(c) _The Glory be to the Father_
"Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honor, and
power: because thou hast created all things."--Apoc. iv, II.
Dear Brethren, we know that the "Glory be to the Father" occurs very
frequently in the prayers of the Church and in our private devotions.
In the Rosary it is repeated with every decade. This prayer of praise
is of great significance for the Christian life. In order to understand
its meaning better we must join in spirit the choirs of the blessed
before the throne of God. Isaias, the great prophet of the Old
Testament, to whom was vouchsafed a profound insight into the mysteries
of God, had a vision of heaven, and he says, "I saw the Lord sitting
upon a throne high and elevated, and his train filled the temple; upon
it stood the seraphims: . . . and they cried one to another, and said:
Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts; all the earth is full of his
glory" (Is. vi, I). So also did John, the beloved disciple of Jesus,
have the grace to see heaven, and he saw the angels of heaven, and with
them the whole army of the saints and all the nations, tribes and
peoples, standing before the throne in sight of the Lamb, and with a
loud voice they praised God, who sat upon the throne, and the Lamb, who
is the Lamb of God (Apoc. vii, 11).
Thus God has made known to us, through both these prophets, in what the
unceasing occupation of the blessed in heaven consists. They behold the
magnificent beauty of God and praise Him on account of His majesty,
power and love, and this occupation of the dwellers in heaven should
also be the task of the dwellers upon earth. It is indeed the duty of
mankind, and an indispensable obligation. King David acknowledged this
when he said: "I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be
always in my mouth" (Ps. xxxiii).
Therefore, our whole life and endeavor should be one uninterrupted
"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost."
We will make this obligation the subject of our consideration.
I. The happy inhabitants of heaven as they behold God in His
indescribable splendor extol Him with hymns of praise. To know God and
to serve Him, to glorify Him, this is the supreme end of man, not only
when he is admitted to heaven, but even here on earth. God himself
tells us this through the Prophet Isaias. "In order," thus He speaks,
"that man should glorify me, therefore have I created him and brought
him forth from nothing."
We mortals as yet can not behold God as the blessed do in heaven; but
we do behold Him in His works, and know Him from His revelation given
us through the prophets, and through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The works through which God has revealed Himself to us are creation,
redemption and sanctification. Creation is a vast book which speaks to
us unceasingly of God, and it is intelligible to all. If we contemplate
the magnificence of the starlit sky we must exclaim with David: "The
heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the
work of his hands" (Ps. xvlii). Yet not only the heavens, but also the
earth shows us, at every step, the omnipotence of God, His wisdom and
love. Mountain and valley, forest and field, river and ocean, they all
remind us of God, their creator. Every flower of field and meadow is a
great masterpiece, which no mortal man could create.
The animal world presents still greater marvels for our consideration.
The waters teeming with millions of animals of all kinds, from the
smallest jellyfish to the ship-destroying monsters, the beasts of the
forest, the birds of the air, they all are called into existence by
God, and God has not merely called all these creatures into existence,
but His providence preserves them, and not even a sparrow falls from
the roof without His knowledge.
But we have not yet considered the masterpiece of creation: man, the
creature with an immortal soul, created according to God's own image
and likeness. In man body and soul are joined together in a wonderful
unity, so that man presents in himself a combination of the spiritual
and material.
Man is the masterpiece of creation, and all creation is for his
service. "Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast
crowned him with glory and honor; thou hast set him over the work of
thy hands" (Ps. viii, 6).
In very truth we may say, therefore, the universe speaks to our mind
and heart in powerful and impressive language. This language is its
beauty, its appropriateness, its greatness.
But yet more plainly than creation does the redemption proclaim the
glory of God. It is "not the immensity of the heavenly bodies," says
St. Gregory, "not the brilliancy of the stars, not the adornment of the
universe, not the preservation of the world, that point so much to the
glory of the divine power and omnipotence, as does that divine
condescension to the feebleness of nature."
