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The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
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Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.
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For no word from God will ever fail.”
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“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
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where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.
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When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
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In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
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But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
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As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
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Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
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Mary’s Song
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
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and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
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for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
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He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
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He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
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He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
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Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
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The Birth of John the Baptist
When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
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Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
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but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
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They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
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Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.
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Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.
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Zechariah’s Song
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
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He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
