XXVII — THE GLORY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

Presence of God. — O Most Holy Trinity, who created me for your glory, grant that I may give You all the glory of which I am capable.

Meditation

1 — The Most Holy Trinity is the root and center of all the other mysteries of our holy faith: root from which all unfold and depend, center around which all gravitate. The immense work of creation and the loving work of redemption, all is gift of the Most Holy Trinity, all is free and gratuitous outpouring of Its goodness, of Its infinite love; and on the other hand, all is ordered to the glory of the august Triad. And we - says St. Paul - have been predestined in Christ... according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, “so that we may be for the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:11-12). Infinitely more than creation, the work of redemption, which has poured upon us the greatest divine benefits, is, as the Apostle still says, “a glorious manifestation of [his] grace” (ibid., 6), that is, of God’s infinite goodness. If inanimate creatures, if the heavens and the earth “declare the glory of God” (Ps. 18), because they bear witness to his infinite power, wisdom, and beauty, works concerning our elevation to the supernatural state sing the glory of the Most Holy Trinity precisely because they are the most “glorious manifestation” of Its goodness. Goodness so great that it moved God, not out of any necessity, but solely out of love, to communicate to us, his little creatures, something of his supreme good, of his divine nature, of his eternal happiness; that moved Him to reveal to us the mystery of his Trinitarian life and to associate us with it. And all this not because of any merit on our part, not because He had need of us - He, already infinitely blessed, happy, and glorious in Himself - but solely out of his goodness. Who, then, more than man, who has been clothed by God not only with natural beauties but also with supernatural beauties that render him similar to Him, that associate him with his divine life, should “be for the praise of his glory”?

2 — By the mere fact that God’s works are a demonstration of his omnipotence, wisdom, and infinite goodness, all redound to his glory, just as a work of art always redounds to the glory of the artist who made it, precisely because it expresses the power of his genius. However, whereas man can order his works to the glory of another being superior to him, this cannot occur in God, who is supreme Being, supreme Good, and therefore must necessarily work for his glory. Nevertheless, God, infinitely good, wills to glorify Himself by procuring the good and happiness of his creatures. In fact, He is not content to glorify Himself in beautiful and grand works that are incapable, because inanimate, of enjoying their beauty, but He wills above all to glorify Himself in creatures that - like angels and men - He has made capable of enjoying his gifts and that, indeed, He has destined to share in his eternal happiness. We thus understand once more how great is God’s goodness, who has willed to find his greatest glory precisely in what turns to the greatest advantage and honor of his creatures. No work, for example, glorifies the Most Holy Trinity more than the Incarnation of the Word, and no work turns, more than this one, to our utility and honor.

God, in his infinite goodness, has willed that his glory coincide with our good, with our happiness; and we must ensure that our good and our happiness coincide with God’s glory, that is, we must seek our good and happiness in those works that most glorify the Lord and give glory to his Name. All the wondrous gifts that the Trinity has poured out upon us must redound to Its glory, must bear fruit for Its glory. And while the heavens sing God’s glory without willing it, we must sing it because we will it, because we understand that it is just and fitting that all our life and all our works be a hymn of glory to the Most Holy Trinity, who, infinitely blessed and glorious in Itself, willed to glorify Itself in us, poor and little creatures.

Colloquy

“O Most Holy Trinity, I adore You, I bless You, and I glorify You in all your mysteries, uniting myself to all the love and all the praises that your divine Persons mutually exchange. I offer You all the glory that You have in Yourself, rendering to You, together with the whole Church, infinite thanks: Gratias agimus tibi, propter magnam gloriam tuam... O my God and my Father, how and how much I rejoice in seeing that your Son and your Holy Spirit love and praise You from all eternity and for all eternity with a love and with a praise proportioned to your greatness! O only-begotten Son of God, how and how much my soul exults in seeing the infinite love and glory that You receive from your Father and from your Holy Spirit! O Holy Spirit, how and how much my heart rejoices in seeing the love and blessings that are ceaselessly rendered to You by the Father and the Son! O Most Holy Trinity, what joy, what exultation, what happiness it is for me to know that You are filled with unspeakable glory, inconceivable beatitude, and an infinity of innumerable and incomparable treasures and splendors!” (St. John Eudes).

But what joy it is also for me to know that You, most holy Trinity, already infinitely glorious in Yourself, do not disdain the glory this miserable nothing can give You, but indeed have created me precisely for your glory! “I, therefore, consecrate and sacrifice myself wholly to You and, if I had in me all created being and all the lives of men and angels, if I had in my power millions of worlds, I would be ready to sacrifice all this in your honor. O my God, employ all your power and infinite goodness to take me entirely, so that I may remain consecrated to You, so that I may know, O Lord, wholly and forever, to immolate myself to your most pure glory” (St. John Eudes).