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, descended from heaven and brought into
the world a truer and fuller knowledge of God. The ancient people knew
there was a God, but they knew Him not. The knowledge of the true God
was drowned in paganism. Even among the Jews small had become the
number of those who still possessed an undefiled knowledge of God. In
the Old Testament there was only an intimation of the blessed Trinity,
not a clear knowledge. Then Jesus Christ brought to us the knowledge of
the Triune God. In Him the divine attributes of love, sanctity,
justice, wisdom, omnipotence and mercy were presented to our minds so
that we can comprehend them. He made known to us the merciful decrees
which God had ordained for our temporal and eternal welfare. Through
His bitter passion and death He reconciled us to the Father, and
acquired for us the heirship of heaven. He founded the Church, the
kingdom of God upon earth, and He rules it through the Holy Ghost, who
proceeds from Him and the Father.
Through this Church are applied the glorious fruits of the redemption.
Through this Church God would sanctify all mankind and lead them to
eternal salvation. The Church and the communion of the saints reveal to
us God's glory and love far more than all the wonders of the world. A
single saint is a greater miracle of the divine grace than the whole
universe. The redemption made of earth a preparatory school for heaven,
and it behooves us, as St. Augustine says, in this life to give praise
to God, because in heaven our work will be an eternal proclamation of
the divine praises. Our whole earthly life, as a befitting preparation
for heaven, should be an imitation of the life of the blessed in
heaven. It ought to be a perpetual praise of God, until after a happy
death we are admitted to the ranks of the celestial choirs.
II. Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, who has brought to us the
true knowledge of God, taught us also the true worship of God. After He
had accomplished the work of the redemption and had founded the Church,
He returned to heaven. Before this, however, He provided that He should
also remain here upon earth. He instituted the most Holy Eucharist, the
holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and thus remains in His Church until the
end of time. Jesus, the Head of the Church, offers Himself to the
Father unceasingly in the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Thus the
glorification of God takes place here upon earth as unceasingly as it
does in heaven. The praise of God takes place here on earth,
furthermore, through the' ecclesiastical hourly prayer, in which all
the priests and religious of the Church unite throughout the world. The
Church dedicates the Sunday exclusively to the praise and service of
God. This day is to remind us of the creation accomplished by the
Father, of the redemption accomplished by the Son, and of the
sanctification accomplished by the Holy Ghost. On this day especially
are the members of the Church invited to contemplate these great works
of God, and praise and thank Him for the same.
The entire year has been divided by the Church into three great
festival cycles, Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, and thus is
consecrated to the Triune God.
We are exhorted to receive the holy Sacraments, and thus participate in
the fruits of the redemption, sanctifying ourselves by a Christian
life. A truly Christian life is the best and highest worship of God
here below, as it makes us worthy to be associated with the heavenly
choirs, there to continue eternally our praises in the blissful vision
of God.
We see then how the Church admonishes us to make our whole lives and
all our works an unending "Glory be to God." In order that this may be
accomplished we must above all things be faithful children and living
members of the Church, brethren of Jesus Christ.
We must diligently and devoutly obey the Commandments, and receive the
Sacraments. The light of faith should lead us and hope should draw us
heavenward, the love of God and of our neighbors must fill our hearts.
He who possesses these virtues is indeed in possession of all other
virtues. Love is the bond of perfection, for who so loves God and his
neighbor has fulfilled the law. We should make a good intention the
first thing in the morning, and renew it frequently throughout the day.
This certainly is not difficult. St. Paul exhorts us urgently to make
this good intention in the words: "Therefore, whether you eat or drink,
or whatsoever else you do; do all things for the glory of God" (I Cor.
x, 31)
To make this good intention, the "Glory be to the Father" is especially
appropriate. If we utter the same frequently and devoutly we shall
makes our lives a continual praising and glorifying of God, a perpetual
prayer. Glory be to the Father, who has created us; to the Son, who has
redeemed us; and to the Holy Ghost, who sanctifies us. Glory be to the
Holy Trinity through all our thoughts, words and works, as glory was to
God in the beginning, when He created heaven and earth, as now, and so
too through all eternity in heaven. Yes, we will glorify God here below
with the militant Church, so that we may be worthy to behold Him one
day with the triumphant Church, and to praise Him in blissful rapture
for all eternity! Amen.