This Advent we will be entering into the waiting by praying/singing/reading/dwelling the Canticles of Luke. A canticle is a biblical song that is not a Psalm. There are numerous canticles throughout the Bible like the Canticle of: Miriam, Ezekiel, or David etc.

Canticles began to be used in the East, and may have been a Jewish custom, but were regularly used in the West by the 4th century. In some of the earliest Bibles they were inserted right after the Psalms. According to the Roman Rite there are three Canticles used in the daily office. 16 centuries later they are still in daily use.

As you read through these canticles, they are kind of like songs and each has a refrain. The refrains are like choruses and they can be read or sung, many different tunes and melodies. When you see an R in the canticle, that is code to go back and sing or speak the refrain. As well the asterisk is a notation where you would sing the second part of the tune, or where a chanter would drop half a step as they chant.

We have these canticles here below and available on cards at church with the amazing original artwork on the back of the card. Four of our artists sat with the text and have created artwork that draws us deeper into these texts. The prayers will also be available in audio form on our podcast. As well, the prayers are always available on the  PCUSA Book of Common Worship Daily Prayer App, in the App Store for Apple users.

You can pray or read them in so many different ways, but the goals is to do it four times a day, every day of December. How and when can you imagine entering into this ancient text? How will you remember this new habit? I hope you can sit daily with these 4 texts and. above all, have fun with them. You never know who you might meet?