They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.

And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

“This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among people.”

And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

And Mary said, “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me?

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

Mary’s Song: The Magnificat

And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,

Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

And you, child, also will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;

And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

And when the days for their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

(as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),

and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been stated in the Law of the Lord: “A pair of turtledoves or two young doves.”

And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

“Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace, According to Your word;