it seemed good to me also accurately, from the very beginning, to write them to you in order, most excellent Theophilus,

so that you may know the certainty of the story which you have been taught by the word of mouth.

"How shall I be sure of this?" said Zachariah to the Angel. "For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."

"And now you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day the day when this has taken place; because you did not believe my words??ords which will be fulfilled at their appointed time."

"This has the Lord done for me. He has now deigned to take the away my reproach among men."

Then Mary said: "Behold I am Lord's slave. Let it be to me as you have said." Then the angel departed from her.

"But why is this honor done me, that the mother of my Lord should come me?

"For behold when the sound of your salutation reached my ears, the babe leaped with joy within my womb.

And Mary said: "My soul doth magnify the Lord,

"My spirit exults in the God, who is my Saviour,

"For he has regarded the humiliation of his slave, And from this hour all ages will count me blessed.

"For he who is mighty has done great things for me; And holy is his name.

"Because my eyes had seen the salvation,

Yea, and a sword shall pierce through your own soul also, that the thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed."

He answered, "Why is it that you have been looking for me, did you not realize that I had to be in my Father's house?"

whether perhaps he were the Christ, John answered, saying to all of them. "I indeed am baptizing you in water, but One is coming after me, mightier than I, whose shoe-latchet I am not worthy to unloose. He shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and in fire.

heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form like a dove, descended upon him. and a voice came out of heaven, saying. "Thou art my Son, dearly beloved; in thee is my delight."

"To you will I give all this authority and this glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

"If then you will worship me, it shall all be yours."

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me Because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to the prisoners, And recovery of sight to the blind; To set at liberty those that are bruised,

Jesus answered. "Doubtless you will quote the proverb to me, 'Physician, heal thyself!' Do also here in your own country all that we hear that you have done in Capernaum."

When Simon Peter saw this he fell down at the knees of Jesus, exclaiming, "Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man!"

Another time when he was in one of their cities, there was a man there full of leprosy. And he, upon seeing Jesus, fell on his face and implored him. "Lord," he said, "if only you choose you can make me clean."

But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins (he said to the paralytic), "I bid you rise, take up your bed, and go to your house."

After this he went forth and noticed a tax-gatherer, named Levi, sitting at the tax-office, and said to him, "Follow me."

"But to you who are listening to me I say, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

"Or how can you say to your brother. "Brother, allow me to pull that splinter out of your eye," when you do not see the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite! Take out first the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the splinter from your brother's eye.

"And why are you calling me Lord, Lord, and not doing what I tell you?

"I will show whom the man that comes to me, and listens to my works, and does them, is like.

So Jesus started to go with them, but while he was not far from the house, the captain sent friends to him with a message. "Lord do not trouble yourself, for I am not fit that you should come under my roof,

"and so I did not think myself worthy to come to you; but speak the word, and let my man be cured.

"For I also am a man obedient to authority, and have soldiers under me. And I say to one 'come,' and he comes, and to my slave 'do this or that,' and he does it."

"And blessed is he who finds no cause of stumbling in me."

"When they had nothing pay he forgave them with such charm. "Tell me, then, which of these will love him most?"

"You have rightly judged." answered Jesus, and turning to the woman, he said to Simon. "Do you see this woman? When I came into your house you gave me no water for my feet; but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

"You gave me no kiss; but she, since she came in, has never ceased tenderly kissing my feet;

"you never anointed my head with oil; but she has anointed my feet with my feet with perfume.

"Those by the wayside are people who hear, but then comes the devil and carries off the word from their heart, so that they may not believe and not be saved.

"When he lights a lamp no one covers it with a vase or hides it under a bed; he puts it on a lamp-stand so whoever may behold the light.

"My mother and brothers," he answered, "are those who listen to the word of God and obey it."

When he saw Jesus he cried out, and fell down before him, and in a loud voice exclaimed. "What have we to do with you, Jesus, you son of God Most High? I implore you to torment me not!"

"Who is that touched me?" said Jesus and when everybody denied it, Peter said, "Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing upon you."

But Jesus said: "Some one did touch me; for I perceived that the power was proceeding out of me."

But now the day began to decline, and the twelve came to him and said: "Send away the crowd so that they may go into the villages and surrounding the country to lodge and buy provisions; for here we are on a solitary place."

And he said to all. "If any man wills to follow me, Let him renounce self and take up his cross daily and follow me.

"For whoever wills to save his life shall lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake shall save it.

