32 — GLORY TO GOD

December 28

Presence of God. — I join the choir of angels who sing the glories of the Lord over the hut of Bethlehem.

Meditation

1 — The Word became incarnate for our salvation, for our happiness. And yet the primary end of the Incarnation, as of all God’s works, is His glory; He, the one and absolute Good, cannot will anything except for His own glory. Sending His Only-Begotten to save men and women, He willed to glorify His infinite goodness, to glorify Himself in our salvation accomplished by means of the supreme act of His infinite merciful love. The work of creation glorifies God in His wisdom and omnipotence, the work of the Incarnation glorifies Him in His charity. And, as God could not manifest greater mercy and greater charity than by giving His Son for the salvation of men and women, so no work can glorify Him more than the Incarnation of the Word. And behold, at the Redeemer’s birth the angels sing: “Glory to God in the highest heavens.” The Church takes up this song and amplifies it in that “Gloria” that returns in every festive Mass: “We praise You, we bless You, we glorify You, we thank You for Your infinite glory.” Never, as in the Christmas feasts, does one feel the need to repeat this song much more with the heart than with the lips. The soul feels more than ever driven to praise its God, so immense, so great, so beautiful, but also so good, so merciful, so full of charity. Song is not enough: the soul would like to transform itself into an unceasing “praise of His glory.”

2 — We were predestined in Christ “that we might be for the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1, 11 and 12). Every Christian is in himself an argument of Christ’s glory: his elevation to the supernatural state, his sanctification, his eternal happiness, all having as supreme end the glory of Him who redeemed him. The Christian, and all the more the consecrated soul, must conduct himself in such a way that all his works and all his life are a praise of glory to the Trinity, to Christ our Lord. In these days the Church presents to us the “first fruits” of these “true Christians,” who by works and even by death have sung the glories of the Redeemer: we see them following the Child-God as angels of the earth who unite their song to the angels of Heaven. St. Stephen, the protomartyr, teaches us that the faithful and loving soul must be disposed to give everything, even itself, even life, for the glory of its God. St. John the Evangelist, “the blessed Apostle to whom heavenly secrets were revealed,” and who more than any other penetrated the mystery of God-Charity, tells us that love of neighbor “is the Lord’s precept and, if it is observed, this alone is enough” (BR.) to give glory to Him who is infinite love.

The Holy Innocents, “first tender buds of the Church,” show that the voice of innocence is a hymn of glory to God, so similar to that of the angels: “From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You drew forth Your praise, O God!” But this hymn becomes much stronger and more eloquent when it is united to the sacrifice of blood: “The Innocent martyrs celebrated God’s glory not with words, but with death” (BR.). May our life too be a hymn of praise to God “not with words, but with works.”

Colloquy

“May my voice sound aloud: with attentive mind may I contemplate You, my God, and with words celebrate Your praises, for it is fitting that the creature praise its Creator, since You created and redeemed us that we might praise You, You who need no praises. You are incomprehensible might that has need of no one, but is sufficient to Yourself. Great are You, O Lord my God, great is Your power and innumerable are the works of Your wisdom. Great are You, O Lord God of mine, and worthy of all praise. You then my mind loves, You my tongue sings, of You my hand writes, and in these holy exercises my whole soul is employed. With this sweetest food satisfy me assiduously, so that I may sing with loud voice, sing from the inmost heart and with all my strength, sing in sweet harmony and with most ardent spirit, sing and praise You, my God!

“Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not ever forget His infinite benefits! Let us praise that God whom the angels praise, whom the Dominions adore and bow before, and whom the Powers fear, to whose honor the Cherubim and Seraphim continually sing: Holy, Holy, Holy! Let us unite our voices with the voices of the angels, of the saints, and, insofar as we can, let us praise the Lord” (St. Augustine).

Yes, my God, my Redeemer and Savior, I want to praise You forever and, while awaiting to come sing Your glory with the angels and saints of Heaven, I want to begin to sing it here below not only with my tongue, but with works, with my whole life. “To be a praise of Your glory I must love You with pure and disinterested love, without seeking myself in the sweetness of Your love; I must love You above all Your gifts, and even if I had received none. Now, how can I truly desire and will good for You, if not by fulfilling Your will, since this will orders all things to Your greater glory? I must therefore abandon myself fully, utterly to it, until I can no longer will anything but what You will” (E.T. I, 10). And when Your will, Your law asks me to sacrifice myself for love of You, for Your glory, grant that I may never draw back, but always be ready to give myself totally, up to the supreme sacrifice.