Her husband, Joseph, was a religious man and, being unwilling to expose her to contempt, resolved to put an end to their betrothal privately.

He had been dwelling upon this, when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary for your wife, for her child has been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

He made Mary his wife, but did not live with her as her husband until after the birth of her son; and to this son he gave the name Jesus.

'A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and much lamentation; Rachel, weeping for her children, Refused all comfort because they were not.'

I, however, say to you that any one who looks at a woman with an impure intention has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

It was also said--'Let any one who divorces his wife serve her with a notice of separation.'

I, however, say to you that any one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of her unchastity, leads to her committing adultery; while any one who marries her after her divorce is guilty of adultery.

That is why I say to you, Do not be anxious about your life here--what you can get to eat or drink; nor yet about your body-- what you can get to wear. Is not life more than food, and the body than its clothing?

On his taking her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and began to wait upon him.

Suddenly they shrieked out: "What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before our time?"

While Jesus was saying this, a President of a Synagogue came up and bowed to the ground before him. "My daughter," he said, "Has just died; but come and place your hand on her, and she will be restored to life."

Turning and seeing her, Jesus said: "Courage, Daughter! your faith has delivered you." And the woman was delivered from her malady from that very hour.

For I have come to set--'a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

And now that the Son of Man has come, eating and drinking, they are saying 'Here is a glutton and a wine-drinker, a friend of tax-gatherers and outcasts!' And yet Wisdom is vindicated by her actions."

Here, however, I tell you, there is something greater than the Temple!

At the Judgment, the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation, and will condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation; and here is more than a Jonah!

At the Judgment the Queen of the South will rise up with the present generation, and will condemn it, because she came from the very ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and here is more than a Solomon!

Then, stretching out his hands towards his disciples, he said: "Here are my mother and my brothers!

For John had said to him 'You have no right to be living with her.'

That he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

Prompted by her mother, the girl said 'Give me here, on a dish, the head of John the Baptist.'

The king was distressed at this; yet, on account of his oath and of the guests at his table, he ordered it to be given her.

And his head was brought on a dish and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother.

"We have nothing here," they said, "except five loaves and two fishes."

"Bring them here to me," was his reply.

The boat was by this time some miles from shore, laboring in the waves, for the wind was against her.

But Jesus did not answer her a word; and his disciples came up and begged him to send her away. "She keeps calling out after us," they said.

"Your faith is great," was his reply to the woman; "it shall be as you wish!" And her daughter was cured that very hour.

Here the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and, to test Jesus, requested him to show them some sign from the heavens.

I tell you, some of those who are standing here will not know death till they have seen the Son of Man coming into his Kingdom."

"Master," exclaimed Peter, interposing, "it is good to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

"O faithless and perverse generation!" Jesus exclaimed, "how long must I be among you? how long must I have patience with you? Bring the boy here to me."

"Why, then," they said, "did Moses direct that a man should 'serve his wife with a notice of separation and divorce her'?"

But I tell you that any one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of her unchastity, and marries another woman, is guilty of adultery."

When he went out about five, he found some other men standing there, and said to them 'Why have you been standing here all day long, doing nothing?'

Then the mother of Zebediah's sons came to him with her sons, bowing to the ground, and begging a favor.

"Go to the village facing you," he said, "and you will immediately find an ass tethered, with a foal by her side; untie her, and lead her here for me.

But the tenants, on seeing his son, said to each other 'Here is the heir! Come, let us kill him, and get his inheritance.'

So he said to him 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding-robe?' The man was speechless.

At the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be out of the seven, all of them having had her?"

Jerusalem! Jerusalem! She who slays the Prophets and stones the messengers sent to her--Oh, how often have I wished to gather your children round me, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not came!

"Do you see all these things?" was his answer. "I tell you, not a single stone will be left here upon another, which will not be throne down,"

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; take care not to be alarmed, for such things must occur; but the end is not yet here.

And, at that time, if any one should say to you 'Look! here is the Christ!' or 'Here he is!', do not believe it;

Immediately after the distress of those days, 'the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give her light, the stars will fall from the heavens,' and 'the forces of the heavens will be convulsed.'

And, in my fear, I went and hid your money in the ground; look, here is what belongs to you!'

"You know that in two days time the Festival of the Passover will be here; and that the Son of Man is to be given up to be crucified."

