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What the Fathers say
Eastern Fathers
John Chrysostom
That is, "with the working of the Holy Spirit;" for he had obtained the grace of the Holy Spirit, not in any manner, but fully; and the gift of prophecy shone forth in him; as it follows, And he prophesied. Zacharias, when he is blessing God, says, that He hath visited His people, meaning thereby either the Israelites in the flesh, for He came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; (Matt. …
Cyprian
That Christ our God should come, the En-lightener and Saviour of the human race. In Isaiah: "Be comforted, ye weakened hands; and ye weak knees, be strengthened. Ye who are of a timorous heart, fear not. Our God will recompense judgment, He Himself will come, and will save us. Then shall be opened the eves of the blind, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. …
Irenaeus
This same God, after His great goodness, poured His compassion upon us, through which compassion "the Day-spring from on high has looked upon us, and appeared to those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death, and has guided our feet into the way of peace;" [Luke 1:78] as Zacharias also, recovering from the state of dumbness which he had suffered on account of unbelief, having been filled with a new spirit, did bless God in a new manner. …
Western Saints
Ambrose of Milan
But perhaps some may consider it an irrational excess of the mind that he speaks to an infant for eight days. But if we hold to the truth, we understand without a doubt that the child born could hear the voice of his father, who heard the greeting of Mary before he was born. The prophet knew that the other ears of the prophet, which are opened by the Spirit of God, not by the age of the body. He had the sense of understanding, which had the capacity for rejoicing.
Bede
But the Lord visited His people who were pining away as it were from long sickness, and by the blood of His only begotten Son, redeemed them who were sold under sin. Which thing Zacharias, knowing that it would soon be accomplished, relates in the prophetic manner as if it were already passed. But he says, His people, not that when He came He found them His own, but that by visiting He made them so.
Bonaventure
And Zacharias his father, etc. After the origin of John has been described, here is subjoined the thanksgiving for the benefit of redemption already begun in the birth of the forerunner and to be consummated in the birth of the Savior. This thanksgiving, therefore, he describes in two ways: first, on the part of the motive; second, on the part of the manner, at: Blessed be the Lord. …
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