Register Summary

Pope John Paul II met with 12,000 pilgrims in St. Peter's Square for his general audience Oct. 1 amid media reports about his failing health. Although he appeared fatigued and spoke haltingly at times, he was encouraged by the spontaneous applause of the pilgrims.

The Holy Father concluded his series of teachings on the psalms and canticles from the Liturgy of the Hours by reflecting on the Canticle of Zechariah from the Gospel of Luke. The canticle, commonly known as the Benedictus, is recited each day during morning prayer.

John Paul noted that the canticle is a prophetic canticle. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, extols three events that portray God's deliverance of Israel: the covenant with Abraham, the covenant with David and the New Covenant in Christ.

“With Christ, therefore, the light appears that enlightens every creature and life flourishes,” the Holy Father pointed out. “We move on, therefore, having that light as a reference point; our uncertain footsteps, which often deviate during the day from paths that are dark and slippery, are sustained by the light of truth that Christ sheds on the world and on its unfolding history.”

The Holy Father concluded with a text from Venerable Bede, a doctor of the Church, who emphasized that Christ shows us “the sure way to our heavenly homeland” and encouraged Christians to ask for Christ's help “so that he will preserve in us the light of knowledge that he has given us and lead us to the day of perfection.”

As we end our journey through the psalms and canticles of morning prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, we wish to reflect on a prayer that is recited every morning during the time of prayer and praise. It is the Benedictus, the canticle that Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, prayed after the birth of his son changed his life by removing the doubt that had left him unable to talk — a rather significant punishment for his lack of faith and praise.

Now, instead, Zechariah is able to celebrate the God who saves, and he does so with this hymn, to which the evangelist Luke refers in a way that certainly reflects its liturgical use within the early Christian community (see Luke 1:68-79).

A Prophetic Canticle

Luke describes it as a prophetic song that is inspired through the work of the Holy Spirit (see Luke 1:67). We have here a blessing that proclaims the work of salvation and deliverance that the Lord offers to his people. It is, therefore, a “prophetic” reading of history — the discovery, to be precise, of the deep and intimate meaning of all of man's experiences, which are guided by the hidden yet active hand of the Lord that is intertwined with man's weak and uncertain hand.

This text is a solemn text and, in the original Greek, is made up of only two sentences (see verses 68-75; 76-79). After the introduction that is characterized by a blessing of praise, we can identify within the body of the canticle what amounts to three stanzas that exalt three themes that left a mark on the entire history of salvation: the covenant with David (see verses 68-71), the covenant with Abraham (see verses 72-75) and John the Baptist, who introduces us to the New Covenant in Christ (see verses 76-79). The stress throughout the prayer is on the goal to which David and Abraham point by virtue of their presence.

Christ Our Light

The culminating point is summarized in a phrase that seems somewhat conclusive: “the daybreak from on high will visit us” (verse 78). This expression, which at first glance seems paradoxical by uniting the words “on high” with the word “daybreak” is, in fact, significant.

Actually, in the original Greek, the word for “rising sun” is anatolè, a word that means either the light from the sun that shines on our planet or a budding shoot. Both images have a messianic value in biblical tradition.

On one hand, when speaking about the Emmanuel, Isaiah reminds us: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone” (Isaiah 9:1). On the other hand, when referring elsewhere to Emmanuel the king, he describes him as “a shoot … from the stump of Jesse” (that is, from the house of David), the offspring upon whom the Spirit of God rests (see Isaiah 11:1-2).

With Christ, therefore, the light appears that enlightens every creature (see John 1:9) and life flourishes, as the evangelist John says, when in fact he joins together these two realities: “through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race” (John 1:4).

This radiance of revelation (see Luke 1:79) shines upon mankind, which dwells “in darkness and in the shadow of death.” As the prophet Malachi proclaimed, “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays” (Malachi 3:20). This sun will “guide our feet into the path of peace” (Luke 1:79).

We move on, therefore, having that light as a reference point; our uncertain footsteps, which often deviate during the day from paths that are dark and slippery, are sustained by the light of truth that Christ sheds on the world and on its unfolding history.

Seek God's Help

At this point, we would like to listen to some words from a teacher in the Church — one of the doctors of the Church — the Englishman Bede the Venerable (seventh and eighth centuries), who in his Homily on the Birth of St. John the Baptist made the following comment on the Canticle of Zechariah: “The Lord … has visited us like a doctor visits his patients, because, in order to cure the inveterate sickness of our pride, he has offered us the new example of his humility; he has redeemed his people, because he has delivered us — we who had become servants of sin and slaves of the age-old enemy — with the price of his blood … Christ found us as we were lying 'in darkness and the shadow of death,' oppressed by the long blindness of sin and ignorance … He has brought us the true light of his knowledge and, banishing the darkness of error, he has shown us the sure way to our heavenly homeland. He has directed the steps of our works so that we will walk in the way of truth, which he has shown us, and enter the home of eternal peace, which he has promised us.”

Finally, drawing upon other biblical texts, Venerable Bede concludes with the following words in order to give thanks for the gifts he has received: “Since we possess these gifts of eternal goodness, dear brothers … let us also bless the Lord at all times (see Psalm 34:2), because 'he has visited and redeemed his people.' May his praise be always on our lips and may we preserve his memory and proclaim the virtue of the one who has 'called us out of darkness into his wonderful light' (1 Peter 2:9). Let us ask him constantly for his help, so that he will preserve in us the light of knowledge that he has given us and lead us to the day of perfection” (Omelie sul Vangelo, Rome, 1990, p. 464-465).

(Register translation)