Luke 1:26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,  to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

Luke expressly points to her virginity. He uses the Greek word parthenos, twice. He’s stressing that she is a young woman and that she was a virgin.

Gabriel appears to Zecharia. Formal setting of the temple. Here in Nazareth, he is sent to Mary. She does not have to leave where she was. The angel enters the house. There is like an inversion here. It means that in the incarnation God comes to men and enters the house. Previously men had to go out of their house and go and find him in the temple to enjoy the presence of God and venerate him there. Fr. Eric Nicolai reflects on the meaning of Mary's vocation and our vocation.

Music: Adrain Berenguer, Fall (2017)

Thumbnail: La Anunciación, by Fra Angelico (between 1430 and 1432), from the Prado Museum in Madrid. Wikicomons.