Word of the Week

Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Glorify: Doxazo (Gk.): meaning to “praise; honor” or “give glory and splendor”. Behind this term stands the word orthodoxy, which comes from the Gk. Orthodoxa, meaning “the right way to glorify God or give him adoration.”

“The world was created for the glory of God” (CCC 293). The Church is in pilgrimage here on earth to witness to Christ and progress towards the fullness of glory in the heavenly Jerusalem (CCC 769). The Church united to Christ is ordered to the fullness of truth and the sanctification of all men. The faithful receive the grace of Christ so that all Christians might become holy men and women and heralds of the glory to God (CCC 824).  The Resurrection of Jesus is the unveiling of the glory of God. We communicate this glory when we join our spirit with the paschal Christ (CCC 294). This call to become ambassadors for Christ is rooted in how we worship. The celebration of the liturgy must always be rooted in the “obedience of faith” (Rom.1:5, 16:26) and celebrated in harmony with the universal Church. In this manner, God’s children have access to the Father and the glory of God (CCC 1204).

The verb glorify is used 61 times in the NT. From a biblical perspective, the glory of God is the “weight of his glory beyond comparison” (2 Cor. 4.17). Johanine scholarship is rich in understanding the glory of God. John shows that Jesus, the eternal Son, possesses the divine glory of his Father (Jn.1.14). The Son’s obedience to his mission glorifies the father (Jn.13.31; 14.13), and in return, the Father glorifies the Son (Jn.8.54) (Hahn and Minch, 49).  The paschal mission of glory is realized in the outstretched arm of Jesus Christ and in turn the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus. It is this calling of self-oblation that Christ called Peter (the first vicar) to imitate in his own death (Jn.21:19). Moreover, this path of self-offering is the  universal call that leads all Christians to righteousness (1 Cor.6:20; 1 Pet.4:16).

Paul reminds us this week that all glory belongs to God (Rom.11:36). This glory shines through our very nature when we unite our will in obedience to the Father and the message of the gospel (2 Cor.9:13). According to Pope Benedict XVI, in The Spirit of the Liturgy, the potentiality of our being is realized in union with the “Paschal journey of Christ, in which the incarnation leads to the Resurrection—along the way of the cross” (Pg. 160). By praying and living in communion with the Church and the celebration of the Christian Mystery, we communicate the glory of God. In the Christian journey, our actions must be ordered to work with the end in mind. Furthermore, it is necessary to be centered in ‘orthodoxa’ so that we might give proper ‘doxazo.’ In other words, we must be rooted in obedience to the Deposit of Faith to have our hearts ascend in proper worship.

“The glory of God is the living man, but the life of man is the vision of God”

-St. Irenaeus of Lyons

Primary Texts Consulted

• Catholic Bible. Suggested trans. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 1997.
• Hahn, Scott and Minch, Curtis. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Gospel of John, RSV 2nd ed. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2003.
• Cardinal Ratzinger, Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI). The Spirit of the Liturgy. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000.

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