Luke 1: 67-79
Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Tender Mercy
At the end of the hard journey from Nazareth, I hope that Mary and Joseph found some comfort in the stable in Bethlehem. A few quiet hours to rest together on clean straw in relative shelter and warmth before Mary’s labor began.
Mary surely had heard the news that Elizabeth had a son. She probably also heard of Zechariah’s exultant prayer when he regained his speech after naming his baby John. In their quiet time in the stable, did Mary and Joseph more deeply sense their intimate roles in the divine hope Zechariah had prophesied?
Because of the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us…
May the dawn from on high break upon all of us.
—Allain Andry is a spiritual director and OCIA leader at St. Peter Catholic Church in Charlotte, NC, the Jesuit parish in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Prayer
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
‘Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.
—Traditional hymn
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Pray with the monthly prayer intentions of the pope.