“I glorified you on earth”

Giving glory to God is the theme of the readings this Sunday. The glory between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and then glorification between God and His people is the primary focus.
 
What is glory? Glory is “the recognition and praise of someone’s excellence. Applied to God, the divine (internal) glory is the infinite goodness that the persons of the Trinity constantly behold and mutually praise. His external glory is first of all the share that creatures have in God’s goodness.” [1] The three persons of the Blessed Trinity are all good and the exchange between the three persons always has and always will generate goodness. Glory is praising this eternal goodness and sharing in this eternal goodness. To say “Glory” to at once both praise and share in the goodness of the Blessed Trinity. “God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange.” [2] We are called to share in the eternal exchange of the Blessed Trinity, to share in their glory. Our response to this invitation and call can only be to give Glory to God. For this reason the Church chants in the liturgy, “Glory to God in the highest…” For this reason the Church begins and ends every prayer honoring the Blessed Trinity with the Sign of the Cross. In the Liturgy of the Hours, “a typically Christian characteristic [from the Jewish roots] was the addition at the end of each Psalm and Canticle of the Trinitarian doxology, ‘Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.’ Thus every Psalm and Canticle is illumined by God’s fullness.” [3]
 
Search: Holy Trinity: The Secret is Out
 
How does Jesus glorify the Father? Jesus shows glory to the father by showing humility. Jesus asks His Father to glorify Him because all power comes from the Father. In turn Jesus has glorified His Father on earth and accomplished all that His Father willed from the beginning of time. “In his humility Christ entered the dark regions of our fallen world and he is glad that he became so humble for our sake, glad that he came and lived among us and shared in our nature in order to raise us up again to himself. And even though we are told that he has now ascended above the highest heavens—the proof, surely, of his power and godhead—his love for man will never rest until he has raised our earthbound nature from glory to glory, and made it one with his own in heaven.” [4]
 
What is the glory of Jesus? The glorification of Jesus has three components: [5]

1. Jesus promotes the glory of the Father out of obedience to Him, thus bringing God’s saving work to completion.
2. Jesus is glorified Himself because He is fully God. This is hidden from all of mankind until after the Resurrection when all authority and judgment over all creation is given to Him.
3. Finally, because of the glorification of Christ, man is given the opportunity to attain salvation through Jesus Christ. Through the glory of Jesus we see the revelation of the Trinity and the plan of salvation.

 
Who gives glory to God? Everyone and everything! The angels glorify God without ceasing. They sang, “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” [6] The saints in heaven give God glory for all eternity. We here on earth give glory, praise, and adoration to God in our faith and worship at Mass. The Canticle found on Sunday Morning Week I (Daniel 3:57-88) express the fact that all creatures praise the Lord.

What event brought the glorification of Jesus? Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Why? Because “From the greatest moral evil ever committed – the rejection and murder of God’s only Son, caused by the sins of all men – God, by his grace…brought the greatest of goods: the glorification of Christ and our redemption. But for all that, evil never becomes a good” [7] We celebrate the seventh Sunday of Easter, the last Sunday of Easter. Easter may feel like a distant memory by now. We should never forget to glorify Jesus who is the center of our worship every Sunday.
 
How does the Church glorify God? The Church herself is the universal sacrament. The purpose of sacraments is to sanctify men, build up the body of Christ, and give worship to God. This three-fold mission is accomplished by and through the Church. “All the activities of the Church are directed, as toward their end, to the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God.” [8] The full means for salvation our found within the Church and it is within the Church we acquire holiness. The Church glorifies God in her prayers, hymns of praise to God, and most importantly the celebration of the liturgy.
 
How else can we glorify God? There are two types of glory that we show, objective and formal. Just by an objects existence, it directly gives glory to God because we are a reflection of God. This is objective glory. “Sometimes called objective glory, it is given to God by all creatures without exception, by their mere existence, insofar as they mirror the divine perfections.” [9] “Formal glory is rendered to God by his rational creatures, when they acknowledge the divine goodness and praise God for who he is and what he has communicated of himself to the world.” [10]
 
We give glory to God when we unite our talents with God. We can also show glory to God by recognizing His supreme beauty in His creation. Saint John Damascene wrote, “The beauty of the images moves me to contemplation, as a meadow delights the eyes and subtly infuses the soul with the glory of God.” [11]
 
