Mary was visited by the Arch-Angel Gabriel. Gabriel, the Arch-Angel, was sent to Mary to inform her that God had chosen her, and that she would bear him a son.

26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. (Luke 1:26-33)

Mary was a believer, but little did she expect a visit from an angel from the presence of God. Her old, small world must have crumbled when she found out that she would become personally acquainted with the God she worshipped, and that she would give birth to the Messiah, long awaited. She would go from peasant to royalty in a matter of hours, and she would not be able to tell anyone, except Joseph. She would live the rest of her life knowing that the Lord God Almighty followed her every step. Literally! She was highly favored. She would cradle the salvation of the world. Imagine the pressure on the poor, sparsely educated girl.

The Conception. Mary was overshadowed by the power of the Almighty, and conceived in her womb. The Holy Ghost ratified that Mary was pure, as one should expect the mother of God to be.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:34-38)

What to Say To Joseph? Just imagine what she must have gone through when she was going to tell Joseph that she was expecting a child. And not only that, a son, and that boy was the very Son of God! And Joseph! He must have thought that she had gone mad. But he was filled with charity, and didn’t want to humiliate her, nevertheless, he could not imagine living a hard life with a wife who was either crazy, or making up unbelievable stories to cover up her sins. He had to leave her.

Gabriel's Visit to Joseph. But God was not prepared to Leave Mary in a jam, and Jesus needed to grow up with a good male role model in his life. So, that night;

20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:20-21)

Joseph, being a righteous man, obeyed the angel, and thus Mary was saved by the bell. Who was that angel who visited Joseph? His name is not given, but read the words: “behold the angel of the Lord appeared unto him…” The fact that it says “the” angel of the Lord suggests that it is a self-evident angel or one recently spoken of. In either case it could be no other than Gabriel, who was the angel who visited Mary to tell her that she would give birth to the Son of God. In their personal relationship with the one and the same angel, they had something that they must have spoken of many times during their life.

Blessed Among Women.  Mary needed to be blessed among women. When she was expecting, knowing that the child was going to be the Messiah, she must have started to inquire about the prophecies about the Christ (which is Greek for Messiah, meaning ‘the Anointed One’). She probably asked rabbis, Joseph, of course, temple servants, members of the high council etc. She just must find out everything that was expected of her son, and indirectly, of her. But she was a woman, and as a woman she did not have access to the torah as easily as the men did. Books did not exist, so the place to learn was in the synagogues, and she was to sit way back, with the other women.

Considering the enormity of her mission, she must have prayed intensely for inspiration. Never before, or after, in the history of the world, had a woman been given the responsibility to raise a son of the Most High God unto perfection.