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Chapter I
The blessed and
glorious ever-virgin Mary, sprung from the royal stock and family of David,
born in the city of Nazareth, was brought up at Jerusalem in the temple of
the Lord. Her father was named Joachim, and her mother Anna. Her father's
house was from Galilee and the city of Nazareth, but her mother's family
from Bethlehem. Their life was guileless and right before the Lord, and
irreproachable and pious before men. For they divided all their substance
into three parts. One part they spent upon the temple and the temple servants;
another they distributed to strangers and the poor; the third they reserved,
for themselves and the necessities of their family. Thus, dear to God, kind
to men, for about twenty years they lived in their own house, a chaste married
life, without having any children. Nevertheless they vowed that, should the
Lord happen to give them offspring, they would deliver it to the service
of the Lord; on which account also they used to visit the temple of the Lord
at each of the feasts during the year.
Chapter II
And it came to
pass that the festival of the dedication was at hand; wherefore also Joachim
went up to Jerusalem with some men of his own tribe. Now at that time Issachar
was high priest there. And when he saw Joachim with his offering among his
other fellow-citizens, he despised him, and spurned his gifts, asking why
he, who had no offspring, presumed to stand among those who had; saying that
his gifts could not by any means be acceptable to God, since He had deemed
him unworthy of off-spring: for the Scripture said, Cursed is every one who
has not begot a male or a female in Israel. He said, therefore, that he ought
first to be freed from this curse by the begetting of children; and then,
and then only, that be should come into the presence of the Lord with his
offerings. And Joachim, covered with shame from this reproach that was thrown
in his teeth, retired to the shepherds, who were in their pastures with their
flocks; nor would he return home, test perchance he might be branded with
the same reproach by those of his own tribe, who were there at the time,
and had heard this from the priest.
Chapter III
Now, when he had
been there for some time, on a certain day when he was alone, an angel of
the Lord stood by him in a great light. And when he was disturbed at his
appearance, the angel who had appeared to him restrained his fear, saying:
Fear not, Joachim, nor be disturbed by my appearance; for I am the angel
of the Lord, sent by Him to thee to tell thee that thy prayers have been
heard, and that thy charitable deeds have gone up into His presence. For
He hath seen thy shame, and hath heard the reproach of unfruitfulness which
has been unjustly brought against thee. For God is the avenger of sin, not
of nature: and, therefore, when He shuts up the womb of any one, He does
so that He may miraculously open it again; so that that which is born may
be acknowledged to be not of lust, but of the gift of God. For was it not
the case that the first mother of your nation-Sarah-was barren up to her
eightieth year? And, nevertheless, in extreme old age she brought forth Isaac,
to whom the promise was renewed of the blessing of all nations. Rachel also,
so favoured of the Lord, and so beloved by holy Jacob, was long barren; and
yet she brought forth Joseph, who was not only the lord of Egypt, but the
deliverer of many nations who were ready to perish of hunger. Who among the
judges was either stronger than Samson, or more holy than Samuel? And yet
the mothers of both were barren. If, therefore, the reasonableness of my
words does not persuade thee, believe in fact that conceptions very late
in life, and births in the case of women that have been barren, are usually
attended with something wonderful. Accordingly thy wife Anna will bring forth
a daughter to thee, and thou shall call her name Mary: she shall be, as you
have vowed, consecrated to the Lord from her infancy, and she shall be filled
with the Holy Spirit, even from her mother's womb. She shall neither eat
nor drink any unclean thing, nor shall she spend her life among the crowds
of the people without, but in the temple of the Lord, that it may not be
possible either to say, or so much as to suspect, any evil concerning her.
Therefore, when she has grown up, just as she herself shall be miraculously
born of a barren woman, so in an incomparable manner she, a virgin, shall
bring forth the Son of the Most High, who shall be called Jesus, and who,
according to the etymology of His name, shall be the Saviour of all nations.
And this shall be the sign to thee of those things which I announce: When
thou shalt come to the Golden gate in Jerusalem, thou shalt there meet Anna
thy wife, who, lately anxious from the delay of thy return, will then rejoice
at the sight of thee. Having thus spoken, the angel departed from him.
Chapter IV
Thereafter he appeared
to Anna his wife, saying: Fear not, Anna, nor think that it is a phantom
which thou seest. For I am that angel who has presented your prayers and
alms before God; and now have I been sent to you to announce to you that
thou shalt bring forth a daughter, who shall be called Mary, and who shall
be blessed above all women. She, full of the favour of the Lord even from
her birth, shall remain three years in her father's house until she be weaned.
Thereafter, being delivered to the service of the Lord, she shall not depart
from the temple until she reach the years of discretion. There, in fine,
serving God day and night in fastings and prayers, she shall abstain from
every unclean thing; she shall never know man, but alone, without example,
immaculate, uncorrupted, without intercourse with man, she, a virgin, shall
bring forth a son; she, His hand-maiden, shall bring forth the Lord-both
in grace, and in name, and in work, the Saviour of the world. Wherefore arise,
and go up to Jerusalem; and when thou shalt come to the gate which, because
it is plated with gold, is called Golden, there, for a sign, thou shalt meet
thy husband, for whose safety thou hast been anxious. And when these things
shall have so happened, know that what I announce shall without doubt be
fulfilled.
Chapter V
Therefore, as the
angel had commanded, both of them setting out from the place where they were,
went up to Jerusalem; and when they had come to the place pointed out by
the angel's prophecy, there they met each other. Then, rejoicing at seeing
each other, and secure in the certainty of the promised offspring, they gave
the thanks due to the Lord, who exalteth the humble. And so, having worshipped
the Lord, they returned home, and awaited in certainty and in gladness the
divine promise. Anna therefore conceived, and brought forth a daughter; and
according to the command of the angel, her parents called her name Mary.
Chapter VI
And when the circle
of three years had rolled round, and the time of her weaning was fulfilled,
they brought the virgin to the temple of the Lord with offerings. Now there
were round the temple, according to the fifteen Psalms of Degrees, fifteen
steps going up; for, on account of the temple having been built on a mountain,
the altar of burnt-offering, which stood outside, could not be reached except
by steps. On one of these, then, her parents placed the little girl, the
blessed virgin Mary. And when they were putting off the clothes which they
had worn on the journey, and were putting on, as was usual, others that were
neater and cleaner, the virgin of the Lord went up all the steps, one after
the other, without the help of any one leading her or lifting her, in such
a manner that, in this respect at least, you would think that she had already
attained full age. For already the Lord in the infancy of His virgin wrought
a great thing, and by the indication of this miracle foreshowed how great
she was to be. Therefore, a sacrifice having been offered according to the
custom of the law, and their vow being perfected, they left the virgin within
the enclosures of the temple, there to be educated with the other virgins,
and themselves returned home.
Chapter VII
But the virgin
of the Lord advanced in age and in virtues; and though, in the words of the
Psalmist, her father and mother had forsaken her, the Lord took her up. For
daily was she visited by angels, daily did she enjoy a divine vision, which
preserved her from all evil, and made her to abound in all good. And so she
reached her fourteenth year; and not only were the wicked unable to charge
her with anything worthy of reproach, but all the good, who knew her life
and conversation, judged her to be worthy of admiration. Then the high priest
publicly announced that the virgins who were publicly settled in the temple,
and had reached this time of life, should return home and get married, according
to the custom of the nation and the ripeness of their years. The others readily
obeyed this command; but Mary alone, the virgin of the Lord, answered that
she could not do this, saying both that her parents had devoted her to the
service of the Lord, and that, moreover, she herself had made to the Lord
a vow of virginity, which she would never violate by any intercourse with
man. And the high priest, being placed in great perplexity of mind, seeing
that neither did he think that the vow should be broken contrary to the
Scripture, which says, Vow and pay, nor did he dare to introduce a custom
unknown to the nation, gave order that at the festival, which was at hand,
all the chief persons from Jerusalem and the neighbourhood should be present,
in order that from their advice he might know what was to be done in so doubtful
a case. And when this took place, they resolved unanimously that the Lord
should be consulted upon this matter. And when they all bowed themselves
in prayer, the high priest went to consult God in the usual way. Nor had
they long to wait: in the hearing of all a voice issued from the oracle and
from the mercy-seat, that, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, a man should
be sought out to whom the virgin ought to be entrusted and espoused. For
it is clear that Isaiah says: A rod shall come forth from the root of Jesse,
and a flower shall ascend from his root; and the Spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel
and strength, the spirit of wisdom and piety; and he shall be filled with
the spirit of the fear of the Lord. According to this prophecy, therefore,
he predicted that all of the house and family of David that were unmarried
and fit for marriage should bring there rods to the altar; and that he whose
rod after it was brought should produce a flower, and upon the end of whose
rod the Spirit of the Lord should settle in the form of a dove, was the man
to whom the virgin ought to be entrusted and espoused.
Chapter VIII
Now there was among
the rest Joseph, of the house and family of David, a man of great age: and
when all brought there rods, according to the order, he alone withheld his.
Wherefore, when nothing in conformity with the divine voice appeared, the
high priest thought it necessary to consult God a second time; and He answered,
that of those who had been designated, he alone to whom the virgin ought
to be espoused had not brought his rod. Joseph, therefore, was found out.
For when he had brought his rod, and the dove came from heaven; and settled
upon the top of it, it clearly appeared to all that he was the man to whom
the virgin should be espoused. Therefore, the usual ceremonies of betrothal
having been gone through, he went back to the city of Bethlehem to put his
house in order, and to procure things necessary for the marriage. But Mary,
the virgin of the Lord, with seven other virgins of her own age, and who
had been weaned at the same time, whom she had received from the priest,
returned to the house of her parents in Galilee.
Chapter IX
And in those days,
that is, at the time of her first coming into Galilee, the angel Gabriel
was sent to her by God, to announce to her the conception of the Lord, and
to explain to her the manner and order of the conception. Accordingly, going
in, he filled the chamber where she was with a great light; and most courteously
saluting her, he said: Hail, Mary! O virgin highly favoured by the Lord,
virgin full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou above all women,
blessed above all men that have been hitherto born. And the virgin, who was
already well acquainted with angelic faces, and was not unused to the light
from heaven, was neither terrified by the vision of the angel, nor astonished
at the greatness of the light, but only perplexed by his words; and she began
to consider of what nature a salutation so unusual could be, or what it could
portend, or what end it could have. And the angel, divinely inspired, taking
up this thought, says: Fear not, Mary, as if anything contrary to thy chastity
were hid under this salutation. For in choosing chastity, thou hast found
favour with the Lord; and therefore thou, a virgin, shalt conceive without
sin, and shalt bring forth a son. He shall be great, because He shall rule
from sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth; and He
shall be called the Son of the Most High, because He who is born on earth
in humiliation, reigns in heaven in exaltation; and the Lord God will give
Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign in the house of Jacob
for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end; forasmuch as He is King
of kings and Lord of lords, and His throne is from everlasting to everlasting.
The virgin did not doubt these words of the angel; but wishing to know the
manner of it, she answered: How can that come to pass? For while, according
to my vow, I never know man, how can I bring forth without the addition of
man's seed? To this the angel says: Think not, Mary, that thou shalt conceive
in the manner of mankind: for without any intercourse with man, thou, a virgin,
wilt conceive; thou, a virgin, wilt bring forth; thou, a virgin, wilt nurse:
for the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High
shall overshadow thee, without any of the heats of lust; and therefore that
which shall be born of thee shall alone be holy, because it alone, being
conceived and born without sin, shall be called the Son of God. Then Mary
stretched forth her hands, and raised her eyes to heaven, and said: Behold
the hand-maiden of the Lord, for I am not worthy of the name of lady; let
it be to me according to thy word.
It will be long, and perhaps to some even tedious, if we insert in this little
work every thing which we read of as having preceded or followed the Lord's
nativity: wherefore, omitting those things which have been more fully written
in the Gospel, let us come to those which are held to be less worthy of being
narrated.
Chapter
X
Joseph therefore
came from Judaea into Galilee, intending to marry the virgin who had been
betrothed to him; for already three months had elapsed, and it was the beginning
of the fourth since she had been betrothed to him. In the meantime, it was
evident from her shape that she was pregnant, nor could she conceal this
from Joseph. For in consequence of his being betrothed to her, coming to
her more freely and speaking to her more familiarly, he found out that she
was with child. He began then to be in great doubt and perplexity, because
he did not know what was best for him to do. For, being a just man, he was
not willing to expose her; nor, being a pious man, to injure her fair fame
by a suspicion of fornication. He came to the conclusion, therefore, privately
to dissolve their contract, and to send her away secretly. And while he thought
on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep,
saying: Joseph, thou son of David, fear not; that is, do not have any suspicion
of fornication in the virgin, or think any evil of her; and fear not to take
her as thy wife: for that which is begotten in her, and which now vexes thy
soul, is the work not of man, but of the Holy Spirit. For she alone of all
virgins shall bring forth the Son of God, and thou shalt call His name Jesus,
that is, Saviour; for He shall save His people from their sins. Therefore
Joseph, according to the command of the angel, took the virgin as his wife;
nevertheless he knew her not, but took care of her, and kept her in chastity.
And now the ninth month from her conception was at hand, when Joseph, taking
with him his wife along with what things he needed, went to Bethlehem, the
city from which he came. And it came to pass, while they were there, that
her days were fulfilled that she should bring forth; and she brought forth
her first-born son, as the holy evangelists have shown, our Lord Jesus Christ,
who with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns God from
everlasting to everlasting. |
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