"For whoever is ashamed of me and of my teachings, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in his own and in his Father's glory, and in that of the holy angels.

And a voice came out of the cloud, saying. "This is my Son, my chosen one; listen to him."

and a man called out of the crowd saying. "Teacher, I beg you to look upon my son; for he is my only boy,

"O faithless and perverse generation," said Jesus, "how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son to me."

then he said to them. "Whoever shall receive this little child in my name receives me; and whoever shall receive me receives him that sent me. For it is the lowliest among you all who is great."

To another he said, "Follow me!" But he replied, "Permit me first to go and bury my father."

And another man also said to him. "I will follow you, Lord; but first permit me to bid farewell to those who are in my house."

"He who listens to you listens to me. and he who rejects you, rejects me; he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me."

"All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father; and who the Father is except the Son, and he the Son wishes to reveal him."

But he, determined to justify himself, said to Jesus, "But who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered.

"The next day he took two silver pieces and gave them to the landlord and said, "'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend I will repay it to you on my way back.'

But Martha meanwhile was growing distracted about much serving. She came up to him and said: "Lord do you not care that my sister has left me alone to do the serving? Come tell her to take hold of her end of the work along with me."

So he said to them. "When you pray, say, "Father, hallowed be thy name; May thy kingdom come,

He also said to them. "Suppose you have a friend and you go to him, 'My friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

"for a friend of mine is come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.'

"and he from indoors shall answer. 'Do not pester me. The door is now closed, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot rise and give to you.'

"He who is not for me is against me, and he who is not gathering with me is scattering.

"When one lights a lamp he does not put it in a cellar nor under the bushel, but on a lamp-stand that those who enter may see the light.

"so that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required from this generation,

"But I say to you who are my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.

"And I tell you that whoever confesses me before men, the Son of man will confess him before the angels of God;

"and whoever disowns me before men, shall be disowned before the angels of God.

Then one of the crowd said to him, "Master, tell my brother to give me my share of our inheritance."

"Man," said he, "who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?"

"So he debated with himself saying, 'What shall I do? for I have no place in which to store my crops.'

"And he said to himself. 'This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns and build larger ones in which I will store all my wheat and my goods.

"'And I will say to my soul, "'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years! Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.'

"and be yourselves like men who are looking for the Lord, on his return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they may at once open the door for him.

"But if that slave should say to himself, 'My master delays his coming,' and should begin to beat the men and the maids, and to eat and drink and to get drunk,

"I came to build a fire upon the earth; what is my desire?

"'depart from me, all of you, you evil-doers.' There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves cast out.

"Go, tell that fox," he answered, "'Lo, today and tomorrow I am continuing to cast out demons and perform cures, and on the third day I finish my course.'

"Yet I must continue my journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it would never do for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem!

"Behold! Your house is left to you, desolate! I tell you that you shall never see me again until you say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord,"

"But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when your host arrives he may say to you, 'My friend, come up higher.' Then you will be honored before the other guest.

"And they all, without exception, proceeded to excuse themselves. The first told him. 'I have bought a field, and must needs go and see it. Pray have me excused.'

"The second said: 'I have bought five yolk of oxen and am on my way to try them. I pray that you will have me excused.'

"And the slave said, 'My master, your orders have been carried out, but yet there is room.'

"Said the master to his slave. 'Go out into the roads and the hedges, and make them come in, so that my house may be filled.

"'For I tell you that not one of those invited guests shall taste my supper.'"

"If any one comes to me and does not hate father and his mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters, yes, and his own very life also, he cannot be a disciple of mine.

"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me, cannot be a disciple of mine.

"Just so any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

"When he gets home he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'

"And when she has found it, she calls together her woman friends and neighbors and say, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.'

"The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of your property which is coming to me.' So he divided his means among them.

"When he came to himself he said: "'How many of my father's hired men have bread enough and to spare, while I am perishing of hunger!

"'I will rise and go to my father, and say to him. "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and in your sight,

"'"I am no more worthy to be called your son; only make me like one of your hired men."'

"'All these years I have been slaving for you and never disobeyed a command of yours. Yet you never gave me even a kid so that I might make merry with my friends.

"'My dear son,' answered his father, 'you are always with me and all that is mine is yours.

"Now the steward said to himself. 'What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my stewardship? I am not strong enough to dig, to beg I am ashamed.

"'I know what I will do, so that when I am put out of my stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'

"So he called to him each of his master's debtors and said to the first, 'How much money do you owe my master?'