Thursday, December 24, 2026 — Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent
The Benedictus
Luke 1:67-79
Readings of the day: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29; Luke 1:67-79.
The Gospel
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah prophesies over his newborn son. He blesses the God of Israel, who has come to his people and set them free, raising up a horn of salvation in the house of David, as he promised through the prophets: salvation from our enemies, mercy to our fathers, and the keeping of the covenant and the oath sworn to Abraham, so that we, delivered from fear, might serve him in holiness and righteousness all our days. Then he turns to the child: John will be the prophet of the Most High, going before the Lord to prepare his way and to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine on those in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Reflection
Zechariah’s song is the last song of the old covenant and the first of the new. “Let no one then distrust Him, let no one from consciousness of past sins despair of the Divine blessing,” says St. Ambrose: the man who was long silent now prophesies. God visits a people “pining away as it were from long sickness,” says St. Bede, “and by the blood of His only begotten Son, redeemed them who were sold under sin.” And the dawn is not far off: tonight, in Bethlehem, the light rises. The way of peace is the way of righteousness, says Theophylact, and it begins when we let the dawn find us where we sit in darkness.
From the Fathers
“God in His mercy and readiness to pardon our sins, not only restores to us what He has taken away, but grants us favours even beyond our expectations. Let no one then distrust Him, let no one from consciousness of past sins despair of the Divine blessing.”
— St. Ambrose, Exposition on Luke, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 1:67–68
“But the Lord visited His people who were pining away as it were from long sickness, and by the blood of His only begotten Son, redeemed them who were sold under sin.”
— St. Bede the Venerable, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 1:67–68
Saint of the day
Saint Delphinus of Bordeaux, bishop of Bordeaux from about 380 until his death on Christmas Eve in 403. A defender of the true faith against the Priscillianist heresy, he attended the Council of Saragossa in 380 and was a friend of St. Ambrose of Milan. He baptized St. Paulinus of Nola and guided him toward a life of holiness. The Roman Martyrology commemorates him on this day.
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Sources: the day’s readings follow the daily lectionary (USCCB, Lectionary 200). Note: this post follows the morning Mass of December 24. The Vigil Mass of Christmas, celebrated this evening, has its own readings (Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 89; Acts 13:16-17, 22-25; Matthew 1:1-25). The Gospel text is not reproduced here; read it at the link above. Patristic quotes: Catena Aurea on Luke 1:67–79, compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by John Henry Newman (1841, public domain).