#ScriptureReflection - Luke 1:66-80 (6.20.22)

⁶⁶  All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.

The Canticle of Zechariah.

⁶⁷  Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

⁶⁸  “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.
⁶⁹  He has raised up a horn for our salvation
    within the house of David his servant,
⁷⁰  even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:
⁷¹      salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
⁷²  to show mercy to our fathers
    and to be mindful of his holy covenant
⁷³  and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
    and to grant us that, ⁷⁴  rescued from the hand of enemies,
without fear we might worship him ⁷⁵  in holiness and righteousness
    before him all our days.
⁷⁶  And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷  to give his people knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸  because of the tender mercy of our God
    by which the daybreak from on high will visit us
⁷⁹  to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,
    to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

⁸⁰  The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Source: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition)