One Walk

Dear Lord God, what amazes and mystifies me in reading the words of the Saints is that their express the same urgency, emotions, trials and tribulations throughout the centuries. Today’s Lenten Reflection we read that St. Bonaventure once said that the day you no longer burn with love and concern for souls, many others will die of the cold. Where can we go to increase our love? To whom can we turn to find help? I am convinced that the Holy Spirit has raised up hopes in this century to focus our attention and to concentrate our devotion upon the Holy Family. Because in the Holy Family we are going to find the source of strength. We are going to find the encouragement we need when we have distressful losses on all sides. The Holy Family is the place where we go when we feel like weak nobodies, incapable of withstanding the onslaught of the enemies of the Church, because Christ has raised up the Holy Family as the model of the Christian home, to be sure, but as the nucleus of the New Covenant Church-family of God showing that through detachment, through renunciation, through poverty, through mortification, through trials and sufferings, the war will be won. The Savior will be born and salvation will spill out in all directions and cover the earth. (Scott Hahn) O Lord You do show and teach us that the soul of man is timeless, its needs, wants, desires have not changed; nor has the answer to our sorrows or the way to peace and happiness. It is in Your ways and through Jesus Christ’s teachings by way of the Holy Spirit. We must be surrounded and in Jesus, and we must have concern and love for the souls of our fellow man. We must be buried in prayer from them. O Lord so many of us with You in our life’s still struggle, that is all the more reason we must pray for those who still have not opened the door to their hearts to Jesus. O Jesus, who out of love for me were willing to submit to Your own creatures, teach me to obey blindly. Help me to light a path to You for those You place in my path. You hear my thoughts, You know my prayers, hear me Lord, for the sake of His sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the whole world. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Laetáre, Jerúsalem: et convéntum fácite, omnes qui dilígites eam: gaudéte cum laetítia, qui in tristítia fuístis: ut exsultétis, et satiémini ab ubéribus consolatiónis vestrae. Rejoice, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her: rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation.

— Introit, Laetáre Sunday, St. Andrew’s Missal, 1945

Genesis 17:3-9

3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4 "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. 8 And I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." 9 And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

Psalm 105:4-9

4 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his presence continually! 5 Remember the wonderful works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, 6 O offspring of Abraham his servant, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones! 7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 8 He is mindful of his covenant for ever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 the covenant which he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,

John 8:51-59

51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death." 52 The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, `If any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you claim to be?" 54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God. 55 But you have not known him; I know him. If I said, I do not know him, I should be a liar like you; but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad." 57 The Jews then said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" 58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." 59 So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.

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Dear Lord God, thank you for today’s Lenten Reflection for Jesus is ‘the way of truth, He is the life.’ The words Saint Augustine touched me today as they express the thoughts You know I have often thought; for late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you used my Ricki to break through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness with the love I have for my Kelly and Annie. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more and more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace. – O God of mercy, You wash away our sins in water, You give us a new birth in the Spirit, and redeem us in the blood of Christ. As we celebrate Christ’s resurrection over the next few weeks, increase our awareness of these blessings, and renew Your gift of life within us. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Inordinate love for the flesh is cruelty, because under the appearance of pleasing the body, we kill the soul.

— St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95

14 King Nebuchadnezzar questioned them: "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you will not serve my god, or worship the golden statue that I set up? 15 Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made, whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe, and all the other musical instruments; otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace; and who is the God that can deliver you out of my hands?" 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, "There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, O king, may he save us! 18 But even if he will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue which you set up." 19 Nebuchadnezzar’s face became livid with utter rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual 20 and had some of the strongest men in his army bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the white-hot furnace. 91 King Nebuchadnezzar rose in haste and asked his nobles, "Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?" "Assuredly, O king," they answered. 92 "But," he replied, "I see four men unfettered and unhurt, walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God." 95 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants that trusted in him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

Daniel 3:52-56

52 "Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages. 53 Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory, praiseworthy and glorious above all forever. 54 Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. 55 Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. 56 Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever.

John 8:31-42

31 Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." 33 They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, `You will be made free’?" 34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father." 39 They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did. 41 You do what your father did." They said to him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." 42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.

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Dear Lord God, under the sun You have given us seasons; season of warmth and seasons of cold, season of plenty and seasons of scarcity, seasons of light and seasons of darkness. So it is with the study of Your Word and so it has been during the days of this Lenten season. There are days when You reach and pick me up, lifting me out of own weakness and self pity, then there are days when You let go to see if and how I will stand on my own. What will I chose to do? How will I act when I do not feel Your presence? Can I practice what You have taught me? Have I gained strength through Your teachings, have I grown in knowledge and wisdom? Will I let the fires purify me? Or will I like the Israelites traveling around Edom, panic and seek to judge and blame others for my state and condition. O Lord I know the answer is in and through Jesus Christ Your Son and My Savior, for as he states in today’s Gospel, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.", "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that  I am he ". Lord God, O My Jesus through the Holy Spirit it is only thee that I seek; in good times and bad, in happy times and sad, in business and loneliness. For while there is much I still do not understand, I do know that it is as You say. While there are many mysteries still to be revealed, I do know that the truth lies in You. And while I know I will stumble and fall many more times, I do know You will always be there to pick me up. O Lord Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, full of compassion and maker of peace, You lived in poverty and suffered persecution for the cause of justice. You chose the Cross as the path to glory to show us the way of salvation. May I always receive the word of the Gospel joyfully and live by Your example with the hope of lighting the way for others to see and find You; for I know I am not of this world, but a child of Your kingdom, only seeking to find my way home. Continue to guide me Jesus. In Your Holy name I ask and pray for guidance and Your mercy and grace. Amen.

Our Lord knew that to draw strength and efficacy from fasting, something more than abstinence from prohibited food is necessary. Thus He instructed His disciples and, consequently, disposed them to gather the fruits proper to fasting. Among many others are these four: fasting fortifies the spirit, mortifying the flesh and its sensuality; it raises the spirit to God; it fights concupiscence and gives power to conquer and deaden its passions; in short, it disposes the heart to seek to please only God with great purity of heart.

— St. Francis de Sales

Numbers 21:4-9

4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food." 6 Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Bible Study: [8] If anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover: "and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting" (John 3:14-15).

Psalm 102, 2-3, 16-21

2 Do not hide thy face from me in the day of my distress! Incline thy ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call! 3 For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. 16 For the LORD will build up Zion, he will appear in his glory; 17 he will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their supplication. 18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD: 19 that he looked down from his holy height, from heaven the LORD looked at the earth, 20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die; 21 that men may declare in Zion the name of the LORD, and in Jerusalem his praise,

Bible Study: [Psalm 102] A lament, one of the Penitential Psalms. The psalmist, experiencing psychic and bodily disintegration (Psalm 102:4-12), cries out to God (Psalm 102:1-3). In the temple precincts where God has promised to be present, the psalmist recalls God’s venerable promises to save the poor (Psalm 102:13-23). The final part (Psalm 102:24-28) restates the original complaint and prayer, and emphasizes God’s eternity.

John 8:21-30

21 Again he said to them, "I go away, and you will seek me and die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come." 22 Then said the Jews, "Will he kill himself, since he says, `Where I am going, you cannot come’?" 23 He said to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he." 25 They said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "Even what I have told you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge; but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him." 27 They did not understand that he spoke to them of the Father. 28 So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak thus as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him." 30 As he spoke thus, many believed in him.

Bile Study: [21-30] He whose ambassador I am is with me. Jesus’ origin is from God; he can reveal God. 10 [21] You will die in your sin: i.e., of disbelief; cf John 8:24. Where I am going you cannot come: except through faith in Jesus’ passion-resurrection. [22] The Jews suspect that he is referring to his death. Johannine irony is apparent here; Jesus’ death will not be self-inflicted but destined by God. [24,28] I AM: an expression that late Jewish tradition understood as Yahweh’s own self-designation (Isaiah 43:10); see the note on John 4:26. Jesus is here placed on a par with Yahweh. [25] What I told you from the beginning: this verse seems textually corrupt, with several other possible translations: "(I am) what I say to you"; "Why do I speak to you at all?" The earliest attested reading (Bodmer Papyrus P66) has (in a second hand), "I told you at the beginning what I am also telling you (now)." The answer here (cf Proverb 8:22) seems to hinge on a misunderstanding of John 8:24 "that I AM" as "what I am."

