“In the first place, she is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin–something exceedingly great. For God’s grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil.

“In the second place, God is with her, meaning that all she did or left undone is divine and the action of God in her. Moreover, God guarded and protected her from all that might be hurtful to her.

“In the third place, she is blessed above all other women, not only because she gave birth without labor, pain, and injury to herself, not as Eve and all other women, but because by the Holy Spirit and without sin, she became fertile, conceived, and gave birth in a way granted to no other woman.”

Luther, Martin. “Personal Prayer Book” (1522) Luther’s Works Vol. 43. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1968), page 40.