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Pope John Paul II offered a meditation on the canticle of the three young men from the Book of Daniel during his general audience on Feb. 19. He characterized the hymn as a magnificent hymn in praise of God's transcendent glory.

“Even when they faced extreme danger as the flames licked their bodies, they found the strength to praise, glorify and bless God,” the Holy Father noted. “They were certain that the Lord of the universe and of history would not abandon them to death and nothingness.”

He said the canticle is “like a flame that lights up the darkness of a period of oppression and persecution, a period of time that has often been repeated in Israel's history and even in the history of Christianity itself.”

John Paul said the canticle evokes the holiness and power of God, who dwells among his people in his holy Temple in Jerusalem. He added that the canticle prefigures the coming of the Son of God, who made his dwelling among us.

“He fully revealed his love by sending his Son among us to share in every way, except for sin, our condition, which is characterized by trials, oppression, loneliness and death,” he noted. He said the canticle is a song of gratitude for God's merciful love, which guides all of history to its appointed end.

“Then these three in the furnace with one voice sang, glorifying and blessing God” (Daniel 3:51). This sentence serves as the introduction to a fundamental passage from the famous canticle that we just heard. It is found in a part of the Book of Daniel that came down to us only in Greek. It was sung by these courageous witnesses to the faith, who did not want to bow down and adore the king's statue but preferred to face a tragic death by martyrdom in a burning furnace.

It is the story of three young Jewish men, whom the sacred author places in the historical context of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the mighty Babylonian ruler who destroyed the holy city of Jerusalem in the year 586 B.C. and deported the Israelites “by the rivers of Babylon” (see Psalm 137). Even when they faced extreme danger as the flames licked their bodies, they found the strength to praise, glorify and bless God, and were certain that the Lord of the universe and of history would not abandon them to death and nothingness.

God fully revealed his love by sending his Son among us to share in every way — except for sin — our condition, which is characterized by trials, loneliness and death.

A Light in the Darkness

This biblical author, who was writing a few centuries later, cites this heroic event in order to encourage his contemporaries to hold high the banner of faith during the persecutions of the SyroHellenistic kings of the second century B.C. It is precisely at this period in history when the Maccabees fought courageously for the freedom of their faith and their Jewish traditions.

This canticle has traditionally been called the “canticle of the three young men.” It is like a flame that lights up the darkness of a period of oppression and persecution, a period of time that has often been repeated in Israel's history and even in the history of Christianity itself. Indeed, we know that persecutors do not always appear as violent and gruesome oppressors; often they delight in isolating the righteous through mockery and irony, asking them sarcastically, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:4, 11).

A Tapestry

All creatures play a role in the blessing that the three young men raise to the Almighty Lord from the crucible of their trial. They weave a sort of multicolored tapestry where the stars shine bright, where the seasons flow by, where animals move about, where the angels appear and, above all, where the “servants of the Lord” and the “holy men of humble heart” sing (see Daniel 3:85, 87).

The passage that was just proclaimed precedes this grandiose reference to all creatures. It belongs to the first part of the canticle, which refers instead to the glorious presence of the Lord, who is transcendent yet so near. Indeed, God is in heaven, he “who [looks] into the depths” (see Daniel 3:55), but he is also “in the Temple of [his] holy glory” of Zion (see Daniel 3:53). He is seated on “the throne of [his] Kingdom” (see Daniel 3:54), which is eternal and infinite, but he is also the one who looks “from [his] throne upon the cherubim” (see Daniel 3:55), in the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies of the Temple of Jerusalem.

The Fullness of His Love

He is a God that is over us, capable of saving us with his power; but he is also a God who is near to his people, in whose midst he wanted to dwell in his “glorious holy Temple,” thereby manifesting his love. It is a love that he fully revealed when his son, Jesus Christ, came and “made his dwelling among us … full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He fully revealed his love by sending his Son among us to share in every way — except for sin — our condition, which is characterized by trials, oppression, loneliness and death.

The praise of the three young men to God our savior continues in various ways in the Church. For example, St. Clement of Rome inserted a long prayer of praise and trust at the end of his Letter to the Corinthians that weaves together themes that are reminiscent of the Bible and that probably resound the ancient Roman liturgy. It is a prayer of gratitude to the Lord who, despite the apparent triumph of evil, guides history to a happy ending.

Here is a passage from it: “You enlightened the eyes of our heart (see Ephesians 1:18) / so we might know that you alone (see John 17:3) / are highest among the highest in the heavens / the Holy One who reposes among the holy / who puts an end to the pride of the arrogant (see Isaiah 13:11) / who frustrates the designs of peoples (see Psalm 33:10) / who exalts the lowly and humbles the haughty (see Job 5:11). / You are the one who makes poor and rich / who brings death and gives life (see Deuteronomy 32:39) / the sole benefactor of spirits and the God of all flesh / who looks into the depths (see Daniel 3:55) / who observes the works of men / who helps those who are in danger / and the savior of those without hope (see Judith 9:11) / the creator and guardian of every spirit / who multiplies the nations upon the earth / and from among all you have chosen those who love you / through Jesus Christ, your beloved son / through whom you have instructed, sanctified and honored us” (Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians, 59:3).

(Register translation)