Daniel Canticle in 3/9 Morning Prayer

[LuckyJack]

When I read the Canticle for this past Sunday’s
(3/9/08) Morning Prayer, I was struck by the closing paragraph which begins “Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” This intrigued me, because I did not expect to find an apparent reference to the Trinity in the Old Testament.

So I checked the Bible (Catholic Truth Society, London, RSV)…but I can’t find this verse–or really anything very close to it–in Daniel 3:57-88,56. (The verse numbering in Daniel is unusual because of the 68 verses inserted between vv. 23 and 24.)

At any rate, I am curious about the LOTH canticle reference to the Trinity which I can’t seem to find in the Bible text.

Thanks to anyone who can shed light on this.

 

[ppeter]

There’s a simple explanation.
In the Liturgy of the Hours, every psalm and canticle ends with the “doxology” (Glory to the Father…). That’s the way it’s been done for a long time now. I don’t know if anyone knows how long. It’s kind of like the doxology of the Our Father (“for [thine is] the kingdom…”), which is so old you can find it in some manuscripts of the NT. Anyhow, for that particular OT canticle, the liturgy calls for a special doxology that fits more with the rhythm of the text.
As someone who prays the LotH very often, I can tell you that the doxology really helps to offer your praise to the Lord and to do it in a spirit of devotion and adoration. Sometimes people bow during the doxology as a way to involve the body in their worship.
As for the Trinity in the OT, there are only very mysterious oblique references, because Jesus Himself revealed this mystery to us. In the gospels He prays and speaks to the Father and promises to send us the Holy Spirit from the Father. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a lot to say on this subject.
I just looked it up in the Cath Encyc: it started in the NT itself, although the form we usually use today took several centuries to develop.

 

[LuckyJack]

Thanks very much. I didn’t pick up on the instruction that the “Glory to the Father” is not said after that Canticle…but that instruction makes perfect sense in light of your explanation.

 

[bpbasilphx]

In the Byzantine text of the Benedicite (to use the Latin incipit), there are a few invocations that are not in the Biblical text. “O apostles, prophets, and martyrs of the Lord, bless the Lord,” is one.

“Let us bless the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: the Lord. Now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen,” is how it would end.