“And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.”
Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, 'What is it, Lord?' The angel answered, 'Your prayers and donations to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.'—Cornelius addresses the angel as 'Lord' (kyrie), showing religious respect. The angel's assurance that his prayers and alms have 'come up' (anebēsan, literally 'ascended') before God validates his piety and prepares him to receive gospel grace. The phrase 'memorial offering' (mnēmosyne, an anamnesis) echoes temple sacrificial language, Christianizing his righteous acts.
Church Fathers on Acts 10:4
And when he looked on him, he was afraid. Acts 10:4 Observe how what the angel speaks he does not speak immediately, but first rouses and elevates his mind. At the sight, there was fear, but a fear in moderation, just so far as served to fix his attention. Then also the words relieved him of his fear. The fear roused him: the praise mitigated what was unpleasant in the fear.
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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