And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stands in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto you, and to show you these glad tidings.
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Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
I am Gabriel, who stand. That Isaiah , "I am wont to stand, ready to minister to the will of God in all things; I am not indeed now standing before Him in heaven, for I have been sent thence to thee to the earth." Although on the earth angels may also stand before God, and behold His Face; for God is everywhere (S. Matt. xviii10). Hence we may gather that the same angels stand before God and minister to Him, although S. Dionysius the Areopagite and S. Gregory deny this; for Gabriel stands before God and ministers to Him, and is sent to Zacharias.
Moreover, the words "stand before" signify that Gabriel is one of the seven angels who are the chiefs of the heavenly court, as are also Michael and Raphael ( Tobit 12:15). Of these seven angels I have spoken at length on Apocal. i4. Wherefore although some, as Toletus, are of opinion that Gabriel belongs to the last order but one, which is that of archangels, because he is elsewhere called an archangel, yet he more truly seems to be one of t...
The name Gabriel signifies, the strength of God; or, God is my strength. The angels are sometimes styled by proper names, in order to show their respective duties; thus, no angel could better be appointed to declare the precursor, as also the Messias himself, than he who was styled the power of God: since he came to declare the coming of one who was to destroy the power of the devil, and overthrow his kingdom. (Nicholas of Lyra) See Tobit xii. 15; Apocalypse i. 4. and viii. 2.
