Gospel (Lk 1,5-25) - At the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the class of Abijah, who had as his wife a descendant of Aaron, named Elizabeth. Both were righteous before God and impeccably observed all the laws and prescriptions of the Lord. They had no children, because Elizabeth was sterile and both were advanced in years. It happened that, while Zechariah was carrying out his priestly functions before the Lord during his class shift, it fell to his lot, according to the custom of priestly service, to enter the temple of the Lord to make the offering of incense. Outside, the whole assembly of the people was praying at the time of incense. An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. When he saw him, Zechariah was troubled and fearful. But the angel said to him: «Do not be afraid, Zechariah, your prayer has been answered and your wife Elizabeth will give you a son, and you will call him John. You will have joy and exultation, and many will rejoice at his birth, because he will be great before the Lord; he will not drink wine or strong drinks, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb and he will lead many of the children of Israel back to the Lord their God. He will walk before him with the spirit and power of Elijah, to lead the hearts of the fathers towards the children and the rebels to the wisdom of the just and prepare a well-disposed people for the Lord". Zechariah said to the angel: «How can I ever know this? I am old and my wife is getting on in years." The angel replied to him: «I am Gabriel, who stands before God and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this happy announcement. And behold, you will be mute and will not be able to speak until the day these things happen, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were amazed at his lingering in the temple. When he then went out and could not speak to them, they understood that in the temple he had had a vision. He waved at them and remained silent. When the days of his service were completed, he returned home. After those days Elizabeth, his wife, conceived and hid herself for five months and said: "This is what the Lord did for me, in the days in which he deigned to take away my shame among men."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The announcement of the angel to Zechariah while he is in the temple to communicate the birth of a son is a sort of preparation for the announcement of the birth of Jesus. The Word of God wants to help our mind and our heart to open up to the mystery . And it presents the elderly spouses Zaccaria and Elisabetta who were preparing to end their lives without it being able to continue through a child. In them we can see reflected the lives of many elderly men and women who are now resigned to spending the last years of their lives, often alone and with no hope for tomorrow. It is a condition that in our affluent societies has become, paradoxically, more and more frequent and, if possible, even more cruel. Medical progress fortunately helps to lengthen the years of life, but unfortunately the time of loneliness and sadness is also lengthening: fewer and fewer people take care of the elderly and very few spend time talking to them. But in the temple the Lord sends an angel who speaks to Zechariah and announces to him that he will have a son. It seems impossible to Zechariah. The absence of hope was so rooted in his heart that he was resigned to anything new. And resignation wins over the angel's word. This is what happens to us too when we allow the resignation to prevail in our hearts that makes us incredulous in the face of the evangelical word. And it also happens to us, as it happened to Zechariah, that we remain silent, incapable of speaking and hoping. Those who do not listen to the Word of God cannot even speak, they cannot say words of hope either to themselves or to others. But if we welcome the love of God, if we let the angel's word reach the heart, our disbelief and our sterility will be overcome. And we too will see a new future born. No one is so old that they cannot listen to the Gospel and cannot generate a more beautiful future for themselves and others.