And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
All Commentaries on Luke 1:43 Go To Luke 1
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
And whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? These are words of the greatest humility and reverence; John imitated his mother, saying when Christ came to be baptized of him, "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest thou to me?"
Lord, that is God, Who is called absolutely the Lord, because He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Hence it is clear—1. That the humanity of Christ was already in Christ endowed with life and united to the Word or Son of God2. That the Blessed Virgin is rightly called θεότοκος, i.e, Mother of God and not only χζιστότοκος, Mother of Christ, as Nestorius maintained3. That in Christ there are two natures, the human, for this alone could He take of His Virgin Mother; and the Divine, which the Father alone communicated to Him; but one Person, not human, but Divine. For if in Christ there had been two persons, as there are two natures, God could not properly be said to have been born of a Virgin, to have suffered and been crucified, but another person, that is to say, a Prayer of Manasseh , or the person of a man; but now it is properly so said, because there is one person in Christ; which is the reason why the attributes of the one nature may be ascribed in the concrete to the other, so that this Prayer of Manasseh , Jesus, may properly be called God, eternal and Almighty; and on the other hand, God in Him may properly be called Prayer of Manasseh , passible and mortal, yea, He may even be said to have suffered and died; because it is the same Person, which on account of the two natures which It has, is at the same time God and Prayer of Manasseh , and accordingly assumes to Itself the actions and attributes both of God and man. For action belongs to persons; and this sole (divine) Person in Christ is signified alike by the word Prayer of Manasseh , or Jesus, and by the word God or Son of God. Wherefore what is truly said of one is also truly said of the other.
