Benedictus
The Canticle of Zachary
The Canticle of Zachary at the birth of Saint John the Baptist, sung each morning at Lauds.
Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel,
quia visitavit et fecit redemptionem plebis suae.
Et erexit cornu salutis nobis
in domo David pueri sui.
Sicut locutus est per os sanctorum,
qui a saeculo sunt, prophetarum eius:
Salutem ex inimicis nostris,
et de manu omnium qui oderunt nos.
Ad faciendam misericordiam cum patribus nostris,
et memorari testamenti sui sancti.
Iusiurandum, quod iuravit ad Abraham patrem nostrum,
daturum se nobis:
ut sine timore, de manu inimicorum nostrorum liberati,
serviamus illi
in sanctitate et iustitia coram ipso
omnibus diebus nostris.
Et tu, puer, propheta Altissimi vocaberis:
praeibis enim ante faciem Domini parare vias eius,
ad dandam scientiam salutis plebi eius
in remissionem peccatorum eorum,
per viscera misericordiae Dei nostri,
in quibus visitavit nos oriens ex alto,
illuminare his qui in tenebris et in umbra mortis sedent,
ad dirigendos pedes nostros in viam pacis.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
because He hath visited and wrought the redemption of His people:
and hath raised up an horn of salvation to us,
in the house of David His servant.
As He spoke by the mouth of His holy ones,
the prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers,
and to remember His holy testament.
The oath, which He swore to Abraham our father,
that He would grant to us,
that being delivered from the hand of our enemies, without fear
we may serve Him,
in holiness and justice before Him,
all our days.
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest:
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to His people,
unto the remission of their sins:
through the bowels of the mercy of our God,
in which the Orient from on high hath visited us:
to enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Translation source: www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Cantici/Benedictus.html
About this prayer
The Benedictus is the canticle of Zachary, the father of Saint John the Baptist, which burst from his lips when his tongue was loosed at the naming of his son (Saint Luke 1:68-79). Struck dumb for his unbelief when the angel foretold John's birth, the old priest kept silence through the months of waiting; at the child's circumcision, confessing the name the angel had given, his speech returned, and, filled with the Holy Ghost, he prophesied.
His song blesses the God of Israel for visiting and redeeming His people, raising up the horn of salvation in the house of David, and keeping the oath sworn to Abraham. Turning then to the infant John, he hails him as the prophet of the Highest, who shall go before the Lord to prepare His ways, while the Orient from on high dawns upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. The Church sings the Benedictus every morning at Lauds, as the Magnificat crowns the evening, that the daybreak may be met with praise of the rising Sun of justice.