The Benedictus
Read through the text of the Benedictus:
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel!
He has visited his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up for us a mighty saviour
in the house of his servant David,
as he promised by the lips of holy men,
those who were his prophets from of old.
A saviour who would free us from our foes,
from the hands of all who hate us.
So his love for our fathers is fulfilled
and his holy covenant remembered.
He swore to Abraham our father
to grant us that freed from fear
and saved from the hands of our foes,
we might serve him in holiness and justice
all the days of our life in his presence.
As for you, little child, you shall be
called a prophet of God, the Most High.
You shall go ahead of the Lord
to prepare his ways before him.