especially the Torah, which were the nation’s record of its history, its spiritual guide, and its book of prayer. Mary was thus occupied when the angel Gabriel appeared and, according to Luke (1 : 28-38), said to her: “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” This astonishing greeting troubled and puzzled her. But Gabriel said, “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.” The angel went on: “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.”
We can be sure that Mary remembered these words exactly. She also recalled her first, anxious question—“How shall this be, since I am still a virgin?” (or, as she put it, “seeing I know not a man?”)—and the angel’s explicit reply: “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.”
To these dramatic words the angel added a personal note. Her cousin Elizabeth, he informed Mary, had also, in her old age, conceived a son, and was now six months pregnant. It was this startling piece of family news which finally brought home to Mary the reality of the angel’s message. She now submitted to her destiny in memorable words reflecting a proud humility: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
There is no more touching scene in the whole of history than Gabriel’s disclosure to the trembling Virgin that she is pregnant, and her brave acceptance of the fact as an honor: no wonder so many of the greatest Western artists have endeavored to bring the episode to life as “the Annunciation.” For a teenager, Mary was notably energetic and decisive. She wanted the news of her cousin Elizabeth’s condition confirmed, and she immediately set forth, alone, on a long journey into the hill country of Judah, where Elizabeth lived with her husband, Zacharias, a priest who was a part-time official of the Jerusalem Temple.
The second notable scene in the story of Jesus occurred when Mary arrived there, recorded by Luke. Upon seeing Mary, Elizabeth felt her child, the future St. John the Baptist, leap in her womb, and the Holy Spirit intimated to her, at once, that Mary, too, was pregnant and carried God’s son within her. “[W]ith a loud voice” Elizabeth said, “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?” (Lk 1:41-43).
Mary’s reply to this salutation is one of the most striking passages in the New Testament. She replied in words which fall easily into verse, the form in which I have taken the liberty of transcribing them, and they have often been set to music (Lk 1:46-55):
My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
This great hymn of exaltation, rightly known as the Magnificat, lifts the spirits of the poor and humble, and adumbrates one of the central themes of Jesus’s ministry. Within the Gospel story there is not only truth but its fruit, beauty, and here was Mary, while still carrying Jesus in her womb, creating
We can be sure that Mary remembered these words exactly. She also recalled her first, anxious question—“How shall this be, since I am still a virgin?” (or, as she put it, “seeing I know not a man?”)—and the angel’s explicit reply: “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.”
To these dramatic words the angel added a personal note. Her cousin Elizabeth, he informed Mary, had also, in her old age, conceived a son, and was now six months pregnant. It was this startling piece of family news which finally brought home to Mary the reality of the angel’s message. She now submitted to her destiny in memorable words reflecting a proud humility: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
There is no more touching scene in the whole of history than Gabriel’s disclosure to the trembling Virgin that she is pregnant, and her brave acceptance of the fact as an honor: no wonder so many of the greatest Western artists have endeavored to bring the episode to life as “the Annunciation.” For a teenager, Mary was notably energetic and decisive. She wanted the news of her cousin Elizabeth’s condition confirmed, and she immediately set forth, alone, on a long journey into the hill country of Judah, where Elizabeth lived with her husband, Zacharias, a priest who was a part-time official of the Jerusalem Temple.
The second notable scene in the story of Jesus occurred when Mary arrived there, recorded by Luke. Upon seeing Mary, Elizabeth felt her child, the future St. John the Baptist, leap in her womb, and the Holy Spirit intimated to her, at once, that Mary, too, was pregnant and carried God’s son within her. “[W]ith a loud voice” Elizabeth said, “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?” (Lk 1:41-43).
Mary’s reply to this salutation is one of the most striking passages in the New Testament. She replied in words which fall easily into verse, the form in which I have taken the liberty of transcribing them, and they have often been set to music (Lk 1:46-55):
My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
This great hymn of exaltation, rightly known as the Magnificat, lifts the spirits of the poor and humble, and adumbrates one of the central themes of Jesus’s ministry. Within the Gospel story there is not only truth but its fruit, beauty, and here was Mary, while still carrying Jesus in her womb, creating
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