A Tale of Two Canticles

There are two canticles from the Gospel of Luke that have been immortalized in Sacred Scripture for centuries. The Canticle of Zechariah and the Canticle of Mary were incorporated into the Liturgy of the Hours by the third century and have been recited or sung daily in Morning and Evening Prayer respectively.
 
The words to Luke’s Gospel, as well as the whole of scripture, were transmitted orally for decades before finding their way into written form. Some words were put to music to help facilitate memorization and retention. Zechariah spoke the following beautiful words, later to become the Benedictus, at the birth of his son who would come to be known as John the Baptist:
 
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father
Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
 
It is easy to picture, through prophetic imagination, Zechariah “composing” this beautiful song during the months he was struck dumb during Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Upon the birth of his child, his speech was restored, and he was able to glorify God with praise and thanksgiving.
 
Mary’s canticle, on the other hand, came more readily as the result of her “yes” to God’s plan. Her complete assent to the Angel Gabriel’s message allowed her canticle to flow in humility and grace. After hastening to visit her cousin Elizabeth, Mary, too, spoke beautiful words that would later be become The Magnificat:
 
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him 
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
 
We can use these two beautiful canticles as templates for our journey in Faith every morning and evening as we praise God in prayer and song.