and now the manifold diseases not only of bodies but also of souls should be cured? Which of us was not foolish, we who now through the mercy of God have understanding and know God? Who was not without faith in righteousness, we who now for Christ’s sake have righteousness and follow after righteousness? Which of us was not wandering and astray, we who now, on account of the coming of the Savior, are not tossed about and troubled, but are on the way—namely, in Him who says: “I am the way”? We can also, gathering together the rest, see that all the things which have been written concerning Him are reported as worthy of divine wonder, since both His nativity and His nurture and His power and His passion and His resurrection work in us not only at that time but even now. Who gathered you, O catechumens, into the church? What goad drove you to leave your homes and come together into this assembly? For we do not go around your houses one by one, but the almighty Father by an invisible power lays upon your hearts—upon those whom He knows to be worthy—this ardor, so that as though unwilling and drawing back you come to the faith, especially at the beginning of religion, when, as though trembling and fearful, you take up the faith of salvation with fear. I beseech you, O catechumens: do not draw back, let none of you dread and be afraid, but follow Jesus who goes before you. He draws you to salvation, He gathers you into the church—now indeed upon the earth, but, if you bring forth worthy fruits, into the “church of the firstborn, who are written in the heavens”. “Blessed is she who believed”, and blessed is he who believed, because there will be a fulfillment for these things “which have been spoken” to her “by the Lord”. Over these things Mary also “magnifies” the Lord Jesus. And “the soul magnifies the Lord, the spirit magnifies God”. What interpretation these words have, if the Lord grants that we be gathered together again into the church—so that you may come joyfully to the house of God and lend your ears to the divine reading—we shall inquire, we shall sift, we shall discourse, in Christ Jesus: to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 7

Luke 1:46

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): As evil came into the world by a woman, so also is good introduced by women; and so it seems not without meaning, that both Elisabeth prophesies before John, and Mary before the birth of the Lord. But it follows, that as Mary was the greater person, so she uttered the fuller prophecy. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Athanasius.) As if she said, Marvellous things hath the Lord declared that He will accomplish in my body, but neither shall my soul be unfruitful before God. It becomes me to offer Him the fruit also of my will, for inasmuch as I am obedient to a mighty miracle, am I bound to glorify Him who performs His mighty works in me. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Basil of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (in Psalms 33) For the Virgin, with lofty thoughts and deep penetration, contemplates the boundless mystery, the further she advances, magnifying God; And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. The Lord has raised me up to such and such an unheard-of honor, which cannot be explained by the service of any language, but can barely be comprehended by the feeling of the innermost heart, and thus I offer all the strength of my soul in praiseful thanks, I joyfully devote whatever I live, feel, and know in contemplation of His greatness, which has no end, because my spirit rejoices in the same Jesus, that is, the Savior, in whose eternal divinity my flesh rejoices in temporal conception. Similar to this is what the Psalmist says: And my soul shall exult in the Lord, and shall be delighted above His salvation (Psalms 35). For he indeed venerated the Father and the Son with equal love. — On the Gospel of Luke

Ephrem the Syrian: [Mary] revealed to Elizabeth what the angel spoke to her in secret, and that he called her blessed because she believed in the realization of the prophecy and the teaching that she heard. Then Mary gently brought forth the fruit of what she heard from the angel and Elizabeth: “My soul bless the Lord.” Elizabeth had said, “Blessed is she who has believed,” and Mary replied, “From henceforth all generations will call me blessed.” It was then that Mary began to preach the new kingdom. — COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 1.28

Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (super Ezech. lib. i. Hom. i. 8.) She was touched with the spirit of prophecy at once, both as to the past, present, and future. She knew that Mary had believed the promises of the Angel; she perceived when she gave her the name of mother, that Many was carrying in her womb the Redeemer of mankind; and when she foretold that all things would be accomplished, she saw also what was to follow in the future. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Irenaeus: For who else is there who can reign uninterruptedly over the house of Jacob for ever, except Jesus Christ our Lord, the Son of the Most High God, who promised by the law and the prophets that He would make His salvation visible to all flesh; so that He would become the Son of man for this purpose, that man also might become the son of God? And Mary, exulting because of this, cried out, prophesying on behalf of the Church, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He hath taken up His child Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spake to our fathers, Abraham, and his seed for ever.” [Luke 1:46-47] By these and such like [passages] the Gospel points out that it was God who spake to the fathers; that it was He who, by Moses, instituted the legal dispensation, by which giving of the law we know that He spake to the fathers. — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 10), Section 2

Irenaeus: Therefore Abraham also, knowing the Father through the Word, who made heaven and earth, confessed Him to be God; and having learned, by an announcement [made to him], that the Son of God would be a man among men, by whose advent his seed should be as the stars of heaven, he desired to see that day, so that he might himself also embrace Christ; and, seeing it through the spirit of prophecy, he rejoiced. [Genesis 17:17] Wherefore Simeon also, one of his descendants, carried fully out the rejoicing of the patriarch, and said: “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace. For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people: a light for the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of the people Israel.” [Luke 2:29, etc.] And the angels, in like manner, announced tidings of great joy to the shepherds who were keeping watch by night. [Luke 2:8] Moreover, Mary said, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my salvation;” [Luke 1:46] — the rejoicing of Abraham descending upon those who sprang from him — those, namely, who were watching, and who beheld Christ, and believed in Him; while, on the other hand, there was a reciprocal rejoicing which passed backwards from the children to Abraham, who did also desire to see the day of Christ’s coming. Rightly, then, did our Lord bear witness to him, saying, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad.” — Against Heresies (Book IV, Chapter 7)

Origen of Alexandria: Before John, Elizabeth prophesies; before the birth of the Lord and Savior, Mary prophesies. And just as sin began from a woman and thereafter proceeded onward to the man, so too the beginning of salvation took its origin from women, that other women also, laying aside the frailty of their sex, might imitate the life and manner of conduct of these holy women, and above all of those who are now described in the Gospel. Let us therefore examine the virgin’s prophecy. “My soul”, she says, “magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has exulted in God my Savior”. Two things, “the soul” and “the spirit”, discharge a twofold praise. The soul proclaims the Lord, the spirit God: not that the praise of the Lord is one thing and the praise of God another, but because he who is God is the same as the Lord, and he who is the Lord is the same as God. It is asked how “the soul magnifies the Lord”. For if the Lord can receive neither increase nor diminishment and is what he is, on what account does Mary now say: “My soul magnifies the Lord”? If I consider the Lord and Savior to be “the image of the invisible God”, and see that my soul was made “according to the image of its Creator”, so as to be an image of the Image — for my soul is not specifically an image of God, but was made after the likeness of the prior Image — then I will see that, after the example of those who are accustomed to paint images, and, having received (for instance) the single face of a king, to apply the diligence of their art to expressing the principal likeness, each one of us, forming his soul according to the image of Christ, sets in it either a greater or a lesser image, whether faded or dirty, or bright and shining and answering to the likeness of the principal Image. When therefore I have made the image of the Image, that is, my soul, great, and have magnified it by deed, by thought, by word, then the image of God is made great, and the Lord himself, whose image it is, is magnified in our soul. And just as the Lord grows in our image, so, if we are sinners, he is diminished and decreases. Or rather, the Lord is neither diminished nor decreases, but we, in place of the image of the Savior, put on other images for ourselves; in place of the image of the Word, of wisdom, of justice, and of the other virtues, we assume the form of the devil, so that it is said of us: “serpents, brood of vipers”. But we are also clothed with the persona of a lion and of a dragon and of foxes, when we are venomous, cruel, cunning, and also of a he-goat, when we are more prone to lust. I remember once, when discoursing on Deuteronomy at that place where it is written: “do not make any likeness of male or of female, the likeness of any animal”, that I said that it is “the spiritual law” that some make themselves the image of a male, others of a female, that this one has the likeness of birds, that one of reptiles and serpents, and that another makes himself the likeness of God. How these things are to be understood, he will know who has also read those passages. “The soul” of Mary, then, first “magnifies the Lord”, and afterward “the spirit exults in God”; for unless we have first believed, we cannot exult. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 8

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Now if the Lord could neither receive increase or decrease, what is this that Mary speaks of, My soul doth magnify (magnificat) the Lord? But if I consider that the Lord our Saviour is the image of the invisible God, and that the soul is created according to His image, so as to be an image of an image, then I shall see plainly, that as after the manner of those who are accustomed to paint images, each one of us forming his soul after the image of Christ, makes it great or little, base or noble, after the likeness of the original; so when I have made my soul great in thought, word, and deed, the image of God is made great, and the Lord Himself, whose image it is, is magnified in my soul. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Tertullian: Elizabeth exults with joy, (for) John had leaped in her womb; Mary magnifies the Lord, (for) Christ had instigated her within. The mothers recognise each their own offspring, being moreover each recognised by their infants, which were therefore of course alive, and were not souls merely, but spirits also. — A Treatise on the Soul

Luke 1:47

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): The soul of Mary therefore magnifies the Lord, and her spirit rejoiced in God, because with soul and spirit devoted to the Father and the Son, she worships with a pious affection the one God from whom are all things. But let every one have the spirit of Mary, so that he may rejoice in the Lord. If according to the flesh there is one mother of Christ, yet, according to faith, Christ is the fruit of all. For every soul receives the word of God if only he be unspotted and free from sin, and preserves it with unsullied purity. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Basil of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (ubi sup.) The first-fruit of the Spirit is peace and joy. Because then the holy Virgin had drunk in all the graces of the Spirit, she rightly adds, And my spirit hath leaped for joy. (exultavit.) She means the same thing, soul and spirit. But the frequent mention of leaping for joy in the Scriptures implies a certain bright and cheerful state of mind in those who are worthy. Hence the Virgin exults in the Lord with an unspeakable springing (and bounding) of the heart for joy, and in the breaking forth into utterance of a noble affection. It follows, in God my Saviour.

(ubi sup.) But if at any time light shall have crept into his heart, and loving God and despising bodily things he shall have gained the perfect standing of the just, without any difficulty shall he obtain joy in the Lord. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Because the spirit of the Virgin rejoices in the eternal Godhead of the same Jesus. (i. e. the Saviour,) whose flesh is formed in the womb by a temporal conception. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But the soul first magnifies the Lord, that it may afterwards rejoice in God; for unless we have first believed, we can not rejoice. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:48

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Isidore.) She gives the reason why it becomes her to magnify God and to rejoice in Him, saying, For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden; as if she said, “He Himself foresaw, therefore I did not look for Him.” I was content with things lowly, but now am I chosen unto counsels unspeakable, and raised up from the earth unto the stars.

(Metaphrastes.) She does not call herself blessed from vain glory, for what room is there for pride in her who named herself the handmaid of the Lord? But, touched by the Holy Spirit, she foretold those things which were to come. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Athanasius of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): For if as the Prophet says, Blessed are they who have seed in Sion, and kinsfolk in Jerusalem, (Isa. 31:9. apud LXX.) how great should be the celebration of the divine and ever holy Virgin Mary, who was made according to the flesh, the Mother of the Word? — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Pseudo-Aug. Serm. de Assumpt 208.) O true lowliness, which hath borne God to men, hath given life to mortals, made new heavens and a pure earth, opened the gates of Paradise, and set free the souls of men. The lowliness of Mary was made the heavenly ladder, by which God descended upon earth. For what does regarded mean but “approved?” For many seem in my sight to be lowly, but their lowliness is not regarded by the Lord. For if they were truly lowly, their spirit would rejoice not in the world, but in God. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But she, whose humility is regarded, is rightly called blessed by all; as it follows, For, behold, from henceforth all shall call me blessed.