I tell you, wherever, in the whole world, this Good News is proclaimed, what this woman has done will be told in memory of her."

Then Jesus came with them to a garden called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples: "Sit down here while I go and pray yonder."

"I am sad at heart," he said, "sad even to death; wait here and watch with me."

He is not here; for he has risen, as he said he would. Come, and see the place where he was lying;

Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying ill with fever, and they at once told Jesus about her.

Jesus went up to her and, grasping her hand, raised her up; the fever left her, and she began to wait upon them.

But that you may know that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins on earth"--here he said to the paralyzed man--

Then he looked around on the people sitting in a circle round him, and said: "Here are my mother and my brothers!

Yet, when sown, shoots up, and becomes larger than any other herb, and puts out great branches, so that even 'the wild birds can roost in its shelter.'"

"My little daughter," he said, "is at the point of death; I beg you to come and place your hands on her, that her life may be spared."

At once the mischief was stopped, and she felt in herself that she was cured of her complaint.

Then the woman, in fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and threw herself down before him, and told him the whole truth.

Taking her hand, Jesus said to her: "Taleitha, koum!"--which means 'little girl, I am speaking to you--Rise!'

But Jesus repeatedly cautioned them not to let any one know of it, and told them to give her something to eat.

Is not he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? And are not his sisters, too, living here among us?" This proved a hindrance to their believing in him;

For Herod himself had sent and arrested John, and put him in prison, in chains, to please Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because Herod had married her.

And he swore to her that he would give her whatever she asked him--up to half his kingdom.

The girl went out, and said to her mother 'What must I ask for?' 'The head of John the Baptizer,' answered her mother.

So she went in as quickly as possible to the King, and made her request. 'I want you,' she said, 'to give me at once, on a dish, the head of John the Baptist.'

The King was much distressed; yet, on account of his oath and of the guests at his table, he did not like to refuse her.

And, bringing his head on a dish, gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

But they had no sooner left her than the people, recognizing Jesus,

For a woman, whose little daughter had a foul spirit in her, heard of him immediately, and came and threw herself at his feet--

The woman was a foreigner, a native of Syrian Phoenicia--and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.

The woman went home, and found the child lying on her bed, and the demon gone.

Here the Pharisees came out, and began to argue with Jesus, asking him for some sign from the heavens, to test him.

"I tell you," he added, "that some of those who are standing here will not know death till they have seen the Kingdom of God come in power."

"Rabbi," said Peter, interposing, "it is good to be here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

And, if the woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she is guilty of adultery."

And, if any one says to you 'Why are you doing that?', say 'The Master wants it, and will be sure to send it back here at once.'"

But those tenants said to one another 'Here is the heir! Come, let us kill him, and his inheritance will be ours.'

And the second took her, and died without family; and so did the third.

At the resurrection whose wife will she be, all seven brothers having had her as their wife?"

For every one else put in something from what he had to spare, while she, in her need, put in all she had--everything that she had to live on."

"Do you see these great buildings?" asked Jesus. "Not a single stone will be left here upon another, which shall not be thrown down."

And at that time if any one should say to you 'Look, here is the Christ!' 'Look, there he is!', do not believe it;

In those days, after that time of distress, 'the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give her light,

"Let her alone," said Jesus, as they began to find fault with her, "why are you troubling her? This is a beautiful deed that she has done for me.

And I tell you, wherever, in the whole world, the Good News is proclaimed, what this woman has done will be told in memory of her."

Presently they came to a garden known as Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples "Sit down here while I pray."

"I am sad at heart," he said, "sad even to death; wait here, and watch."

"Do not be dismayed; you are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified; he has risen, he is not here! Look! Here is the place where they laid him.

Yet even they, when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, did not believe it.

To a maiden there who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. Her name was Mary.

Gabriel came into her presence and said: "Hail, you who have been highly favored! The Lord is with you."

And Elizabeth, your cousin, is herself also expecting a son in her old age; and it is now the sixth month with her, though she is called barren;

"I am the servant of the Lord," exclaimed Mary; "let it be with me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Soon after this Mary set out, and made her way quickly into the hill-country, to a town in Judah;

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child moved within her, and Elizabeth herself was filled with the Holy Spirit,

For he has remembered his servant in her lowliness; And from this hour all ages will count me happy!

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned to her home.

And her neighbors and relations, hearing of the great goodness of the Lord to her, came to share her joy.

While they were there her time came,