Print Issue: September 19, 2002

The Gloria - A Celebration Of Christ's Triumph On The Cross

By Father Theodore Book , Commentary

If, in approaching the Mass, we have come to the font of God's mercy, we have a cause for great joy. We are entering into that celestial assembly of the saints, and so it is right that we should sing God's mercy and His love. So with joy the song springs forth from our lips - "Glory to God in the highest." The paschal mystery, in which we take part during this Mass, is not just the story of the sorrow of our sin, or of Christ suffering for our sake. Rather, we celebrate the very triumph of that cross. The suffering that Christ endured won for us a great victory, the gates of hell were broken, the earth was sprinkled with his precious blood and renewed, with new life bursting over the sin and corruption that had previously reigned. This triumph of Christ was shown in his glorious procession into heaven, a procession that we take part in - through our baptism, through this very Mass, and, hopefully, through our final resurrection into glory with him.

The glory of God is not only remote majesty, but is intimately concerned with every Christian, so we rightly repeat the words of the angels to the Bethlehem shepherds, "peace to his people on earth." God's glory, his majesty, the victory of the cross, bring peace to us who follow him. They are our assurance of life and security. They are our hope, not our own abilities or possessions or power. Yet we must remember that when Christ said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you," he added, "Not as the world gives peace do I give it to you." The peace that God gives is not a political peace or the peace of prosperity, but the peace that comes through mystical union with peace, himself.

"Lord God, Heavenly King, almighty God and Father" - the litany of exalted and divine titles for God which so characterize this song are joined to that most familiar term "Father," reminding us that this great God is also imminently present to us, deeply concerned about us, as a father watches over his sick child. And in our awareness of both God's greatness and his love for us, we freely give ourselves back to him: "We worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory." This outpouring of devotion on our part is the expression of our deep love and confidence in our heavenly Father. It is the song of a heart totally smitten by love - not a love for a human person that will be tested and tempered by disappointment and limitation, but love for a divine one that has no cause for fear because it leaps out to the Unlimited One. It is not an abstract commitment or a love of the cosmos, but a very concrete, real, human love, made all the more human because God became a man. "Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father"; Christ is our gateway into God, and it is through his wounds that we have access to this great Love. "Lord God, Lamb of God," Christ is himself both God and the Son of God; both God and man; both God and the Passover lamb offered up to God in atonement for our sins. It is through that very sacrifice upon the cross that we have access to the Father, that our hearts are now able to leap up to him, and our bodies able to follow our hearts.

"You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us." Again and again this petition echoes through the Mass. For our love of God is not a proud love, proclaiming all that we have done to serve him. Rather, it is a humble love, like the love of a child for his parents, who, knowing that he has not done anything to earn their love, rejoices to receive it freely, trusts in it, relies upon it. This is fully an adult prayer, though, because an adult understands the horrible wounds inflicted by sin, and thus the great gift of the lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

The sacrifice of the lamb could easily seem like a cause for mourning, and it is. It is even more greatly a cause for joy, for the lamb, our Lord, our Savior, has triumphed through his death. "You are seated at the right hand of the Father," he has "pierced the clouds of heaven" and now intercedes for us with the Father. That eloquent plea for our forgiveness made by his blood spilled upon the earth continues in the courts of heaven. Thus we rejoice that we have so great a champion to defend us, and one who loves us so deeply.

"For You, alone, are the Holy One, You alone are the Lord, You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ!" Again the name of our Savior is spoken, in whom we place our trust. By bowing their heads at this sacred name, all recognize that he is indeed the Holy One, he is our hope, and there is no one beside him by whom we can be saved. Indeed, if our lives have any other center than Jesus Christ, we are lost and need to return to him. The mystery and majesty of the Holy One stands out again as we complete the Trinitarian formula - "with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father." We worship the three divine persons who are one God, united together and distinct from each other in a mystical interchange of love. It is not to a dispassionate judge that our Lord appeals, but to our own loving Father, who is united with him in the bond of love that is the Holy Spirit. How blessed we are to have such a God!

A priest of the Atlanta Archdiocese, Father Book is studying for his licentiate in sacred liturgy in Rome. This is the third in a series of reflections on the spirituality of the Mass.