For it was fitting, that as by the pride of our first parent death came into the world, so by the lowliness of Mary should be opened the entrance into life. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: Because He has regarded the humility of His handmaid. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. She whose humility is regarded rightly rejoices, named blessed by all, just as on the contrary, she whose pride is condemned with disdain, Eve, that is, woe, or by the name of calamity, punished, languishes. For it was fitting that just as by the pride of our first parent death entered the world, so again by the humility of Mary the entry of life might be opened. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: In the following words she teaches us how worthless she felt of herself and that she received by the heavenly grace that was lavished on her every sort of good merit that she had. She says, “For he has considered the humility of his handmaid. For behold from this time on all generations will call me blessed.” She demonstrates that in her own judgment she was indeed Christ’s humble handmaid, but with respect to heavenly grace she pronounces herself all at once lifted up and glorified to such a degree that rightly her preeminent blessedness would be marveled at by the voices of all nations. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.4

Cosmas Indicopleustes: who even before his birth announced with great joy the dignity of her son, and said: For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. — The Christian Topography, Book 5

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But why was she lowly and cast down, who carried in her womb the Son of God? Consider that lowliness, which in the Scriptures is particularly praised as one of the virtues, is called by the philosophers “modestia.” And we also may paraphrase it, that state of mind in which a man instead of being puffed up, casts himself down. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: “Because he has looked”, she says, “upon the lowliness of his handmaid”. Upon what lowliness of Mary did the Lord look? What did the mother of the Savior have that was lowly and cast down, she who bore the Son of God in her womb? So then, when she says: “he has looked upon the lowliness of his handmaid”, it is as though she had said: “he has looked” upon the justice of his handmaid, “he has looked” upon her temperance, “he has looked” upon her fortitude and wisdom. For it is fitting that God should look upon the virtues. Let someone answer and say: I understand how God looks upon the justice and wisdom of his handmaid; but how he regards her lowliness is not sufficiently clear. Let him who inquires into such things consider that in the Scriptures, properly speaking, one of the virtues is proclaimed as “lowliness” (humility). For the Savior says: “learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls”. But if you wish to hear the name of this virtue, how it is called even by the philosophers, listen — that it is the same “lowliness” upon which God looks, which is called by them ἀτυφία (freedom from vanity) or μετριότης (moderation). But we too can name it by a certain circumlocution, when someone is not puffed up, but casts himself down. For he who is puffed up falls, according to the Apostle, “into the judgment of the devil” — since he too began from inflation and pride —; “lest”, he says, “being puffed up he fall into the judgment of the devil”. “He has looked upon the lowliness of his handmaid”. God, she says, has looked upon me as lowly and pursuing the virtue of gentleness and of self-abasement. “For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed”. If I understand “all generations” simply, I interpret it of those who believe. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 8

Luke 1:49

Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (sup.) What great things hath He done unto thee? I believe that a creature thou gavest birth to the Creator, a servant thou broughtest forth the Lord, that through thee God redeemed the world, through thee He restored it to life. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Basil of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (in Ps. 33.) But holy is the name of God called, not because in its letters it contains any significant power, but because in whatever way we look at God we distinguish his purity and holiness. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But this has reference to the beginning of the hymn, where it is said, My soul doth magnify the Lord. For that soul can alone magnify the Lord with due praise, for whom he deigus to do mighty things.

For in the height of His marvellous power He is far beyond every creature, and is widely removed from all the works of His hands. This is better understood in the Greek tongue, in which the very word which means holy, (ἅγιον) signifies as it were to be “apart from the earth.” — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: Because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. This refers back to the beginning of the hymn, where it is said: My soul magnifies the Lord. For indeed, the soul to which the Lord deigns to do great things usually magnifies Him with fitting praises, and can exhort her companions of the same vow and purpose saying: Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together (Psalms 33). For whoever neglects to magnify the Lord, whom he has known, and to sanctify His name, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. His name is called holy because, by the peak of His unique power, He surpasses all creation and is far separated from all that He has made. This is better understood in the Greek expression in which the word itself, ἅγιον (hagion), signifies being beyond the earth. By imitation of this, we also, to the extent of our ability, are commanded to be separated from all that is not holy or dedicated to God. The Lord said: Be holy, for I am holy (Leviticus 11). For whoever consecrates himself will rightly be seen as beyond the earth and beyond the world. Such a one can also say, while walking on the earth, we have our conversation in heaven. — On the Gospel of Luke

Origen of Alexandria: But if I have searched out something more deeply, I will observe how great is the advance signified by saying: “because he who is mighty has done great things for me”: for since “everyone who humbles himself will be exalted”, and God “has looked upon the lowliness” of blessed Mary, therefore “he who is mighty has done” for her “great things, and holy is his name”. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 8

Titus of Bostra ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But where are the great things, if they be not that I still a virgin conceive (by the will of God) overcoming nature? I have been accounted worthy, without being joined to a husband, to be made a mother, not a mother of any one, but of the only-begotten Saviour.

But she says, that is mighty, that if men should disbelieve the work of her conception, namely, that while yet a virgin, she conceived, she might throw back the miracles upon the power of the Worker. Nor because the only-begotten Son has come to a woman is He thereby defiled, for holy is his name. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:50

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Victor Pres.) According to the mercy which He hath upon generations of generations, I conceive, and He Himself is united to a living body, out of mercy alone undertaking our salvation. Nor is His mercy shown indiscriminately, but upon those who are constrained by the fear of Him in every nation; as it is said, upon those who fear him, that is, upon those who being brought by repentance are turned to faith and renewal for the obstinate unbelievers have by their sin shut against themselves the gate of mercy. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Turning from God’s special gifts to His general dealings, she describes the condition of the whole human race, And his mercy is from generation to generation on them that fear him. As if she said, Not only for me hath He that is mighty done great things, but in every nation he that feareth God is accepted by Him. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. Turning from His special gifts to the general judgments of God, he describes the state of the entire human race and explains alternately what the proud deserve, what the humble deserve, what the children of Adam have by free will, and what the children of God are by grace. Therefore, he says, He who is mighty has not done great things only for me, but also in every nation and generation, he who fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: She adds, more clearly, “And his mercy is for generations and generations to those who fear him.” She names “generations and generations,” referring either to both of the two peoples, namely, the Jews and the Gentiles, or alternatively to all the countries throughout the world which she foresaw would believe in Christ. For, as Peter said, “God is not a respecter of persons, but in every nation one who fears him and works justice is acceptable to him.” — Homilies on the Gospels 1.4

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): For the mercy of God is not upon one generation, but extends to eternity from generation to generation. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: “And his mercy is unto generations of generations”. The “mercy” of God is extended not unto one generation, nor unto two, nor unto three, nor even unto five, but forever “from generation unto generation”. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 8

Luke 1:51

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Photius.) Or she says, Hath showed, for will show strength, not as long ago by the hand of Moses against the Egyptians, nor as by the Angel, (when he slew many thousand of the rebel Assyrians,) nor by any other instrument save His own power, He openly triumphed, overcoming spiritual (intelligibiles) enemies. Hence it follows, he hath scattered, &c. that is to say, every heart that was puffed up and not obedient to His coming He hath laid bare, and exposed the wickedness of their proud thoughts. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): In describing the state of mankind, she shows what the proud deserve, and what the humble; saying, He hath showed strength with his arm, &c. i. e. with the very Son of God. For as your arm is that whereby you work, so the arm of God is said to be His word by whom He made the world. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: He has shown strength with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. By His arm, He signifies the Son of God Himself. Not that God the Father is determined by the form of human flesh, and that the Son adheres to Him as a member of the body, but because all things were made through Him, therefore, He is called the arm of the Lord. For just as your arm is called by which you work, so the arm of God is called His Word, because through the Word He made the world. For why does man extend his arm to achieve something, except because what he says is immediately done? But if he had such great power that without any movement of his body what he said was done, his arm would be his word. Therefore, when we hear that the arm of God the Father is the Son of God, let not the carnal custom obstruct us, but let us consider as much as we are able the virtue and wisdom of God by which all things were made. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: Because the venerable mother of God taught that his mercy would come to be present for all those who feared him throughout the world, it remained for her to also suggest what those who were proud and who despised the warnings of truth would deserve. “He has shown … might in his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.” “In his arm” signifies “under the control of his own strength.” For he did not stand in need of any outside help, since, as was written with reference to him, the strength is at hand when he wishes to do something. This is said in contrast to our working of good, since we perform deeds of virtue not by the power of our own freedom to act, but in God. And as it is written in another place, “And their arm did not save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the illumination of your countenance.” — Homilies on the Gospels 1.4

Cyril of Alexandria: The arm enigmatically signifies the Word that was born of her: and by the proud, Mary means the wicked demons who with their prince fell through pride: and the Greek sages, who refused to receive the folly, as it seemed, of what was preached: and the Jews who would not believe, and were scattered for their unworthy imaginations about the Word of God. And by the mighty she means the Scribes and Pharisees, who sought the chief seats. It is nearer the sense, however, to refer it to the wicked demons: for these, when openly claiming mastery over the world, the Lord by His coming scattered, and transferred those whom they had made captive unto His own dominion. — Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermon 1

Cyril of Jerusalem ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But these words may be more appropriately taken to refer to the hostile ranks of the evil spirits. For they were raging on the earth, when our Lord’s coming put them to flight, and restored those whom they had bound, to His obedience. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But to those that fear Him, He hath done mighty things with His arm; though thou comest weak to God, if thou hast feared Him thou shalt obtain the promised strength. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: “For those who fear him he has done a mighty deed with his arm”. Though you come to the Lord weak, if you have feared him, you will be able to hear the promise which the Lord pledges to you on account of your fear of him. What is this promise? “For those who fear him”, she says, “he has done a mighty deed”. A mighty deed, or dominion, is royal power. For indeed κράτος, which we may call “dominion”, is so named from the fact that it holds command, or contains all things under itself. If therefore you have feared the Lord, he gives you strength or dominion, he gives you a kingdom, so that, made subject to the “King of kings”, you may possess “the kingdom of heaven” in Christ Jesus: to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 8

Luke 1:52

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Macarius ex Serm. 1.) For our understanding is acknowledged to be the judgment-seat of God, but after the transgression, the powers of evil took their seat in the heart of the first man as on their own throne. For this reason then the Lord came and cast out the evil spirits from the seat of our will, and raised up those who were vanquished by devils, purging their consciences, and making their hearts his own dwelling place. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): The words, He hath showed strength with his arm, and those which went before, And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation, must be joined to this verse by a comma only. For truly through all generations of the world, by a merciful and just administration of Divine power, the proud do not cease to fall, and the humble to be exalted. As it is said, He hath put down the mighty from their seat, he hath exalted the humble and meek. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. What He said with His arm, and what He promised from generation to generation, must be connected to these verses from common source, because through all the generations of the age it is evident that the proud perish and the humble are exalted by the pious and just dispensation of divine power. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: Those whom he earlier calls “the proud” he here names “the mighty.” Undoubtedly they are called proud because they extol themselves beyond measure as mighty with regard to their condition—not, however, because they are truly mighty, but because they trust in their own strength and scorn to seek their Maker’s assistance. They, however, are truly mighty who know how to say with the apostle, “We can do all things in him who strengthens us, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Concerning them it is written, God does not cast off the mighty since he himself is mighty. … However, this can also be properly understood to mean that sometimes those who had been rightly cast down by the Lord because of their self-glorification may in turn return to the grace of humility when he has mercy on them. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.4