Dear Lord God, You have taught me the value You place on family, family is the most ancient institution which You founded in Paradise, when You called the first pair of human beings, Adam and Eve, into existence. The first blessing which You gave was for the wellbeing of the family. With family life, the history of the world commences. During this Lenten season You have opened my eyes to a deeper level of understanding and appreciation for Your majesty, and wisdom by teaching me more about St. Joseph and the critical role he played in Our Lord Jesus’ life. Today You do the same with Mary our blessed Mother. In Mary and Joseph You give us examples to follow. For when Mary said "…let it be to me according to your word." Our blessed Mother Mary, who like Eve had a decision to make, a decision that would changed the face of the earth, as Eve’ did the course of creation; she choose to obey and serve You, and in doing so she became the first; the first to be Jesus, disciple, member of His Church and the first to follow Jesus Christ all the way to the foot of Cross. Our Lord thank You for this wisdom through example that You have provided. Help me to be a better father, husband, brother, friend, person and disciple of Christ. Teach me how to abandon myself to Your service as Mary and Joseph did, and in and through abandonment find the joy that waits. Ever-living God, help us to celebrate our joy in the resurrection of the Lord and to express in our lives the love we celebrate through obedience and love. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives, and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The family is the most ancient institution which God founded in Paradise, when He called the first pair of human beings into existence. The first blessing which God gave was for the wellbeing of the family. With family life, the history of the world commences.

— St. John Vianney

Isaiah 7:10-14

10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 "Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven." 12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test." 13 And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

Bible Study: [11] Deep . . . sky: an extraordinary or miraculous sign that would prove God’s firm will to save the royal house of David from its oppressors. [12] Tempt the LORD: Ahaz expresses in this hypocritical way his preference for depending upon the might of Assyria rather than upon God. [14] The sign proposed by Isaiah was concerned with the preservation of Judah in the midst of distress (cf Isaiah 7:15, 17), but more especially with the fulfillment of God’s earlier promise to David (2 Sam 7:12-16) in the coming of Immanuel (meaning, "With us is God") as the ideal king (cf Isaiah 9:5-6; 11:1-5). The Church has always followed St. Matthew in seeing the transcendent fulfillment of this verse in Christ and his Virgin Mother. The prophet need not have known the full force latent in his own words; and some Catholic writers have sought a preliminary and partial fulfillment in the conception and birth of the future King Hezekiah, whose mother, at the time Isaiah spoke, would have been a young, unmarried woman (Hebrew, almah). The Holy Spirit was preparing, however, for another Nativity which alone could fulfill the divinely given terms of Immanuel’s mission, and in which the perpetual virginity of the Mother of God was to fulfill also the words of this prophecy in the integral sense intended by the divine Wisdom.

Psalm 40:7-11

7 Then I said, "Lo, I come; in the roll of the book it is written of me; 8 I delight to do thy will, O my God; thy law is within my heart." 9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; lo, I have not restrained my lips, as thou knowest, O LORD. 10 I have not hid thy saving help within my heart, I have spoken of thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness from the great congregation. 11 Do not thou, O LORD, withhold thy mercy from me, let thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness ever preserve me!

Bible Study: [Psalm 40] A Psalm of David. A thanksgiving (Psalm 40:2-13) has been combined with a lament (Psalm 40:14-17), that appears also in Psalm 70. The psalmist describes the rescue in spatial terms–being raised up from the swampy underworld to firm earth where one can praise God (Psalm 40:2-4). All who trust God will experience like protection (Psalm 40:5-6)! The psalm stipulates the precise mode of thanksgiving: not animal sacrifice but open and enthusiastic proclamation of the salvation just experienced (Psalm 40:7-11). A prayer for protection concludes (Psalm 40:12-17). [4] A new song: a song in response to the new action of God (cf Psalm 33:3; 96:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isaiah 42:10). Giving thanks is not purely a human response but is itself a divine gift. [7-9] Obedience is better than sacrifice (cf 1 Sam 15:22; Isaiah 1:10-20; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:22-25; Micah 6:6-8; Acts 7:42-43 [quoting Amos 5:25-26]). Hebrews 10:5-9 quotes the somewhat different Greek version and interprets it as Christ’s self-oblation.

