Today we complete
our look at the Gloria in the Mass.
Scripture for
reflection: John 1:29-33
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This
is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher
rank than I, for He existed before me.’ I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be
manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” John testified
saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He
remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in
water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining
upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
The Catechism of
the Catholic Church teaches us: 1708: BY his Passion, Christ delivered us
from Satan and from sins. He merited for us the new life in the Holy Spirit.
His grace restores what sin had damaged in us. 1715: He who believes in Christ has new life in the Holy Spirit. Then
moral life, increased and brought to maturity in grace, is to reach its
fulfillment in the glory of heaven.
…. Scriptural
allusions are also made to Jn. 1:29, where St. John the Baptist points to
Christ and exclaims Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world. Jesus is the one perfect sacrificial
offering who takes away the sins of the world.
In the Gospel according to St. John, sin is spoken of in the singular,
namely the failure or refusal to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and Son of
God. In the Gloria, the Latin official
text refers to sin in the plural reminding us that the forgiveness of every sin
is made possible only by the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God. The New Translation reflects the Latin text
where it says, you take away the sins of the world. Finally, in the praise
offered to Christ by the phrases you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the
Lord, there is an incorporation of Rev. 15:4 (For you alone are holy) and Ps.
83:19 (Show them you alone are the LORD, the Most High over all the earth) we
see a confession of faith in the Divine nature of Christ in the nature of God
as the Holy Trinity. …The confession of
sins leads into the confession of praise, which instinctively reveals a
confession of faith. http://www.stdominicchurch.org/documents/New_Translation_Bulletin_Inserts.pdf
My thoughts: The Gloria is such an incredibly beautiful prayer. In it we take time to joyfully express our complete love for God. Just as we find many ways to express our love for those who have captured our hearts in our lives, so we now find so many ways to let God know how much we love him, how much we acknowledge his power and might. We praise Jesus who made the ultimate sacrifice for us on the Cross so that one day we could be with him in heaven. We beg for mercy, and receive it; we offer our prayer, and it is heard! Most importantly, we acknowledge Jesus as our Lord, the Most High. In doing so, we readily give our hearts and souls to him, to mold us into true disciples. Sing or say the Gloria with all your heart as you give the gift of yourself to your beloved. This is the hint of the prayer we will be saying around the throne when we reach heaven!
Prayer: The Gloria
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on
earth. Lord God heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give
you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the
Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy
on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father; receive our prayer. For
you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most
High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
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