Cyril of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): The mighty in knowledge were the evil spirits, the Devil, the wise ones of the Gentiles, the Scribes and Pharisees; yet these He hath put down, and raised up those who humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God (1 Pet. 5:6); giving them the power of treading upon serpents and scorpions and every power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19.) The Jews were also at one time puffed up with power, but unbelief slew them, and the mean and lowly of the Gentiles have through faith climbed up to the highest summit. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Cyril of Alexandria: Great used to be the haughtiness of these demons whom He scattered, and of the devil, and of the Greek sages, as I said, and of the Pharisees and Scribes. But He put them down, and exalted those who had humbled themselves under their mighty hand, “having given them authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy:” and made the plots against us of these haughty-minded beings of none effect. The Jews, moreover, once gloried in their empire, but were stripped of it for their unbelief; whereas the Gentiles, who were obscure and of no note, were for their faith’s sake exalted. — Commentary on the Gospel of Luke

Tertullian: I think that we have already, in another passage, sufficiently shown that the glory of riches is condemned by our God, “who putteth down the mighty from their throne, and exalts the poor from the dunghill.” From Him, therefore, will proceed the parable of the rich man, who flattered himself about the increase of his fields, and to Whom God said: “Thou fool, this night shall they require thy soul of thee; then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? " It was just in the like manner that the king Hezekiah heard from Isaiah the sad doom of his kingdom, when he gloried, before the envoys of Babylon, in his treasures and the deposits of his precious things. — Against Marcion Book IV

Tertullian: Down in hell, however, it was said concerning them: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them!"-event hose who did not believe them or at least did not sincerely believe that after death there were punishments for the arrogance of wealth and the glory of luxury, announced indeed by Moses and the prophets, but decreed by that God, who deposes princes from their thrones, and raiseth up the poor from dunghills. Since, therefore, it is quite consistent in the Creator to pronounce different sentences in the two directions of reward and punishment, we shall have to conclude that there is here no diversity of gods, but only a difference in the actual matters before us. — Against Marcion Book IV

Tertullian: But what will excite my surprise still more is the case (next supposed by Marcion), that a God so good and gracious, and so averse to blows and cruelty, should have suborned the angel Satan-not his own either, but the Creator’s-“to buffet” the apostle, and then to have refused his request, when thrice entreated to liberate him! It would seem, therefore, that Marcion’s god imitates the Creator’s conduct, who is an enemy to the proud, even “putting down the mighty from their seats.” Is he then the same God as He who gave Satan power over the person of Job that his “strength might be made perfect in weakness? " How is it that the censurer of the Galatians still retains the very formula of the law: “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established? " How again is it that he threatens sinners “that he will not spare” them -he, the preacher of a most gentle god? Yea, he even declares that “the Lord hath given to him the power of using sharpness in their presence!” Deny now, O heretic, (at your cost, ) that your god is an object to be feared, when his apostle was for making himself so formidable! — Against Marcion Book V

Tertullian: This we sometimes interpretatively ascribe to the devil, for of him comes hatred of good; sometimes we attribute it to God, for of Him comes judgment upon haughtiness, exalting, as He does, the humble, and depressing the elated. The more holy virgin, accordingly, will fear, even under the name of fascination, on the one hand the adversary, on the other God, the envious disposition of the former, the censorial light of the latter; and will joy in being known to herself alone and to God. — On the Veiling of Virgins

Luke 1:53

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Macarius ex Serm. 1.) For our understanding is acknowledged to be the judgment-seat of God, but after the transgression, the powers of evil took their seat in the heart of the first man as on their own throne. For this reason then the Lord came and cast out the evil spirits from the seat of our will, and raised up those who were vanquished by devils, purging their consciences, and making their hearts his own dwelling place. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Augustine of Hippo: Who are the hungry? The humble, the needy. Who are the rich? Proud and self-important people. I will not send you far to find them. I will show you now, in one and the same temple, one of those rich who are sent away empty, and one of those poor who are filled with good things.“Two men went up into the temple to pray. One a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.” … Observe the rich man burping his undigested food, breathing out the fumes of his intoxication—with pride, though, not with justice. “God,” he says, “I thank you because I am not like other men, robbers, unjust, adulterers, like this tax collector here.” … Come, poor men—come along, hungry tax collector. Rather, stand there, where you are standing. The tax collector, you see, “was standing a long way off,” but the Lord was drawing near to the humble. He did not dare to raise his eyes to heaven; yet where he did not raise his eyes, that is where he had his heart. — SERMON 290.6

Basil of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (ubi sup.) These words regulate our conduct even with respect to sensible things, teaching the uncertainty of all worldly possessions, which are as shortlived as the wave which is dashed about to and fro by the violence of the wind. But spiritually all mankind suffered hunger except the Jews; for they possessed the treasures of legal tradition and the teachings of the holy prophets. But because they did not rest humbly on the Incarnate Word, they were sent away empty, carrying nothing with them, neither faith nor knowledge, and were bereft of the hope of good things, being shut out both of the earthly Jerusalem, and the life to come. But those of the Gentiles, who were brought low by hunger and thirst, because they clung to the Lord, were filled with spiritual goods. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Cyril of Alexandria: By the hungry, she means the human race: for, excepting the Jews only, they were pining with famine. The Jews, however, were enriched by the giving of the law, and by the teaching of the holy prophets. For “to them belonged the giving of the law, the adoption of sons, the worship, the promises.” But they became wanton with high feeding, and too elate at their dignity; and having refused to draw near humbly to the Incarnate One, they were sent empty away, carrying nothing with them, neither faith nor knowledge, nor the hope of blessings. For verily they became both outcasts from the earthly Jerusalem, and aliens from the glorious life that is to be revealed, because they received not the Prince of Life, but even crucified the Lord of Glory, and abandoned the fountain of living water, and set at nought the bread that came down from heaven. And for this reason there came upon them a famine severer than any other, and a thirst more bitter than every thirst: for it was not a famine of the material bread, nor a thirst of water, “but a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord.” But the heathen, who were hungering and athirst, and with their soul wasted away with misery, were filled with spiritual blessings, because they received the Lord. For the privileges of the Jews passed over unto them. — Commentary on the Gospel of Luke

Luke 1:54

Basil of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (non occ.) For by Israel she means not Israel after the flesh, whom their own title made noble, but the spiritual Israel, which retained the name of faith, straining their eyes to see God by faith. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): That is, obedient and humble; for he who disdains to be made humble, cannot be saved.

But by seed he means not so much those who are begotten in the flesh, as those who have followed the steps of Abraham’s faith, to whom the Saviour’s coming was promised for evermore. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: Through all the time of this transitory age, the just and merciful Creator is willing to oppose the proud and give grace to the humble.After her general commemoration of the divine benevolence and justice, she did well to turn the words of her confession to the special divinely arranged plan of the unheard-of incarnation, by which God deigned to redeem the world, as she said, “He has taken his child Israel under his protection, being mindful of his mercy.” Indeed, Israel means “a man seeing God,” by which name is designated every society of redeemed human beings. On their account, God himself appeared in visible form among human beings, so that they might be capable of seeing God. He took Israel under his protection as a physician takes a sick person for whom he is caring. Or as a king, he defends the people from the invasion of enemies. Moreover, he returns them to liberty when the enemy has been overthrown and allows them to reign with him perpetually. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.4

Bede: He has taken up Israel, His servant, remembering mercy. He beautifully calls Israel the servant of the Lord, who has been taken up by Him for salvation, namely obedient and humble, as Hosea says: “For Israel is a child, and I loved him” (Hosea XI). For whoever refuses to be humbled cannot indeed be saved, nor say with the Prophet: “Behold, God is my helper, and the Lord is the protector of my soul” (Psalm LIII). But whoever humbles himself like a little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew XVIII). — On the Gospel of Luke

Cosmas Indicopleustes: He hath holpen Israel his servant, that he might remember mercy, as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed for ever. — The Christian Topography, Book 5

Cyril of Alexandria: He hath taken hold of Israel,—-not of the Israel according to the flesh, and who prides himself on the bare name, but of him who is so after the Spirit, and according to the true meaning of the appellation;—-even such as look unto God, and believe in Him, and obtain through the Son the adoption of sons, according to the Word that was spoken, and the promise made to the prophets and patriarchs of old. It has, however, a true application also to the carnal Israel; for many thousands and ten thousands of them believed. “But He has remembered His mercy as He promised to Abraham:” and has accomplished what He spake unto him, that “in thy seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.” For this promise was now in the act of fulfilment by the impending birth of our common Saviour Christ, Who is that seed of Abraham, in Whom the Gentiles are blessed. “For He took on Him the seed of Abraham,” according to the Apostle’s words: and so fulfilled the promise made unto the fathers. — Commentary on the Gospel of Luke

Cyril of Alexandria: He has taken hold of Israel—not of the Israel according to the flesh, who prides himself on the bare name, but of him who is so after the Spirit, in accordance with the true meaning of the appellation. The latter comprises those who look to God, believe in him and obtain through the Son the adoption of sons, according to the Word that was spoken and the promise made to the prophets and patriarchs of old. It has, however, a true application also to the carnal Israel, for many thousands and ten thousands of them believed. But he has remembered his mercy as he promised to Abraham and has accomplished what he said to him: that in his seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed. This promise was not in the act of fulfillment by the impending birth of our common Savior Christ—who is the seed of Abraham, in whom the Gentiles are blessed. For he took on him the seed of Abraham, according to the apostles’ words, and fulfilled the promise made unto the fathers. — COMMENTARY ON LUKE

Luke 1:55

Bede: When blessed Mary was making mention of the memory of the fathers, she properly represented them by naming Abraham in particular. Although many of the fathers and holy ones mystically brought forward testimony of the Lord’s incarnation, it was to Abraham that the hidden mysteries of this same Lord’s incarnation and of our redemption were first clearly predicted. Also, to him it was specifically said, “And in you all the tribes of the earth will be blessed.” None of the faithful doubts that this pertains to the Lord and Savior, who in order to give us an everlasting blessing deigned to come to us from the stock of Abraham. However, “the seed of Abraham” does not refer only to those chosen ones who were brought forth physically from Abraham’s lineage, but also to us.… Having been gathered together to Christ from the nations, we are connected by the fellowship of faith to the fathers, from whom we are far separated by the origin of our fleshly bloodline. We too are the seed and children of Abraham since we are reborn by the sacraments of our Redeemer, who assumed his flesh from the race of Abraham. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.4

Bede: As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed forever. The seed of Abraham signifies not the carnal, but the spiritual, that is, not only those born of his flesh, but those who follow his footsteps in faith, whether in circumcision or uncircumcision. For he believed when in uncircumcision, and it was counted to him as righteousness. And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the same faith, so that he might thus become the father of both peoples through faith, as the Apostle most fully explains to the Romans. Therefore, the coming of the Savior was promised to Abraham and his seed forever, that is, to the children of the promise, to whom it is said: “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians III). It is fitting that the births of either the Lord or John are foretold by mothers prophesying, that just as sin began with women, so too should good begin with women, and that which perished through the deception of one woman, life might be restored to the world through two women proclaiming in agreement. — On the Gospel of Luke

Luke 1:56

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Mary abode with Elisabeth until she had accomplished the time of her bringing forth; as it is said, And Mary abode, &c.