Hebrews 10:4-10

4 For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. 5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired, but a body hast thou prepared for me; 6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure. 7 Then I said, `Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God, ‘as it is written of me in the roll of the book." 8 When he said above, "Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, "Lo, I have come to do thy will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Bible Study: [1-10] Christian faith now realizes that the Old Testament sacrifices did not effect the spiritual benefits to come but only prefigured them (Hebrews 10:1). For if the sacrifices had actually effected the forgiveness of sin, there would have been no reason for their constant repetition (Hebrews 10:2). They were rather a continual reminder of the people’s sins (Hebrews 10:3). It is not reasonable to suppose that human sins could be removed by the blood of animal sacrifices (Hebrews 10:4). Christ, therefore, is here shown to understand his mission in terms of Psalm 40:5-7, cited according to the Septuagint (Hebrews 10:5-7). Jesus acknowledged that the Old Testament sacrifices did not remit the sins of the people and so, perceiving the will of God, offered his own body for this purpose (Hebrews 10:8-10). [1] A shadow of the good things to come: the term shadow was used in Hebrews 8:5 to signify the earthly counterpart of the Platonic heavenly reality. But here it means a prefiguration of what is to come in Christ, as it is used in the Pauline literature; cf Col 2:17. [5-7] A passage from Psalm 40:7-9 is placed in the mouth of the Son at his incarnation. As usual, the author follows the Septuagint text. There is a notable difference in Hebrews 10:5 (Psalm 40:7), where the Masoretic text reads "ears you have dug for me" ("ears open to obedience you gave me," NAB), but most Septuagint manuscripts have "a body you prepared for me," a reading obviously more suited to the interpretation of Hebrews. [8] Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings: these four terms taken from the preceding passage of Psalm 40 (with the first two changed to plural forms) are probably intended as equivalents to the four principal types of Old Testament sacrifices: peace offerings (Lev 3, here called sacrifices); cereal offerings (Lev 2, here called offerings); holocausts (Lev 1); and sin offerings (Lev 4-5). This last category includes the guilt offerings of Lev 5:14-19.

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34 And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" 35 And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible." 38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Bible Study: [1:5-2:52] Like the Gospel according to Matthew, this gospel opens with an infancy narrative, a collection of stories about the birth and childhood of Jesus. The narrative uses early Christian traditions about the birth of Jesus, traditions about the birth and circumcision of John the Baptist, and canticles such as the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) and Benedictus (Luke 1:67-79), composed of phrases drawn from the Greek Old Testament. It is largely, however, the composition of Luke who writes in imitation of Old Testament birth stories, combining historical and legendary details, literary ornamentation and interpretation of scripture, to answer in advance the question, "Who is Jesus Christ?" The focus of the narrative, therefore, is primarily christological. In this section Luke announces many of the themes that will become prominent in the rest of the gospel: the centrality of Jerusalem and the temple, the journey motif, the universality of salvation, joy and peace, concern for the lowly, the importance of women, the presentation of Jesus as savior, Spirit-guided revelation and prophecy, and the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. The account presents parallel scenes (diptychs) of angelic announcements of the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus, and of the birth, circumcision, and presentation of John and Jesus. In this parallelism, the ascendency of Jesus over John is stressed: John is prophet of the Most High (Luke 1:76); Jesus is Son of the Most High (Luke 1:32). John is great in the sight of the Lord (Luke 1:15); Jesus will be Great (a LXX attribute, used absolutely, of God) (Luke 1:32). John will go before the Lord (Luke 1:16-17); Jesus will be Lord (Luke 1:43; 2:11).

[26-38] The announcement to Mary of the birth of Jesus is parallel to the announcement to Zechariah of the birth of John. In both the angel Gabriel appears to the parent who is troubled by the vision (Luke 1:11-12, 26-29) and then told by the angel not to fear (Luke 1:13, 30). After the announcement is made (Luke 1:14-17, 31-33) the parent objects (Luke 1:18, 34) and a sign is given to confirm the announcement (Luke 1:20, 36). The particular focus of the announcement of the birth of Jesus is on his identity as Son of David (Luke 1:32-33) and Son of God (Luke 1:32, 35). [32] Son of the Most High: cf Luke 1:76 where John is described as "prophet of the Most High." "Most High" is a title for God commonly used by Luke (Luke 1:35, 76; 6:35; 8:28; Acts 7:48; 16:17). [34] Mary’s questioning response is a denial of sexual relations and is used by Luke to lead to the angel’s declaration about the Spirit’s role in the conception of this child (Luke 1:35). According to Luke, the virginal conception of Jesus takes place through the holy Spirit, the power of God, and therefore Jesus has a unique relationship to Yahweh: he is Son of God. [36-37] The sign given to Mary in confirmation of the angel’s announcement to her is the pregnancy of her aged relative Elizabeth. If a woman past the childbearing age could become pregnant, why, the angel implies, should there be doubt about Mary’s pregnancy, for nothing will be impossible for God.

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