"How can I be sure of this?" Zechariah asked the angel. "For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."

"I am Gabriel," the angel answered, "who stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

And now you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when this takes place, because you did not believe what I said, though my words will be fulfilled in due course."

After this his wife, Elizabeth, expecting to become a mother, lived in seclusion for five months.

"This is what the Lord has done for me," she said, "now that he has deigned to take away the reproach under which I have been living."

"How can this be?" Mary asked the angel. "For I have no husband."

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

But how have I this honor, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

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

All their neighbors were awe-struck at this; and throughout the hill-country of Judea the whole story was much talked about;

And all who heard it kept it in mind, asking one another-- "What can this child be destined to become?" For the Power of the Lord was with him.

This was the oath which he swore to our forefather Abraham--

(This was the first census taken while Quirinius was Governor of Syria).

This day there has been born to you, in the town of David, a Savior, who is Christ and Lord.

And this shall be the sign for you. You will find the infant swathed, and lying in a manger."

Now, when the angels had left them and gone back to Heaven, the shepherds said to one another: "Let us go at once to Bethlehem, and see this thing that has happened, of which the Lord has told us."

And, when they saw it, they told of all that had been said to them about this child.

Simeon gave them his blessing, and said to Mary, the child's mother: "This child is appointed to be the cause of the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign much spoken against--

His parents were amazed when they saw him, and his mother said to him: "My child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been searching for you in great distress."

This was in fulfillment of what is said in the writings of the Prophet Isaiah--'The voice of one crying aloud in the wilderness: "Make ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight.

So the Devil said to him: "If you are God's Son, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread."

"I will give you all this power, and the splendor of them; for it has been given into my hands and I give it to whom I wish.

And Jesus began: "This very day this passage has been fulfilled in your hearing."

All the people in the Synagogue, as they listened to this, became enraged.

When Simon Peter saw this, he threw himself down at Jesus' knees, exclaiming: "Master, leave me, for I am a sinful man!"

The Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began debating about this. "Who is this man who speaks so blasphemously?" they asked. "Who can forgive sins except God?"

After this, Jesus went out; and he noticed a tax-gatherer, named Levi, sitting in the tax-office, and said to him: "Follow me."

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law belonging to their party complained of this to the disciples of Jesus."

Alas for you when all men speak well of you; for this is what their ancestors did to the false Prophets.

When they found Jesus, they earnestly implored him to do so. "He is a man who deserves that you should show him this favor," they said,

For I myself am a man under the orders of others, with soldiers under me; and if I say to one of them 'Go,' he goes, and to another 'Come,' he comes, and to my slave 'Do this,' he does it."

Jesus was surprised to hear these words from him; and, turning to the crowd which was following him, he said: "I tell you, nowhere in Israel have I met with such faith as this!"

And this story about Jesus spread all through Judea, and in the neighboring countries as well.

This is the very man of whom Scripture says--'Behold, I am sending my Messenger before thy face, And he shall prepare thy way before thee.'

(All the people, when they heard this, and even the tax- gatherers, having accepted John's baptism, acknowledged the justice of God.

When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself: "Had this man been 'The Prophet,' he would have known who, and what sort of woman, this is who is touching him, and that she is an outcast."

And then, turning to the woman, he said to Simon: "Do you see this woman? I came into your house--you gave me no water for my feet, but she has made my feet wet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

And for this, I tell you, her sins, many as they are, have been pardoned, because she has loved greatly; but one who has little pardoned him, loves but little."

On this, those at table began to say to one another: "Who is this man who even pardons sins?"

Other seed fell into rich soil, and grew, and gave a hundred-fold return." After saying this, Jesus cried aloud: "Let him who has ears to hear with hear."

His disciples asked Jesus the meaning of this parable.

This is the parable--The seed is God's Message.

By that which fell among the brambles are meant those who hear the Message, but who, as they go on their way, are completely choked by this world's cares and wealth and pleasures, and bring nothing to perfection.

"Where is your faith?" he exclaimed. But in great awe and amazement they said to one another: "Who can this be, that he commands even the winds and the waves, and they obey him?"

And, on getting ashore, Jesus met a man, who had demons in him, coming out of the town. For a long time this man had worn no clothing, and he had not lived in a house, but in the tombs.

But Jesus, hearing this, spoke to the President: "Do not be afraid; only have faith, and she shall yet be delivered."

But Herod himself said: "John I beheaded; but who is this of whom I hear such things?" And he endeavored to see him.

This they did, and got all the people seated.

Afterwards, when Jesus was alone, praying, his disciples joined him, and he asked them this question-- "Who do the people say that I am?"

"But you," he went on, "who do you say that I am?" And to this Peter answered: "The Christ of God."

Jesus, however, strictly charged them not to say this to any one;

And from the cloud came a voice which said--"This is my Son, the Chosen One; him you must hear."