Now it was not only for the sake of friendship that she abode so long, but for the increase also of so great a prophet. For if at her first coming the child had so far advanced, that at the salutation of Mary he leaped in the womb, and his mother was filled with the Holy Spirit, how much must we suppose the presence of the Virgin Mary to have added during the experience of so long a time? Rightly then is she represented as having shown kindness to Elisabeth, and preserved the mystical number. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Metaphrastes.) For it is the custom for virgins to go away when the pregnant woman brings forth. But when she reached her own home, she went to no other place, but abode there until she knew the time of her delivery was at hand. And Joseph doubting, is instructed by an Angel. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): For the chaste soul which conceives a desire of the spiritual word must of necessity submit to the yoke of heavenly discipline, and sojourning for the days as it were of three months in the same place, cease not to persevere until it is illuminated by the light of faith, hope, and charity. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: But Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home. Mary stayed so long until, with the completion of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, she saw the birth of the precursor of her Lord, especially for whom she had come. It has been said above that every pure soul which has conceived the spiritual desire of the word must soon undergo the high yoke of heavenly exercise, and remain there almost for a period of three months, until it shines with the perfect light of the chief virtues. Describing these months of the most perfect brightness, the Apostle says: “And now these three remain: faith, hope, love. But the greatest of these is love” (I Cor. XIII). — On the Gospel of Luke

Ephrem the Syrian: “She returned home after three months,” so that the Lord whom she was carrying would not begin service before his servant. She returned to her husband to clarify the matter, for if she had become pregnant through human fruit, it would have been appropriate for her to flee from her husband. — COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 1.28

Origen of Alexandria: Both of the things that are said and of those that are reported as done, the account ought to be worthy of the Holy Spirit and of the faith of Christ, to which we who believe are called. Hence now too the reason must be sought why Mary, after her conceiving, came to Elizabeth and “remained with her three months”; or what the reason was that Luke, who was writing the history of the Gospel, should also insert this, that she “remained with her three months, and afterwards returned to her own house”. Surely there ought to be some reason which, if the Lord opens our heart, the discourse that follows will show. For if from the mere fact that Mary came to Elizabeth and greeted her, “the infant leaped for joy”, and “Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit”, prophesied those things which are written in the Gospel, and in a single hour made such great advances, it is left to our conjecture how much John advanced in three months, with Mary sitting beside Elizabeth. For it would be exceedingly unfitting that in a mere point and moment of an hour the infant should have leaped and in a manner frolicked with joy, and Elizabeth should have been filled with the Holy Spirit, but that in three whole months neither John nor Elizabeth should have advanced from the nearness of the Lord’s mother and the presence of the Savior himself. Therefore John was being exercised, and in a manner anointed as in an athletic arena, throughout those three months, and was being prepared in his mother’s womb, so that, having been born wonderfully, he might more wonderfully be nourished. For because he was nourished in an unaccustomed way, it is not recorded in writing how he was suckled at his mother’s breasts, how he was placed in the bosom of a nurse, but at once there follows: “and he was in the deserts until the day of his showing forth to Israel”. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 9

Luke 1:57

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): If you carefully observe, you will find that the word signifying fulness is no where used except at the birth of the righteous. Hence it is said, Now Elisabeth’s full time came. For the life of the righteous hath fulness, but the days of the wicked are empty.

For the bringing forth of saints causes the rejoicing of many; it is a common blessing; for justice is a public virtue, and therefore at the birth of a just man a sign of his future life is sent beforehand, and the grace of the virtue which is to follow is represented, being foreshadowed by the rejoicing of the neighbours. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Metaphrastes.) For it is the custom for virgins to go away when the pregnant woman brings forth. But when she reached her own home, she went to no other place, but abode there until she knew the time of her delivery was at hand. And Joseph doubting, is instructed by an Angel. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: Now Elizabeth’s time had come to give birth, and she bore a son. Holy Scripture is accustomed to use the term “fulfillment” only in the birth, or condition, or action of good things, which signifies the perfection of life. Hence it is said, “Elizabeth’s time to give birth was fulfilled.” “The days were fulfilled for Mary to give birth” (Luke II). “Solomon completed building the house of the Lord” (II Chron. III). “Abraham, or another of the fathers, died, full of days.” And, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son” (Gal. IV). But on the contrary, the days of the wicked are empty and void. For men of blood and deceit will not live out half their days (Psalm LIV). — On the Gospel of Luke

Ephrem the Syrian: The elderly Elizabeth gave birth to the last of the prophets, and Mary, a young girl, to the Lord of the angels. The daughter of Aaron gave birth to the voice in the desert, but the daughter of David to the strong God of the earth. The barren one gave birth to him who remits sins, but the Virgin gave birth to him who takes them away. Elizabeth gave birth to him who reconciled people through repentance, but Mary gave birth to him who purified the lands of uncleanness. The elder one lit a lamp in the house of Jacob, his father, for this lamp itself was John, while the younger one lit the Sun of Justice for all the nations. The angel announced to Zechariah, so that the slain one would proclaim the crucified one and that the hated one would proclaim the envied one. He who was to baptize with water would proclaim him who would baptize with fire and with the Holy Spirit. The light, which was not obscure, would proclaim the Sun of Justice. The one filled with the Spirit would proclaim concerning him who gives the Spirit. The priest calling with the trumpet would proclaim concerning the one who is to come at the sound of the trumpet at the end. The voice would proclaim concerning the Word, and the one who saw the dove would proclaim concerning him upon whom the dove rested, like the lightning before the thunder. — COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 1.31

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): And for that reason the Lord kept back the delivery of Elisabeth, that her joy might be increased, and her fame the greater. Hence it follows, And her neighbours and cousins heard, &c. For they who had known her barrenness were made the witnesses of the Divine grace, and no one seeing the child departed in silence, but gave praise to God, Who had vouchsafed him beyond their expectation. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: Next we read: “But for Elizabeth the time was fulfilled that she should bring forth, and she bore a son”. Many think it is said superfluously: “But for Elizabeth the time was fulfilled that she should bring forth, and she bore a son”. For what woman can bring forth unless she has first fulfilled the time of bringing forth? But whoever contemplates the Scriptures most diligently and hears Paul saying: “attend to the reading”, observing both in the Old and in the New Testament, if anywhere he might find it written at the birth of a sinner: “the time was fulfilled that she should bring forth”, he will never at all find it. But wherever a just man is born, there the days are fulfilled, there the coming into the world is fulfilled. The birth of the just has fullness, but the nativity of a sinner has, so to speak, emptiness and hollowness. So much for what is written: “the time was fulfilled that she should bring forth”. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 9

Luke 1:58

Bede: And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. The birth of the saints brings joy to many because it is a common good. For justice is a communal virtue. Therefore, at the birth of a just person, a sign of future life is foretold, and the grace of the forthcoming virtue is prefigured with the joyful exultation of neighbors. — On the Gospel of Luke

Origen of Alexandria: Then it follows that, when John was born, “the neighbors and kinsfolk congratulated” his mother, and they wished to impose on the boy a name in honor of his father, so that he should be called Zechariah. But Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, said: “John is his name”. Then when they sought just reasons why he should be called John of all names, since in his family no one bore this name, they ask his father, who, being unable to answer, spoke with his hand and with letters. For he “wrote” on a tablet: “John is his name”. And at once, as the stylus was pressed into the wax, “the tongue”, which before had been bound, “was loosed” and recovered speech that was not human. As long as his tongue was bound, it was human; for unbelief had bound it. As soon as it was loosed, it ceased to be human, “and he spoke, blessing God” and prophesied those things which are written in the Gospel, about which, with the Lord Jesus Christ granting it, we shall discourse when the time comes: to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 9

Luke 1:59

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): The holy Evangelist has especially remarked, that many thought the child should be called after his father Zacharias, in order that we might understand, not that any name of his kinsfolk was displeasing to his mother, but that the same word had been communicated to her by the Holy Spirit, which had been foretold by the Angel to Zacharias. And in truth, being dumb, Zacharias was unable to mention his son’s name to his wife, but Elisabeth obtained by prophecy what she had not learnt from her husband. Hence it follows, And she answered, &c. Marvel not that the woman pronounced the name which she had never heard, seeing the Holy Spirit who imparted it to the Angel revealed it to her; nor could she be ignorant of the forerunner of the Lord, who had prophesied of Christ. And it well follows, And they said unto her, &c. that you might consider that the name belongs not to the family, but to the Prophet. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Now in an allegory, the celebration of John’s birth was the beginning of the grace of the New Covenant. His neighbours and kinsfolk had rather give him the name of his father than that of John. For the Jews, who by the observance of the Law were united to him as it were by ties of kindred, chose rather to follow the righteousness which is of the Law, than receive the grace of faith. But the name of John, (i. e. the grace of God,) his mother in word, his father in writing, suffice to announce, for both the Law itself as well as the Psalms and the Prophecies, in the plainest language foretel the grace of Christ; and that ancient priesthood, by the foreshadowing of its ceremonies and sacrifices, bears testimony to the same. And well doth Zacharias speak on the eighth day of the birth of his child, for by the resurrection of the Lord, which took place on the eighth day, i. e. the day after the sabbath, (septimam sabbati.) the hidden secrets of the legal priesthood were revealed. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: John means “the grace of God” or “in whom there is grace.” By this name are expressed the entire extent of the grace of the gospel dispensation which he was to proclaim, and especially the Lord himself, through whom this grace was to be granted to the world.…As to his subsequent declaration and confirmation of the name of John, and the opening of Zechariah’s mouth and his speaking, blessing God, it is surely evident that once the grace of the new covenant was manifested by the apostles, a large number of priests also became obedient to the faith. — Homilies on the Gospels 2.20

Bede: And it happened on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. And his mother answered and said: Not so, but he shall be called John. The holy evangelist thought it well to mention beforehand that many thought the child should be called by the name of his father, Zacharias, so that you might note that the mother did not dislike the name of some relative, but that this name was infused by the Holy Spirit, which had been foretold by the angel to Zacharias before. Indeed, he, being mute, could not intimate the name of the son to his wife, but Elizabeth learned the prophecy, which she had not learned from her husband. — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede: John’s circumcision clearly set forth an image of the Lord’s resurrection because it too occurred on the eighth day, that is, on the day after the sabbath. And just as the former was wont to release people from the punishable state of everlasting death, so the latter displayed the perfect newness of immortal life in our Creator, and revealed that it is to be hoped for in us. — Homilies on the Gospels 2.20

