Everyday Prayers - The Glory Be

The Glory Be is another short prayer that can fly right by before we even realize we're saying it. It is, however, a deep prayer that gets right to the heart of the Christian mystery and our response to it. Let's take a closer look at this familiar prayer.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

1. The real name for the Glory Be is the Doxology. It comes from the Greek word δόξα, which means glory, splendor, honor, renown, majesty, magnificence, excellence, and dignity. It refers to something that has intrinsic worth, something that is valuable in itself. Who could be more worthy of those descriptions than God Himself? 

2. What does it mean to give God glory? That's what we're really doing in this prayer, giving glory to God. Giving God glory essentially means recognizing and praising Him for Who He is. We know that God is all-powerful, all-present, all-good, all-knowing, all-wise, all-just, all-perfect, all-loving. He is the best of the best, the highest of the highest, the most awesome Being ever. He is amazing beyond words just for Who He is, and when we say the Glory Be, we are acknowledging all of that. 

3. When we pray the Glory Be, we proclaim the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. God is one God in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is a communion of love that has existed from all eternity and will exist for all eternity. The Trinity is a mystery beyond the human mind, but we believe it because God has revealed it to us. 

4. In the Trinity, the Father begets His only-begotten Son for all eternity. The Son is begotten by the Father for all eternity. The self-giving love that passes between the Father and the Son is so strong and so powerful that it is in itself another Person, the Holy Spirit. 

5. The prayer reminds us that God has no beginning and will have no end. He is like a circle, eternal, with no starting point and no final point. Again, this concept is beyond the grasp of our human minds, but we believe it because God has revealed it to be true. 

6. The prayer reminds us that God does not change. Unlike fickle humans, He stays exactly the same for all eternity, the same God with the same characteristics and the same love in the beginning, now, and forever. 

7. The prayer adds, "world without end." The world mentioned here is not this passing earthly world but the eternal world that is to come, the new heaven and the new earth that will never pass away, the world in which we will stand before God face to face. That world will never end. 

Let's pray together, then, devoutly and attentively.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.