But the disciples did not understand the meaning of this; it had been concealed from them so that they did not see it, and they were afraid to question him as to what he meant.

And then said to them: "Any one who, for the sake of my Name, welcomes even this little child is welcoming me; and any one who welcomes me is welcoming him who sent me as his Messenger. For whoever is lowliest among you all--that man is great."

When James and John saw this, they said: "Master, do you wish us to call for fire to come down from the heavens and consume them?"

After this, the Master appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them on as his Messengers, two and two, in advance, to every town and place that he was himself intending to visit.

At that same time, moved to exultation by the Holy Spirit, Jesus said: "I thank thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that, though thou hast hidden these things from the wise and learned, thou hast revealed them to the childlike! Yes, Father, I thank thee that this has seemed good to thee.

Once Jesus was driving out a dumb demon, and, when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke. The people were amazed at this;

As Jesus was saying this, a woman in the crowd, raising her voice, exclaimed: "Happy was the mother who bore you and nursed you!"

As the crowds increased, Jesus began to speak: "This generation is a wicked generation. It is asking a sign, but no sign shall be given it except the sign of Jonah.

For, as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so shall the Son of Man be to this generation.

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

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!

Here one of the Students of the Law interrupted him by saying: "Teacher, when you say this, you are insulting us also."

Some of whom they will persecute and kill, in order that the 'blood' of all the prophets 'that has been spilt' since the creation of the world may be exacted from this generation--

From the blood of Abel down to the blood of Zechariah, who was slain between the altar and the House of God." Yes, I tell you, it will be exacted from this generation.

Then Jesus told them this parable-- "There was once a rich man whose land was very fertile;

This is what I will do,' he said; 'I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them;

But God said to the man 'Fool! This very night your life is being demanded; and as for all you have prepared--who will have it?'

This you do know, that, had the owner of the house known at what time the thief was coming, he would have been on the watch, and would not have let his house be broken into.

"Master," said Peter, "are you telling this parable with reference to us or to every one?"

Happy will that servant be whom his master, when he comes home, shall find doing this.

For from this time, if there are five people in a house, they will be divided, three against two, and two against three.

Hypocrites! You know how to judge of the earth and the sky; how is it, then, that you cannot judge of this time?

"Do you suppose," replied Jesus, "that, because these Galileans have suffered in this way, they were worse sinners than any other Galileans?

And Jesus told them this parable-- "A man, who had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, came to look for fruit on it, but could not find any.

So he said to his gardener 'Three years now I have come to look for fruit on this fig tree, without finding any! Cut it down. Why should it rob the soil?'

'Leave it this one year more, Sir,' the man answered, 'till I have dug round it and manured it.

But this woman, a daughter of Abraham, who has been kept in bondage by Satan for now eighteen years, ought not she to have been released from her bondage on the Sabbath?"

As he said this, his opponents all felt ashamed; but all the people rejoiced to see all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Just then some Pharisees came up to Jesus and said: "Go away and leave this place, for Herod wants to kill you."

Observing that the guests were choosing the best places for themselves, Jesus told them this parable--

And he who invited you both will come and say to you 'Make room for this man,' and then you will begin in confusion to take the lowest place.

But the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law found fault. "This man always welcomes outcasts, and takes meals with them!" they complained.

So Jesus told them this parable--

This made him angry, and he would not go in. But his father came out and begged him to do so.

But, no sooner has this son of yours come, who has eaten up your property in the company of prostitutes, than you have killed the fattened calf for him.'

Jesus said to his disciples: "There was a rich man who had a steward; and this steward was maliciously accused to him of wasting his estate.

So the master called him and said 'What is this that I hear about you? Give in your accounts, for you cannot act as steward any longer.'

His master complimented this dishonest steward on the shrewdness of his action. And indeed men of the world are shrewder in dealing with their fellow-men than those who have the Light.

All this was said within hearing of the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, and they began to sneer at Jesus.

So he called out 'Pity me, Father Abraham, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering agony in this flame.'

For I have five brothers to warn them, so that they may not come to this place of torture also.'

But the Master said: "If your faith were only like a mustard- seed, you could say to this mulberry tree 'Be up-rooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

And threw himself on his face at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done; and this man was a Samaritan.

Were there none to come back and praise God except this foreigner?

Yet, as this widow is so troublesome, I will grant her justice, to stop her from plaguing me with her endless visits.'"

Then the Master added: "Listen to what this iniquitous judge says!

Another time, speaking to people who were satisfied that they were religious, and who regarded every one else with scorn, Jesus told this parable--

The Pharisee stood forward and began praying to himself in this way--'O God, I thank thee that I am not like other men-- thieves, rogues, adulterers--or even like this tax-gatherer.