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (in Gen. Hom. 39.) The rite of circumcision was first delivered to Abraham as a sign of distinction, that the race of the Patriarch might be preserved in unmixed purity, and so might be able to obtain the promises. But now that the promise of the covenant is fulfilled, the sign attached to it is removed. So then through Christ circumcision ceased, and baptism came in its place; but first it was right that John should be circumcised; as it is said, And it came to pass, that on the eighth day, &c. For the Lord had said, Let the child of eight days be circumcised among you. (Gen. 17:13.) But this measurement of time I conceive was ordered by Divine mercy for two reasons. First, because in its most tender years the child the more easily bears the cutting of the flesh. Secondly, that from the very operation itself we might be reminded that it was done for a sign; for the young child scarcely distinguishes any of the things that are around him. But after the circumcision, the name was conferred, as it follows, And they called him. But this was done because we must first receive the seal of the Lord, then the name of man. Or, because no man except he first cast aside his fleshly lusts, which circumcision signifies, is worthy to have his name written in the book of life. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:61

Bede: And they said to her: There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name. They signaled to his father, etc. “John is his name,” he said, that is, we do not impose a name on him who has already received a name from God. He has his own name which we acknowledge, not which we chose. Do not be surprised if a woman asserted the name, which she had not heard, when the Holy Spirit who commanded the angel revealed it to her, nor could she be ignorant of the announcement of the Lord, who had prophesied of Christ. And it is well added that there is no one among his kindred who is called by this name, so you may understand that the name is not one of kin, but of a prophet. — On the Gospel of Luke

Luke 1:62

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Zacharias also is questioned, and signs made to him, as it follows, And they made signs to the father, &c. But since unbelief had so bereft him of utterance and hearing, that he could not use his voice, he spoke by his hand-writing, as it follows, And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John; that is, we give no name to him who has received his name from God. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:63

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But the name John is also interpreted the grace of God. Because then by the favour of Divine grace, not by nature, Elisabeth conceived this son, they engraved the memory of the benefit on the name of the child. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (non occ.) Zacharias is by interpretation “remembering God,” but John signifies “pointing to.” Now “memory” relates to something absent, “pointing to,” to something present. But John was not about to set forth the memory of God as absent, but with his finger to point him out as present, saying, Behold the Lamb of God. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:64

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Rightly also, from that moment was his tongue loosed, for that which unbelief had bound, faith set free. Let us then also believe, in order that our tongue, which has been bound by the chains of unbelief, may be loosed by the voice of reason. Let us write mysteries by the Spirit if we wish to speak. Let us write the forerunner of Christ, not on tables of stone, but on the fleshly tablets of the heart. For he who names John, prophesies Christ. For it follows, And he spake, giving thanks. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: His mouth and his tongue were immediately opened, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came upon all their neighbors. Because the voice of one crying in the wilderness was born, rightly was the father’s tongue loosened. For it was not fitting that the father remain silent from praises, who rejoiced in the birth of the herald of the Word. Indeed, the lips bound by unbelief were now loosened by faith. But if anyone desires to scrutinize closely, these things also allegorically point to the celebrated nativity of John, the initiating sublimity of the grace of the New Testament. The neighbors and relatives preferred to name the father rather than John, because the Jews, who were connected to him by the observance of the law as if by kinship, rather desired to follow the justice that is from the law than to accept the grace of faith. But John, which means the grace of God, the mother strives to make known by words, the father by writing, because even the law itself, the psalms, and the prophets proclaim the grace of Christ with clear utterances, and the old priesthood testifies to him with the shadows of ritual ceremonies and sacrifices. And fittingly, Zacharias speaks on the eighth day after the child was born, because through the resurrection of the Lord, which happened on the eighth day, i.e., after the seventh of the Sabbath, the hidden secrets of the legal priesthood were revealed, and the tongue of the Jewish priests, which was bound by the chains of distrust, was loosened by the voice of rational understanding. — On the Gospel of Luke

Gregory of Nazianzus ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Orat. vi.) The birth of John then broke the silence of Zacharias, as it follows, And his mouth was opened. For it were unreasonable when the voice of the Word had come forth, that his father should remain speechless. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Maximus of Turin: When John his son was born, among his neighbors there was concern about what name he should be given. Writing tablets were offered to his father so that he himself could put down the name that he had decided upon, so that he might express in writing what he could not in speech. Then, in a wonderful manner, when he had taken the tablets in order to begin writing, his tongue was loosened, the written word gave way to speech, and he did not write “John” but spoke it. Consider, then, the merit of the holy Baptist: he gave his father back his voice, he restored the faculty of speech to the priest. Consider, I say, his merit: John unloosed the mouth that the angel had bound. What Gabriel had closed the little child unlocked.… When John is born the father suddenly becomes a prophet or priest, speech attains its use, love receives an offspring, the office recognizes the priest. — SERMON 6.1

Luke 1:65

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Metaphrastes.) For God worked miracles in John which he did not himself, but the right hand of God in him. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): For forerunning signs prepare the way for the forerunner of the truth, and the future prophet is recommended by auspices sent before him; hence it follows, For the hand of the Lord was with him. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: On the day of John’s circumcision, when he also received his name, “fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these words were spread abroad throughout the mountain country of Judea.” Furthermore, at the time of our Lord’s resurrection, when the Spirit had been sent down from above and the glory of his name was made known to the world by the apostles, a most salutary fear immediately struck the hearts. Not only of the Jews, who were of the neighborhood either by their physical location or by their knowledge of the law, but also those of foreign nations, even to the ends of the earth. And John’s reputation for virtue exceeded not only the whole mountain country of Judea, but also all the heights of worldly kingdoms and worldly wisdom, so that everywhere people left behind their former way of life and flocked together to attain the sacramental mysteries of his faith. — Homilies on the Gospels 2.20

Bede: And these words were spread over all the mountains of Judaea. And all those who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying: What will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him. Great are the works of the Lord, exquisite in all his desires (Psalms 110). Behold, the silence of Zacharias alone, given to him as a punishment for disbelief and as a sign of belief, not only benefits him when it is taken away, but it also astounds all his neighbors with the miracle and fear. The fame of the born prophet spreads throughout all the surrounding mountains; it stirs up all who can hear to diligently inquire about the manner and state of the child who is born, so that by this and similar auspices, the future prophet of Christ is commended, and, so to speak, it provides signs for the herald of the forthcoming truth. And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he prophesied, saying: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people. How great is the abundance of the heavenly gift, if the piety of our faith is ready to receive it. Behold, the speech that was taken away for disbelief is restored with the spirit of prophecy to the believer. The Lord has visited his people, as if wasting away from a long infirmity, and as if sold under sin, he has redeemed them by the blood of his only son. Because blessed Zacharias knew this was about to be done soon, he narrates it as though it were already accomplished in a prophetic manner. And it should be noted that it is said he visited and redeemed his people, not because he came and found them as his own, but because by visiting them, he made them his own. Similar to this is what is sung in the conclusion of the Proverbs about the same people: Who shall find a valiant woman (Proverbs 31)? For he did not find that same woman, namely the Church, strong, that is, devoted in faith, but by betrothing her to himself, he made her strong, because he perfected her by the sublimity of his faith. — On the Gospel of Luke

Luke 1:67

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): God in His mercy and readiness to pardon our sins, not only restores to us what He has taken away, but grants us favours even beyond our expectations. Let no one then distrust Him, let no one from consciousness of past sins despair of the Divine blessing. God knoweth how to change His sentence, if thou hast known how to correct thy sin, seeing he that was long silent prophesies; as it is said, And Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ambrose of Milan: But perhaps some may consider it an irrational excess of the mind that he speaks to an infant for eight days. But if we hold to the truth, we understand without a doubt that the child born could hear the voice of his father, who heard the greeting of Mary before he was born. The prophet knew that the other ears of the prophet, which are opened by the Spirit of God, not by the age of the body. He had the sense of understanding, which had the capacity for rejoicing. — EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF Luke 2.34

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But the Lord visited His people who were pining away as it were from long sickness, and by the blood of His only begotten Son, redeemed them who were sold under sin. Which thing Zacharias, knowing that it would soon be accomplished, relates in the prophetic manner as if it were already passed. But he says, His people, not that when He came He found them His own, but that by visiting He made them so. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Cyprian: That Christ our God should come, the En-lightener and Saviour of the human race. In Isaiah: “Be comforted, ye weakened hands; and ye weak knees, be strengthened. Ye who are of a timorous heart, fear not. Our God will recompense judgment, He Himself will come, and will save us. Then shall be opened the eves of the blind, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. Then the lame man shall leap as a stag, and the tongue of the dumb shall be intelligible; because in the wilderness the water is broken forth, and the stream in the thirsty land.” Also in that place: “Not an elder nor an angel, but the Lord Himself shall deliver them; because He shall love them, and shall spare them, and He Himself shall redeem them. Also in the same place: “I the Lord God have called Thee in righteousness, that I may hold Thine hand, and I will comfort Thee; and I have given Thee for a covenant of my people, for a light of the nations; to open the eyes of the blind, to bring forth them that are bound from chains, and those who sit in darkness from the prison-house. I am the Lord God, that is my name. I will not: give any glory to another, nor my powers to given images.” Also in the twenty-fourth Psalm: “Show me Thy ways, Lord, and teach me Thy paths, and lead me unto Thy truth, and teach me; for Thou art the God of my salvation.” Whence, in the Gospel according to John, the Lord says: “I am the light of the world. He that will follow me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Moreover, in that according to Matthew, the angel Gabriel says to Joseph: “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife. For that which shall be born to her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.” Also in that according to Luke: “And Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath foreseen redemption for His people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.” Also in the same. place, the angel said to the shepherds: “Fear not; for, behold, I bring you tidings that unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ Jesus.” — Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews

Irenaeus: This same God, after His great goodness, poured His compassion upon us, through which compassion “the Day-spring from on high has looked upon us, and appeared to those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death, and has guided our feet into the way of peace;” [Luke 1:78] as Zacharias also, recovering from the state of dumbness which he had suffered on account of unbelief, having been filled with a new spirit, did bless God in a new manner. For all things had entered upon a new phase, the Word arranging after a new manner the advent in the flesh, that He might win back to God that human nature (hominem) which had departed from God; and therefore men were taught to worship God after a new fashion, but not another god, because in truth there is but “one God, who justifies the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith.” [Romans 3:30] But Zacharias prophesying, exclaimed, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David; as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world begun; salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy [promised] to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham, that He would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all our days.” [Luke 1:68, etc.] Then he says to John: “And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; to give knowledge of salvation to His people, for the remission of their sins.” [Luke 1:76] For this is the knowledge of salvation which was wanting to them, that of the Son of God, which John made known, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, After me comes a man who was made before me; because He was prior to me: and of His fullness have all we received.” [John 1:29, John 1:15-16] This, therefore, was the knowledge of salvation; but [it did not consist in] another God, nor another Father, nor Bythus, nor the Pleroma of thirty Æons, nor the Mother of the (lower) Ogdoad: but the knowledge of salvation was the knowledge of the Son of God, who is both called and actually is, salvation, and Saviour, and salutary. — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 10), Section 2

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): That is, “with the working of the Holy Spirit;” for he had obtained the grace of the Holy Spirit, not in any manner, but fully; and the gift of prophecy shone forth in him; as it follows, And he prophesied.