How does sacred art and sacred hymns give glory to God? Art can have a huge impact on a person’s soul. Art connects people because it is human form of expression that searches to answer the questions of life or to bring out the beauty of life. Sacred art is “true and beautiful when its form corresponds to its particular vocation: evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the transcendent mystery of God…Genuine sacred art draws man to adoration, to prayer, and to the love of God, Creator and Savior, the Holy One and Sanctifier.” [12] Sacred art should show the beauty of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the angels, our mother Mary, and/or the saints. Many people ask why does the Church have so much art, statues, and “pretty things”? Why not sell them? First, artists and sculptures gave the vast majority of their art to the Church as gifts. It would be very rude to receive a gift and then turn right around and sell it on eBay. Secondly, the artwork, statues, stain glass windows, tapestries, etc. are forms of sacred art. Their purpose is not meant to be hung in common homes, but to be placed in Churches to evoke a stirring within a soul. The Church promotes the need for sacred art. “For this reason bishops, personally or through delegates, should see to the promotion of sacred art, old and new, in all its forms and, with the same religious care, remove from the liturgy and from places of worship everything which is not in conformity with the truth of faith, and the authentic beauty of sacred art.” [13]
 
Discussion Question:
Discuss a time when you saw God’s beauty in nature or art.

A common complaint against Catholics is that we have too many “pretty things”. Yet would we ask the President of the United States to sell off the things that were made and given for the White House? Of course not; we understand that those things are not personally the presidents, but was given for the country for safe keeping to remind us of our history and to give the building beauty. So too with the Catholic Church; the Pope doesn’t “own” everything in the Vatican, but is meant for all Catholics.
 
Likewise, sacred chants and hymns are specifically arranged to show God glory. Sacred Hymns and chants lift our minds and souls heavenward and are written for the beauty of the Mass. This is why Gregorian chant is the treasure of the Church of inestimable value. [14] This is not to say secular music (rock, pop, hip/hop, rap, praise & worship) are bad, but they are not specifically written to glorify God in the Mass. Secular music is designed to invoke thoughts and emotions, but those thoughts and emotions are personal, individualistic, and secluded to only to turn inward on ones self. Chant and sacred music is designed to focus beyond one’s self; it is written to think and give glory to God.

Search: Sacred Music Series - Saint Cecilia

The video is of the Mass that shows part of the beauty of the altar, the church, and the music. The music of “Gloria” means Glory to God. When we sing at mass we give glory to God by our voice.
 
Discussion Questions:
What genre of music do you like to listen to? Why?
How would you feel if you went to a concert of your favorite band and it turned out to be the complete opposite of the music you were expecting?

What makes the video humorous? The music doesn’t fit the audience. The instruments fit the time period and audience but the piece of music does not. The music is the same music whether it is with an electric guitar with a crowded mosh pit or two cellos with dressed up theater crowd. We could argue however that the audience, venue, and event do dictate the genre of music and even the style or instrumentation. For example someone would not go to a country music concert and expect dubstep music. Using this same reasoning, one would not go to a heavy metal concert and expect the Kyrie and Agnus Dei to be chanted. In the Liturgy, the music is not meant to be a performance or concert as in the video. It is meant to bring us closer to God, and ultimately to give glory to God and sanctify the soul.
 
Why should we give glory to God? The short answer is that He is God and is due glory. The more we turn towards God, the more he bestows His blessings on us. “This is also the meaning of that classic phrase, ‘for the greater glory of God.’ Behind the comparative degree stands the mystery of our freedom to give more or less glory to the Creator He is more glorified, other things being equal, the more people acknowledge his goodness and put their acknowledgment into loving service. He is likewise more glorified the more intensely we strive to know him and the more selflessly we do his will. And always God responds in kind.” [15]

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[1] Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 232
[2] CCC 221
[3] Saint John Paul II; Wednesday Audience, 4 April 2001
[4] Office of Readings - Palm Sunday
[5] cf. Navarre Bible pg. 202
[6] Lk. 2:14
[7] CCC 312
[8] CCC 824
[9] Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 232
[10] ibid.
[11] St. John Damascene, De imag. 1, 27: PG 94, 1268A, B.
[12] CCC 2502
[13] CCC 2503
[14] Cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium 112.
[15] Hardon, Catholic Catechism pg. 83