St. Gabriel was chosen by God to announce to mankind the mystery of the Incarnation. He had been sent to Daniel to tell him of the time of Christ’s coming, and to Zachary, when he was offering incense in the Temple, to foretell the birth of John the Baptist, Christ’s precursor. And it was he who was chosen to be the messenger of the Annunciation: “Alone among all the angels,” says St. Bernard, “Gabriel was found worthy to announce to Mary God’s plan for her and to receive her fiat.”