Zacharias, when he is blessing God, says, that He hath visited His people, meaning thereby either the Israelites in the flesh, for He came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; (Matt. 15:24.) or the spiritual Israel, that is, the faithful, who were worthy of this visitation, making the providence of God of good effect towards them. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Nicetas of Remesiana: That which was spiritual in the Old Testament, for example, faith, piety, prayer, fasting, patience, chastity and psalm singing—all this has been increased in the New Testament rather than diminished. Therefore you will find in the Gospel Zechariah, the father of John, who uttered a prophecy in the form of a hymn after his long silence. — LITURGICAL SINGING 9

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Now Zacharias being filled with the Holy Spirit utters two prophecies, the first relating to Christ, the second to John. And this is plainly proved by those words in which he speaks of the Saviour as present and already going about in the world, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited, &c. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: Filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah announces two prophecies in a general way, the first concerning Christ, the second concerning John. This is plainly borne out from his own words, in which he speaks of the Savior as though already present and dwelling in the world, and then afterward of John. For “being filled with the Holy Spirit he prophesied, saying: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people”. For when God was visiting and willing to redeem his people, “Mary remained” with Elizabeth, after the angel had spoken to her, “three months”, so that by a certain ineffable power the Savior, being present, might instruct not only John, as we said a while ago, but also Zechariah, as the Gospel word now declares. For here too, little by little through three months, he was receiving the increases of the Holy Spirit, and, while he does not know it, he was being taught, and he prophesied concerning Christ, saying: “who gave redemption to his people, and raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David”, because Christ was born “of the seed of David according to the flesh”. And truly he was “a horn of salvation in the house of David”, because this prophecy is sung in harmony: “For a vineyard was made on a horn”. On what horn? On Christ Jesus, on him of whom it is now written: “he raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of David his servant, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets”. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 10

Luke 1:68

Bede: Hear what Zechariah, prophesying and blessing God, said: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people.” Notice in these words that Zechariah was telling by way of prophecy, as if it had already come to pass, what he had foreseen in spirit had begun and would soon come to pass. By his appearance in the flesh our Lord visited us when we were distancing ourselves from him, and he chose to seek out and justify us when we were sinners. He visited us as a doctor visits an ill patient, and, in order to cure the ingrained sickness of our pride, he gave us the example of his own humility. He redeemed his people by giving us freedom, at the price of his own blood—we who had been sold into the slavery of sin and were committed to serving the ancient enemy. Therefore the apostle exhorts us, saying, “For you have been purchased at a great price. Glorify and carry God in your bodies.” — Homilies on the Gospels 2.20

Luke 1:69

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): The kingdom of our Saviour Christ is called also the horn of salvation, because all our bones are clothed with flesh, but the horn alone stretches beyond the flesh; so the kingdom of Christ is called the horn of salvation, as reaching beyond the world and the delights of the flesh. According to which figure David and Solomon were consecrated by the horn of oil to the glory of the kingdom. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And he has raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of David his servant. A horn of salvation signifies a firm eminence of salvation. Indeed, all bones are covered with flesh, the horn surpasses the flesh, and therefore the horn of salvation is called the kingdom of Christ the Savior, whereby by which the spiritual and what is of the flesh joys are surpassed, height is proclaimed. In figure of which David and Solomon were consecrated with the horn of oil to the glory of the kingdom. — On the Gospel of Luke

Cyril of Alexandria: The word horn is used not only for power, but also for royalty. But Christ, Who is the Saviour that hath risen for us from the family and race of David, is both: for He is the King of kings, and the invincible power of the Father. — Commentary on the Gospel of Luke

Jerome: The sound of the horn represents the man of God in all his sovereignty. In Scripture, the horn properly signifies kingship and power, just as it is written: “He has raised up a horn of salvation for us.” — HOMILIES ON THE Psalms 25

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Serm. de Anna. IV.) Now by a horn he means power, glory, and honour, deriving it metaphorically from the brute creatures, to whom God has given horns for defence and glory. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Because Christ was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh, it is said, A horn of salvation to us in the house of his servant David; as it has also elsewhere been said, A vineyard hath been planted in a horn, (Is. 5:1.) i. e. in Jesus Christ. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:70

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Victor Presbyter.) Whereby he means that God spoke through them, and that their speech was not of man. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But he says, Which have been since the world began. Because all the Scriptures of the Old Testament were a constant prophecy of Christ. For both our father Adam himself, and the other fathers, by their deeds bore testimony to His dispensation. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old. From of old, he says, because the whole Scripture of the Old Testament proceeded as a prophecy about Christ. Not only Jeremiah, Daniel, and Isaiah, and others like them, who are specifically called prophets and spoke manifestly about his coming, but even father Adam, Abel, and Enoch, and other Patriarchs, by their own deeds bear witness to his dispensation. Whence the Lord himself, rebuking the hardness of the Jews, said: If you believed Moses, you might perhaps believe me also. For he wrote of me (John 5). — On the Gospel of Luke

Luke 1:71

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Having first briefly said, He hath raised up a horn of salvation to us, he goes on to explain his words, adding, of salvation from our enemies. As if he said, He hath raised up to us a horn, i. e. He hath raised up to us salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us. It must be joined from the previous verse, “he raised up for us,” that is, he raised up for us salvation from our enemies. For when he had briefly stated earlier: “And he raised up a horn of salvation for us,” continuing as if explaining more openly what he had said: “Salvation,” he says, “from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.” But all who hate us signify either perverse men or unclean spirits. From whose hand, both in the present with hope we have been saved, and in the future, in reality, we will be saved. — On the Gospel of Luke

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Let us not suppose that this refers to our bodily enemies, but our ghostly. For the Lord Jesus came mighty in battle (Ps. 24:8) to destroy all our enemies, that He might deliver us from their snares and temptation. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: “Salvation from our enemies”. Let us not now suppose that this is said of bodily enemies, but of spiritual ones. For the Lord Jesus came, “mighty in battle”, to destroy all our enemies, that he might free us from their snares: from the hand of all our enemies “and from the hand of all who hate us”. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 10

Luke 1:72

Bede: To show mercy to our fathers and to remember His covenant. The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, etc. The Lord had said through the words of the prophets that He would be born in the house of David; He says the same to fulfill the covenant which He arranged with Abraham, that He would liberate us. For it was especially to those patriarchs that either the gathering of nations or the incarnation of Christ was promised from their seed. Which Matthew also briefly indicated when he began his Gospel in this way: The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Where it should be noted that in both evangelists, David is preferred to Abraham. For although later in the order of time, he is greater by the gift of promise. For to Abraham, who, although still in circumcision, left his homeland, knew God, and earned the testimony of faith, only the faith of the nations and the holy assembly of the Church was promised, with the Lord saying to him: And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Gen. XXVIII). But to David, by a more exalted oracle, it was heard that Christ would be born from him according to the flesh: When your days are fulfilled and you go to your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall be one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me (I Chron. XVII). — On the Gospel of Luke

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Having announced that the Lord, according to the declaration of the Prophet, would be born of the house of David, he now says, that the same Lord to fulfil the covenant He made with Abraham will deliver us, because chiefly to these patriarchs of Abraham’s seed was promised the gathering of the Gentiles, or the incarnation of Christ. But David is put first, because to Abraham was promised the holy assembly of the Church; whereas to David it was told that from him Christ was to be born. And therefore after what was said of David, he adds concerning Abraham the words, To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, &c. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Cyril of Alexandria: Christ is mercy and justice. We have obtained mercy through him and been justified, having washed away the stains of wickedness through faith that is in him. — COMMENTARY ON LUKE

Origen of Alexandria: “To show mercy toward our fathers” — I think that at the coming of the Lord the Savior both Abraham and Isaac and Jacob enjoyed the mercy of God. For it is not credible that those who earlier saw his day and rejoiced should afterward, at his coming and his birth from the Virgin, have received no benefit. And why do I speak of the patriarchs? Following the authority of the Scriptures, I will boldly ascend to higher things, since the presence of the Lord Jesus and his dispensation profited not only things earthly but also things heavenly. Whence the Apostle also says: “making peace through the blood of his cross, whether upon the earth or in the heavens”. But if in heaven and on earth the presence of the Lord was of profit, why should you be afraid to say that his coming profited even the greater ones, so that this might be fulfilled which is said: “to show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to Abraham our father”, that he might grant us to be freed “without fear from the hand of the enemies”? — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 10

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Let us not suppose that this refers to our bodily enemies, but our ghostly. For the Lord Jesus came mighty in battle (Ps. 24:8) to destroy all our enemies, that He might deliver us from their snares and temptation. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:73

Basil of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Hom. in Ps. 29. et in Ps. 14. App. op.) But let no one, hearing that the Lord had sworn to Abraham, be tempted to swear. For as when the wrath of God is spoken of, it does not signify passion but punishment; so neither dos God swear as man, but His word is in very truth expressed to us in place of an oath, confirming by an unchangeable sentence what He promised. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Cyril of Alexandria: But let no one accustom himself to swear from hearing that God sware unto Abraham. For just as anger, when spoken of God, is not anger, nor implies passion, but signifies power exercised in punishment, or some similar motion; so neither is an oath an act of swearing. For God does not swear, but indicates the certainty of the event,—-that that which He says will necessarily come to pass. For God’s oath is His own word, fully persuading those that hear, and giving each one the conviction that what He has promised and said will certainly come to pass. — Commentary on the Gospel of Luke

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): I think that at the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, both Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were partakers of His mercy. For it is not to be believed, that they who had before seen His day, and were glad, should afterwards derive no advantage from His coming, since it is written, Having made peace through the blood of his Cross, whether in earth or in heaven. (Coloss. 1:20.) — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:74

Basil of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Hom. in Ps. 29. et in Ps. 14. App. op.) But let no one, hearing that the Lord had sworn to Abraham, be tempted to swear. For as when the wrath of God is spoken of, it does not signify passion but punishment; so neither dos God swear as man, but His word is in very truth expressed to us in place of an oath, confirming by an unchangeable sentence what He promised. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Having said that a horn of salvation had risen up to us from the house of David, he shows that through it we are partakers of His glory, and escape the assaults of the enemy. As he says, That being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, we might serve him without fear. The two things above mentioned will not easily be found united. For many escape danger, but fail of a glorious life, as criminals discharged from prison by the king’s mercy. On the other hand, some reap glory, but are compelled for its sake to encounter dangers, as soldiers in war embracing a life of honour are oftentimes in the greatest peril. But the horn brings both safety and glory. Safety indeed as it rescues us from the hands of our enemies, not slightly but in a wonderful manner, insomuch that we have no more fear, which arc his very words; that being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we might serve him without fear. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: Frequently some are freed from the hand of foes, but not “without fear”. For when dread and danger have first gone before, and thus one has been rescued from the hand of enemies, he is indeed freed, but not “without fear”. But the coming of the Lord Jesus rescued us “from the hand of the enemies without fear”. For we did not perceive our enemies nor see them fighting against us, but, while we knew it not, we were suddenly snatched from their jaws and their snares. “In a point and a moment” he transferred us “into the inheritance and the portion of the just”, and we have been freed “from the hand of the enemies without fear, that we may serve God in holiness and justice before him all our days”. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 10

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Or in another way; Frequently are men delivered from the hands of the enemy, but not without fear. For when fear and peril have gone before, and a man is then plucked from the enemies’ hand, he is delivered indeed, but not without fear. Therefore said he, that the coming of Christ caused us to be snatched from the enemies’ hands without fear. For we suffered not from their evil designs, but He suddenly parting us from them, hath led us out to our own allotted resting place. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:75

