THE GOSPEL OF THE NATIVITY OF MARY -1
Anonymous
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—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.
—And it came to pass that the festival of the dedication[1] was at
hand; wherefore also Joachim went up to Jerusalem with some men of his
own tribe. Now at that time Issachar[2] 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.[3] 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.
—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.[4] 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?[5] 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.
—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.
—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.
—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,[1] 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.
—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.[2] 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,[1] 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.[2] 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.
—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.
—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.[3] 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;[4] 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;[5] forasmuch as He is King of kings and
Lord of lords,[6] 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,[7] 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.
—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.[1] 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[2] and the Holy Ghost lives
and reigns God from everlasting to everlasting.