Fathers

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What the Fathers say

Luke 1:42

Eastern Fathers

Theophylact of Ohrid

So, the voice of the Virgin was the voice of God incarnating within Her, and therefore He also granted grace to the Forerunner while still in the womb and made him a prophet, for the prophetic words of Elizabeth to Mary were not the words of Elizabeth, but of the infant; and the lips of Elizabeth only served him, just as the lips of Mary served the One dwelling in Her womb — the Son of God. For Elizabeth was then filled with the Spirit when the infant leaped in the womb; if the infant had not leaped, she would not have prophesied. …

Commentary on Luke ↗

Ancient Greek Expositor

From this place we derive the refutation of Eutyches, in that Christ is stated to be the fruit of the womb. For all fruit is of the same nature with the tree that bears it. It remains then that the virgin was also of the same nature with the second Adam, who takes away the sins of the world. But let those also who invent curious fictions concerning the flesh of Christ, blush when they hear of the real child-bearing of the mother of God. For the fruit itself proceeds from the very substance of the tree. …

Catena Aurea by Aquinas ↗

Irenaeus

And when He says, "Hear, O house of David," He performed the part of one indicating that He whom God promised David that He would raise up from the fruit of his belly (ventris) an eternal King, is the same who was born of the Virgin, herself of the lineage of David. …

Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 21), Section 5 ↗

Western Saints

Ambrose of Milan

She who had hid herself because she conceived a son, began to glory that she carried in her womb a prophet, and she who had before blushed, now gives her blessing; as it follows, And she spake out with a loud voice, Blessed art thou among women. With a loud voice she exclaimed when she perceived the Lord's coming, for she believed it to be a holy birth. But she says, Blessed art thou among women. For none was ever partaker of such grace or could be, since of the one Divine seed, there is one only parent.

Catena Aurea by Aquinas ↗

Bede

And she cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. It should be noted that the prophecy about Christ mentioned previously is fulfilled not only through the miracles of events but also through the specificity of the words. For this is the fruit that is promised to the patriarch David under oath: From the fruit of your womb, I will place someone on my throne (Psalm 131). …

On the Gospel of Luke ↗

Thomas Aquinas

A sinner sometimes seeks in something that which he cannot attain, but the just does attain it. Prov. 13:22, "By the just is the substance of the sinner guarded." Thus Eve sought the fruit, and in that she did not find all that she desired; but the Blessed Virgin in Her Fruit found all that Eve desired. For Eve in her fruit desired three things. First, that which the Devil falsely promised her, that is, that they would be as gods, knowing good and evil. "You shall be," that liar said, "as gods," just as is said in Gen. 3:5. …

On the Angelic Salutation ↗