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): For whosoever either departs from God’s service before he dies, or by any uncleanness stains either the strictness or purity of his faith, or strives to be holy and righteous before men, and not before God, does not yet serve the Lord in perfect freedom from the hand of his spiritual enemies, but after the example of the old Samaritans endeavours to serve equally the Gods of the Gentiles, and his Lord. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: In holiness and righteousness before Him, all our days. Clearly and briefly, he designates how the Lord is to be served; namely, in holiness and righteousness, and before Him, and all our days. For he who either departs from His service before death, or pollutes the sincerity of his faith with any uncleanness or injustice, or strives to appear holy only before men and not also before the Lord; and just, is not yet perfectly liberated from the hand of spiritual enemies to serve the Lord, but, following the example of the ancient Samaritans, attempts to serve both the gods of the nations and the Lord. — On the Gospel of Luke

Cyril of Alexandria: Christ is mercy and justice. We have obtained mercy through him and been justified, having washed away the stains of wickedness through faith that is in him. — COMMENTARY ON LUKE

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Zacharias glorifies the Lord, because He hath made us to serve Him with full confidence, not in the flesh as Judah did with the blood of victims, but in the spirit with good works. And this is what he means by in holiness and righteousness. For holiness is, a proper observance of our duty towards God, righteousness of our duty towards man; as, for example, when a man devoutly performs the Divine commands, and lives honourably among his fellow men. But he does not say “before men,” as of hypocrites desirous to please men, but “before God,” as of those whose praise is not of men, but of God; (Rom. 2:29.) and this not once or for a time; but all the days of their life, as it is said, all our days. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Or in another way; Frequently are men delivered from the hands of the enemy, but not without fear. For when fear and peril have gone before, and a man is then plucked from the enemies’ hand, he is delivered indeed, but not without fear. Therefore said he, that the coming of Christ caused us to be snatched from the enemies’ hands without fear. For we suffered not from their evil designs, but He suddenly parting us from them, hath led us out to our own allotted resting place. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Luke 1:76

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): In prophesying of the Lord he rightly addresses the prophet, showing that prophecy also is a gift of the Lord, in order that he might not, while enumerating public benefits, seem to be so ungrateful as to be silent of his own. Hence it is said, And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest.

Now perhaps some may think it an absurd extravagance of the mind to address a child of eight days old. But if we keep our eyes fixed upon higher things, we surely can understand that the son might hear the voice of his father, who before he was born heard the salutation of Mary. The Prophet 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. He possessed the faculty of understanding who was moved by the feeling of exultation. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Unless indeed Zacharias be supposed to have wished as soon as he was able to speak, to proclaim for their instruction who were present, the future gifts of his son, which he had long before learnt from the Angel. Let the Arians however hear that our Lord Christ, whom John went before prophesying of Him, Zacharias calls “the Most High,” as it is said in the Psalms, A man was born in her, and the most highest has established her. (Ps. 87:5.) — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways. He spoke beautifully about the Lord, and suddenly turned his words to the prophet, to indicate that this too was a benefit of the Lord. It is indeed asked how he can speak to the infant of eight days. But how would the infant, who heard Mary’s greeting while still enclosed in the womb, not hear his father’s voice? Unless perhaps Zacharias ought to be considered as instructing those present, wanting to proclaim the future duties of his son, which he had learned long ago through an angel, as soon as he could speak. Let the Arians hear and be ashamed: let the meek hear and rejoice, that Christ the Lord, whom John preceded as a prophet, is called the Most High. As also the Psalmist, praising God and perfect man in one person, says: Mother Zion will say, a man, and a man was born in her, and the Most High himself founded her (Psalms 86). The one who founded is the same who was made, the same man whom he calls the Most High. — On the Gospel of Luke

Cosmas Indicopleustes: This Zachariah the priest, who was himself thought worthy of the power of prophecy, spoke both concerning his own son and the Lord Christ together, in these words: And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways. — The Christian Topography, Book 5

Cyril of Alexandria: Observe, I pray, this also, that Christ is the Highest, Whose forerunner John was both in his birth, and in his preaching. What remains, then, for those to say, who lessen His divinity? And why will they not understand, that when Zacharias said, “And thou shalt be called Prophet of the Highest,” he meant thereby “of God,” of Whom also were the rest of the prophets. — Commentary on the Gospel of Luke

Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (xix. Mor. sup. Job 28:23.) But all they who by preaching cleanse the hearts of their hearers from the filth of their sins, prepare a way for the coming of wisdom into the heart. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): But as kings have their companions in arms, who stand nearest to them, so John, who was the friend of the Bridegroom, went before Him nigh unto His coming. And this is what follows, For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways. For some prophets have preached the mystery of Christ at a distance, but he preached it nearer the time, that he might both see Christ, and declare Him to others. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): The reason I suppose that Zacharias hastened to speak to his son, was because he knew that John was shortly about to be a sojourner in the wilderness, and that he himself should see him no more. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: “And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High”. Seeking within myself the reason why he prophesies not as though about John, but by speaking to John himself: “and you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High”, and the rest — for it was superfluous to speak to one who does not hear and to make an apostrophe to a little one and a suckling — I think I can find this: that just as John was born wondrously and came into the world with an angel proclaiming it, and was poured forth upon the earth while Mary lodged three months beside Elizabeth, so also all the things that are written about him are reported to have been done wondrously. But if you doubt that one just poured forth from his mother’s womb could hear his father’s words and know what this is which is said to him: “and you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High”, consider that what went before was far more wondrous: “behold, as the sound of your salutation came into my ears, the infant leaped for joy in my womb”. For if, while still enclosed in his mother’s belly, he heard Jesus and, hearing, leaped up and rejoiced, why should you not believe that once already born he was able both to hear and to understand his father’s prophecy, saying to him: “and you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; for you shall go before the Lord, to prepare his ways”? Therefore I think Zechariah hastened to speak to the little one, because he knew that he would after a little while dwell in the wilderness, and that he could not have his presence. “For the child was in the deserts until the day of his showing to Israel”. Moses too dwelt in the desert, but only after, when the forty years of his age were completed, he fled from Egypt and for another forty years guarded the flocks of Jethro; John, however, as soon as he was born, passed over to the deserts, and he who “was greater among those born of women” showed himself worthy of a greater nurture. Of him the prophet speaks: “behold, I send my angel before your face”. Rightly is he called an angel, who had been sent before the Lord and, as soon as he was born, was able to hear and understand his prophesying father. Wherefore let us, who believe such great wonders, likewise believe in the resurrection, let us believe also in the promises that are to come, of the kingdom of heaven, which the Holy Spirit daily pledges to us. All of which things, as they have been wondrously written, beyond what we are able to perceive, we shall receive in Christ Jesus: to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 10

Peter of Alexandria: For thus will they be the rather profited, meditating upon the prophet’s words, and saying, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called the Messenger of My mighty counsel.” Who, as ye know, when another infant in the sixth month of his conception had preached before His coming repentance for the remission of sins, was himself also conceived to preach repentance. — The Canonical Epistle

Tertullian: In this case also a type has preceded; for thus was John beforehand the Lord’s forerunner, “preparing His ways.” Thus, too, does the angel, the witness of baptism, “make the paths straight” for the Holy Spirit, who is about to come upon us, by the washing away of sins, which faith, sealed in (the name of) the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, obtains. — On Baptism

Tertullian: And so “the baptism of repentance” was dealt with as if it were a candidate for the remission and sanctification shortly about to follow in Christ: for in that John used to preach “baptism for the remission of sins,” the declaration was made with reference to future remission; if it be true, (as it is, ) that repentance is antecedent, remission subsequent; and this is “preparing the way.” But he who “prepares” does not himself “perfect,” but procures for another to perfect. — On Baptism

Tertullian: Was that, then, the reason why Jonah thought not repentance necessary to the heathen Ninevites, when he tergiversated in the duty of preaching? or did he rather, foreseeing the mercy of God poured forth even upon strangers, fear that that mercy would, as it were, destroy (the credit of) his proclamation? and accordingly, for the sake of a profane city, not yet possessed of a knowledge of God, still sinning in ignorance, did the prophet well-nigh perish? except that he suffered a typical example of the Lord’s passion, which was to redeem heathens as well (as others) on their repentance. It is enough for me that even John, when “strewing the Lord’s ways,” was the herald of repentance no less to such as were on military service and to publicans, than to the sons of Abraham. — On Modesty

Luke 1:77

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): For as if desiring to explain the name of Jesus, i. e. the Saviour, he frequently makes mention of salvation, but lest men should think it was a temporal salvation which was promised, he adds, for the forgiveness of sins.

But the Jews prefer not to receive Christ, but to wait for Antichrist; for they desire to be delivered not from the dominion of sin within, but from the yoke of man’s bondage without. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: To give the knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins. As if desiring to expound and commend the name of Jesus, that is, Savior, he frequently mentions salvation, recalling to be raised the horn of salvation, salvation to come from enemies, knowledge of salvation to be given to His people. But lest you think a temporal and carnal salvation is promised, he says, in the remission of their sins. Indeed, the Jews for this reason do not receive Christ Jesus but prefer to wait for the Antichrist, because they wish to be saved not inwardly but outwardly, not from the dominion of sin, but from the yoke of human servitude. — On the Gospel of Luke

Luke 1:78

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Severus.) Abiding on high yet present upon the earth, suffering neither division nor limitation, which thing neither can our understanding embrace, nor any power of words express. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: When Zechariah says, “for his people,” he certainly does not mean that he found them his people upon his arrival but that he made them his by visiting and redeeming them. Do you want to hear about the condition in which he found this people and what he made of them? The end of this canticle clearly makes this evident by saying “the day shall dawn upon us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” He found us sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, weighed down by the ancient blindness of sins and ignorance, overcome by the deception and the errors of the ancient enemy. He is rightly called death and a lie, just as on the contrary our Lord is called truth and life. Our Lord brought us the true light of recognition of himself and, having taken away the darkness of errors, opened up for us a sure way to heaven. He guided our works so that we may be able to pursue the way of truth that he showed us and enter into the dwelling of everlasting peace, which he promised us. — Homilies on the Gospels 2.20

Bede: Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dawn from on high has visited us. And the prophet speaking of the Lord says: Behold, a man, his name is the Dawn (Zech. VI). He is rightly called the Dawn, who opening the rise of true light for us, made the children of night and darkness into children of light, as Blessed Zacharias consequently explains, saying: — On the Gospel of Luke

Cyril of Alexandria: For those under the law, and dwelling in Judea, the Baptist was, as it were, a lamp, preceding Christ: and God so spake before of him; “I have prepared a lamp for My Christ.” And the law also typified him in the lamp, which in the first tabernacle it commanded should be ever kept alight. But the Jews, after being for a short time pleased with him, flocking to his baptism, and admiring his mode of life, quickly made him sleep in death, doing their best to quench the ever-burning lamp. For this reason the Saviour also spake concerning him; “He was a burning and shining lamp, and ye were willing a little to rejoice for a season in his light.” — COMMENTARY ON LUKE, FRAGMENTS ON Luke 1

