holy persons saluting one another by the words ‘Thanks be to God,’ gained ground. The food which the angel is said to have given to her she received; and that which from the High Priest of the Temple she accepted, she gave to the poor. Daily this angel was said to converse with her, and to obey her as if she were a very dear sister or mother.” Thus far S. Jerome. In her fourteenth year, the Blessed Virgin Mary, according to tradition, was espoused to Joseph, through Divine revelation, and returned