And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

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

He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

“Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

The Song of Mary

And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,

When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

Jesus Presented in the Temple

Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),

and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

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.

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word;