Gregory of Nazianzus: What greater destiny can befall man’s humility than that he should be intermingled with God, and by this intermingling should be deified, and that we should be so visited by the “dayspring from on high”? Further, that even the holy thing that should be born should be called the Son of the Most High and that he should be given “a name that is above every name”? And what else can this be but God? That every knee should bow to him that was made of no reputation for us, that mingled the form of God with the form of a servant, and that all the house of Israel should know that God has made him both Lord and Christ? For all this was done by the action of the begotten One, and by the good pleasure of him that begot him. — ORATION 30.3, ON THE SON

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Hom. xiv. in Matt.) Which mercy we find not indeed by our own seeking, but God from on high hath appeared to us, as it follows; Whereby (i. e. by His tender mercy) the dayspring from on high (that is, Christ) hath visited us, taking upon Him our flesh. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Tertullian: Therefore, since it is manifest that a sabbath temporal was shown, and a sabbath eternal foretold; a circumcision carnal foretold, and a circumcision spiritual pre-indicated; a law temporal and a law eternal formally declared; sacrifices carnal and sacrifices spiritual foreshown; it follows that, after all these precepts had been given carnally, in time preceding, to the people Israel, there was to supervene a time whereat the precepts of the ancient Law and of the old ceremonies would cease, and the promise of the new law, and the recognition of spiritual sacrifices, and the promise of the New Testament, supervene; while the light from on high would beam upon us who were sitting in darkness, and were being detained in the shadow of death. And so there is incumbent on us a necessity binding us, since we have premised that a new law was predicted by the prophets, and that not such as had been already given to their fathers at the time when He led them forth from the land of Egypt, to show and prove, on the one hand, that that old Law has ceased, and on the other, that the promised new law is now in operation. — An Answer to the Jews

Luke 1:79

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Mark also, in how few words Elisabeth prophesies, in how many Zacharias, and yet each spoke filled with the Holy Spirit; but this discipline is preserved, that women may study rather to learn what are the Divine commands than to teach them. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (Severus.) Abiding on high yet present upon the earth, suffering neither division nor limitation, which thing neither can our understanding embrace, nor any power of words express. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Basil of Caesarea ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (sup. Esai. c. ii) For in thick darkness were the Gentile people sitting, who were sunk deep in idolatry, until the rising light dispersed the darkness, and spread abroad the brightness of truth. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Christ is rightly called the Day-spring, because He hath disclosed to us the rising of the true light, as it follows; To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: Illuminate those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. Indeed, to illuminate those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death is for the Lord to infuse the rays of His recognition and love into those who have lived in the blindness of sin and ignorance. To such the Apostle says: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Our feet, however, are directed into the way of peace when the path of our actions in all things agrees with the grace of our Redeemer and Illuminator. It is in a fitting order, indeed, that the first thing testified is to illuminate the hearts, and then the works are to be directed, because no one is able to work peace unless they have first learned it. Hence rightly the Psalmist says: Seek (he says) peace, and pursue it (Psalms 33). Which is to say: Illuminate you who sat in darkness, and enter the way of peace from which you have long been exiled. — On the Gospel of Luke

Cyril of Alexandria: For the world, indeed, was wandering in error, serving the creation in the place of the Creator, and was darkened over by the blackness of ignorance, and a night, as it were, that had fallen upon the minds of all, permitted them not to see Him, Who both by nature and truly is God. But the Lord of all rose for the Israelites, like a light and a sun. — Commentary on the Gospel of Luke

Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (iv. Moral. sup. Job 3:5.) But the shadow of death is taken to mean the forgetfulness of the mind. For as death causes that which it kills to be no longer in life, so whatever oblivion touches ceases to be in the memory. Hence the Jewish people who were forgetful of God are said to sit in the shadow of death. The shadow of death is taken also for the death of the flesh, because as that is the true death, by which the soul is separated from God, so that is the shadow of death by which the flesh is separated from the soul. Hence in the words of the martyrs it is said, the shadow of death has come over us. (Ps. 44:19.) By the shadow of death also is represented the following of the devil, who is called Death (Rev. 6:8.) in the Revelations, because as a shadow is formed according to the quality of the body, so the actions of the wicked are expressed according to the manner of their following him.

(Hom. 33. in Evang.) For we guide our steps in the way of peace, when we walk in that line of conduct wherein we depart not from the grace of our Maker. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): (ubi sup.) By darkness he means not material darkness, but error and distance from the faith, or ungodliness.

(ut sup.) He rightly says sitting, for we were not walking in darkness, but sitting down as having no hope of deliverance. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Methodius of Olympus: For what is more splendid for a king than a purple robe embroidered around with flowers, and a shining diadem? Or what for God, who delights in man, is more magnificent than this merciful assumption of the manhood, illuminating with its resplendent rays those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death?. But by means of that light, which is of one substance with Thee, Thou hast given light to those that sat in darkness. — Methodius Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna

Luke 1:80

Ambrose of Milan ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Mark also, in how few words Elisabeth prophesies, in how many Zacharias, and yet each spoke filled with the Holy Spirit; but this discipline is preserved, that women may study rather to learn what are the Divine commands than to teach them.

And rightly is the time noted during which the prophet was in the womb, in order that the presence of Mary might not be passed over, while they are silent about the time of his childhood, because being strengthened in the womb by the presence of the Mother of the Lord, he knew not the struggles of childhood. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): The future preacher of repentance, that he might the more boldly reclaim his hearers from the allurements of the world, passes the first part of his life in the deserts. Hence it is said, And the child grew. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Bede: But the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the deserts till the day of his showing to Israel. It is appropriate and just that he who is to be a future preacher of repentance follows the harshness of solitude; and so that the young man may more freely lift his listeners by instructing them from the allurements of the world, he himself also passes his early life squalid in deserts. — On the Gospel of Luke

Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)): Or he increased in spirit, remaining not in the same measure in which he had begun, but the Spirit was ever growing in him. His will ever tending to better things, was making its own advances, and his mind ever contemplating something more divine, while his memory was exercising itself, that it might lay up more and more things in its treasury, and more firmly retain them. But he adds, And he waxed strong. For human nature is weak, as we learn, the flesh is weak. (Matt. 26:41.) It must therefore be made strong by the Spirit, for the Spirit is ready. Many wax strong in the flesh, but the wrestler of God must be strengthened by the Spirit that he may crush the wisdom of the flesh. He retires therefore to escape the noise of cities, and the thronging of the people. For it follows, And he was in the deserts. Where the air is purer, the sky more clear, and God a closer friend, that as the time had not yet arrived for his baptism and preaching, he might have leisure for praying, and might hold converse with the angels, calling upon God and fearing Him, saying, Behold, here am I. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Origen of Alexandria: In the holy Scriptures “to grow” is spoken of in two ways: one bodily, where the human will avails nothing, the other spiritually, where the cause of growing rests upon human effort. It is of this, then — the second we set down, that is, the spiritual — that the evangelist now speaks: “but the child grew and was strengthened in spirit”. What he says means this: “he grew in spirit”, and did not remain in the same measure in which he had begun, but the spirit always grew in him, and, as the spirit increased through each hour and moment, his soul too received its increases. And not only the soul, but the senses and the mind as well followed the growth of the spirit. That which God commands: “increase and multiply” — those who take it simply and according to the letter, I do not know how they can explain it. For granted that “multiply” refers to number, so that, while they become more than they were before, the multiplication has its place: yet what follows, “increase”, is not in our power. For what person would not wish “to add to his stature”, so as to become taller? If therefore something is commanded for this purpose, that it may come to pass — since it is foolish to command what he to whom you give the command cannot do — and it is commanded us that we should increase, then surely that is commanded which we are able to do. Do you wish to know how “increase” is to be understood? Hear what Isaac did, of whom it is said: “Isaac went forward and became greater, until he became great, or exceedingly great indeed”. For his will, ever stretching itself toward better things, had its advances, his mind contemplated something more divine, and he exercised himself in memory, so as to store up more things in his treasury and retain them more firmly. And in this manner it comes about that whoever has cultivated all his virtues in the field of his soul fulfills the commandment enjoining: “increase”. Wherefore John too, while still a little one, grew and was multiplied; but it is most difficult, and among mortals most rare, for a little one to grow in spirit. “But the child grew and was strengthened in spirit.” “He grew” is one thing, “he was strengthened” another. Human nature is weak and, in order that it may become stronger, needs divine help. We read: “the flesh is weak”. By what help, then, is it to be strengthened? By the spirit, surely; “for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”. He who wishes to become stronger ought to be strengthened by nothing but the spirit. Many are strengthened by the flesh, are made robust in body; but the athlete of God must be made robust by the spirit, and, when he has been thus strengthened, he will strike down the wisdom of the flesh and, made spiritual, will subject the body to the rule of the mind. Let us not think, then, that a plain narrative has been written about John, and one that has nothing to do with us, in what is said: “he grew and was strengthened in spirit”, but rather for our imitation, so that, multiplied spiritually according to the sense we have mentioned, we too may receive increases. “And he was in the deserts until the day of his manifestation to Israel.” I said recently that John’s very conception had something astounding about it, when “the infant leaped in the womb” and, not yet born, recognized his Lord, and his birth was a miracle no less remarkable, when the word of Zechariah prophesying turns toward him as though he were listening, saying: “and you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High”. Worthily, then, he who had been thus conceived and born did not wait to be nourished by his father and mother “until the day of his manifestation to Israel”, but withdrew, fleeing the tumult of cities, the throng of the people, the vices of the towns, and went off into the deserts, where the air is purer and the sky more open and God more intimate, so that — since neither the sacrament of baptism nor the time of preaching had yet come — he might be free for prayers and might converse with angels, might call upon the Lord and hear him answering and saying: “behold, I am here”. For just as “Moses spoke and God answered him”, so I think that John spoke in the desert and the Lord answered him. And this I judge, moved by a sure reasoning from the Scriptures. For if “among those born of women there was none greater than John the Baptist”, and God answered Moses, then consequently he answered John as well, who was greater than Moses, who was nourished in the wilderness, whose birth the same Archangel announced as he did the Lord’s, whose father, because he did not believe that he would be born, was struck dumb. “John was” therefore “in the desert” and was nourished in a new manner beyond human custom, Matthew himself recording the very thing: “and his food was locusts and wild honey”. For because he was the minister of the first coming of the Savior and spoke only of the dispensation of the Lord’s flesh, and his prophecy foretold him who had been born of a virgin, he did not have domestic honey refined by human care, but “wild honey” and winged — which was his food — winged, not great, not lifting itself on high, but a small winged thing, scarcely rising from the earth and leaping rather than flying. Why say more? It is said most plainly that “locusts” were his food, a small and clean animal. Consider therefore, dearest brethren, that he who had been born in a new way was in a new way also nourished. — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 11

Philoxenus of Mabbug: And also it was because the marvellous preacher, John the Baptist, according to the testimony of the Book, lived in the wilderness until the day of his showing himself to the children of Israel, that he was able to receive and to teach Divine mysteries, and to receive the power of the baptism of the Spirit. And of the things which none of the early prophets had perceived, he, through the natural simplicity in which he had been brought up, became a receptacle in the wilderness; and Grace led him forth to the wilderness that he might remain in the simplicity of nature, and be able to receive the knowledge of the mysteries which were above nature. — 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 4 – On Faith: First Discourse on Simplicity