(Vers. 9.)
(Verse 9) Behold, the angel of the Lord stood before them.
See how divine providence strengthens faith: the angel instructs Mary, the angel instructs Joseph, the angel instructs the shepherds. It is not enough to send once; for every word stands on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
(Vers. 13, 14.)
(Verse 13, 14.) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.
52. The army of angels is rightly called, who followed the leader of the army. To whom, then, should the angels give praise, if not to their Lord, as it is written: Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the highest. Praise him, all his angels (Psalm 148:1-2)? Thus, the prophecy is fulfilled. The Lord is praised from the heavens, and he appears on earth. Concerning whom, Saint Mark says that He was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him (Mark 1:13); so that in the one you may recognize the sign of mercy, and in the other the manifestation of divine power. What you suffer belongs to you, what is preached by angels belongs to them. And they say:
(Vers. 15, 16.)
(Verses 15, 16.) Let us go to Bethlehem and see this Word that has been fulfilled, as the Lord has shown us. And they came quickly.
53. You see the shepherds hasten; for no one seeks Christ with laziness. You see the shepherds believed the angel: and you, believe in the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the angels, the prophets, and the apostles. See how carefully the Scripture assigns importance to the words of each: They hasten, it says, to see the Word. For when the flesh of the Lord is seen, the Word is seen, which is the Son. Let this be no small example of faith for you, nor a lowly profession for the shepherds. Certainly, the more esteemed for prudence, the more precious for faith. The Lord did not seek out crowds of wise men in the gymnasiums, but rather the simple people, who had heard about adorning themselves with trinkets but did not know how to apply makeup. Simplicity is sought after, not ambition. And do not think that the words of the prophets are to be despised as worthless: even Mary gathers faith from the shepherds; through the shepherds, the people are gathered together in reverence for God; for they were amazed by what the shepherds said about them.
(Vers. 19.)
(Verse 19). But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart.
54. Let us learn from the Holy Virgin in all things chastity, who was as modest in speech as in body, and who argued for the truths of faith in her heart. If Mary learns from the shepherds, why do you refuse to learn from the priests? If Mary remains silent before the apostolic precepts, why do you desire to teach rather than to learn after the apostolic precepts? Learn that vice is a characteristic of the person, not the gender; for gender is holy. Finally, Mary did not receive the commandment, but she set an example.
55. Therefore, the boy is circumcised. Who is that boy, if not the one of whom it is said: A child is born to us, a son is given to us (Isa. IX, 6)? For he became under the Law, in order to benefit those who were under the Law.
56. However, it is situated in Jerusalem. What it means to be positioned in Jerusalem for the Lord, I would say, if I had not already spoken about it in the commentaries of Isaiah. For he who is circumcised of sins was judged worthy by the Lord's gaze; for the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous (Psalm 33:16). You see that the entire series of the old law was a type of things to come; for even circumcision signifies the cleansing of sins. But since human weakness is entangled in inextricable vices with a certain inclination to sin, the future purification of the entire guilt was prefigured by the age of the eighth day of circumcision; for this is what was said: 'Every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord' (Exodus 13:2); for in the words of the Law, the birth of the Virgin was promised. And truly holy, because immaculate. Indeed, the very one who is marked by the Law, the words repeated by the Angel declare: For what will be born, he says, will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). For he did not reveal the secret of the virgin's womb to a man's seed: but the immaculate seed was poured into the inviolable womb by the Holy Spirit. For only the Lord Jesus, who is holy in all things conceived of a woman, did not experience the corruption of earthly contamination, and he expelled it with heavenly majesty.
57. For if we follow the letter, how does it not escape notice that every male saint, although he might have been most wicked, is considered holy? Was Ahab holy? Were the false prophets who, at Elijah's prayers, the avenger of heavenly injury, were consumed by fire, holy? But he was holy, by whom the precepts of the divine law were marked as a figure of a future mystery, because he alone, by whom the genital secret of the Holy Church's virgin was opened for the purpose of producing the people of God of Immaculate Fertility. Therefore, He alone opened His own womb. It is not surprising; for He who had said to the prophet, 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; and before you were born, I sanctified you' (Jeremiah 1:5). Therefore, He who sanctified another's womb, so that a prophet would be born, is the one who opened His mother's womb; that He might come forth immaculate.
(Vers. 25.)
(Verse 25) And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.
58. Not only from angels and prophets, from pastors and parents, but also from elders and the righteous, the generation of the Lord receives testimony. Every age, and both sexes, and the miracles of events confirm faith. A virgin gives birth, a barren woman bears, a mute speaks, Elizabeth prophesies, a wise man worships, a closed womb rejoices, a widow confesses, a righteous person waits. And truly righteous, who sought not his own, but the grace of the people: desiring to be freed himself from the bonds of bodily frailty, but awaiting to see the promised one; for he knew that blessed are the eyes that saw him.
(Vers. 29.)
(Verse 29.) Now, he said, dismiss your servant.
59. See the just one enclosed like in the prison of a bodily mass wanting to be dissolved, so that he may begin to be with Christ; for to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, is much better. But whoever wants to be dismissed, let him come to the temple, let him come to Jerusalem, let him wait for the Christ of the Lord, let him receive in his hands the Word of God, let him embrace with certain arms of his faith. Then he will be dismissed, so that he may not see death, who has seen life.
You see mercy poured out by the Lord's generation on all, and prophecy denied to unbelievers, not to the righteous. Behold, even Simeon prophesied that the Lord Jesus Christ has come for the ruin and resurrection of many, in order to discern the merits of the righteous and the wicked, and as a true and just judge, to either decree punishment or rewards according to the quality of our deeds.
(Vers. 35.)
(Verse 35.) And, he said, a sword will pierce your own soul as well.
61. Neither letter nor history teaches that Mary passed from this life by the bodily suffering of death; for it was not the soul, but the body, that was pierced by the material sword. And therefore, the prudence of Mary shows her to be not unaware of the heavenly mystery. For the living word of God, and sharp and piercing with every sharpest sword, penetrates even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and searches the thoughts and secret intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12); for all things are naked and open to the Son of God, to whom the secrets of consciences do not deceive.