THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US TO SHARE IN THE GLORY OF GOD

20170528 THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US TO SHARE IN THE GLORY OF GOD

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

In some dioceses the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated today. If this applies to you, please reconfigure Universalis to use the appropriate local calendar.

First reading

Acts 1:12-14 ©

After Jesus was taken up into heaven the apostles went back from the Mount of Olives, as it is called, to Jerusalem, a short distance away, no more than a sabbath walk; and when they reached the city they went to the upper room where they were staying; there were Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Jude son of James. All these joined in continuous prayer, together with several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 26(27):1,4,7-8 ©

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

or

Alleluia!

The Lord is my light and my help;

  whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

  before whom shall I shrink?

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

or

Alleluia!

There is one thing I ask of the Lord,

  for this I long,

to live in the house of the Lord,

  all the days of my life,

to savour the sweetness of the Lord,

  to behold his temple.

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

or

Alleluia!

O Lord, hear my voice when I call;

  have mercy and answer.

Of you my heart has spoken:

  ‘Seek his face.’

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

or

Alleluia!

Second reading

1 Peter 4:13-16 ©

If you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you. None of you should ever deserve to suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or an informer; but if anyone of you should suffer for being a Christian, then he is not to be ashamed of it; he should thank God that he has been called one.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Jn14:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord;

I will come back to you,

and your hearts will be full of joy.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 17:1-11 ©

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

‘Father, the hour has come:

glorify your Son

so that your Son may glorify you;

and, through the power over all mankind that you have given him,

let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him.

And eternal life is this:

to know you,

the only true God,

and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

I have glorified you on earth

and finished the work that you gave me to do.

Now, Father, it is time for you to glorify me

with that glory I had with you

before ever the world was.

I have made your name known

to the men you took from the world to give me.

They were yours and you gave them to me,

and they have kept your word.

Now at last they know

that all you have given me comes indeed from you;

for I have given them the teaching you gave to me,

and they have truly accepted this, that I came from you,

and have believed that it was you who sent me.

I pray for them;

I am not praying for the world

but for those you have given me,

because they belong to you:

all I have is yours

and all you have is mine,

and in them I am glorified.

I am not in the world any longer,

but they are in the world,

and I am coming to you.’

THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US TO SHARE IN THE GLORY OF GOD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 1:12-14; 1 PT 4:13-16; JN 17:1-11  ]

One of the things people seek in this life is glory.  We want people to honour us, to regard us highly and to love us. But the irony of it all is that the more we seek glory for ourselves, what we bring in the end is disgrace.  When we are concerned with making ourselves famous and great before others, we cannot but expose our self-centeredness and selfishness. We become arrogant and manipulative.  Inevitably, at the same time we court the envy of our competitors and enemies.  As a result, the more we try to bring glory to ourselves, the more we destroy ourselves.  When we seek vain glory for ourselves, we cannot find true and lasting happiness.

What, then, can bring us real happiness in life?  The Good News is that we are all called to share in the glory of God.  God wants to glorify us and give us the Spirit of glory.  How, then, can we seek this glory?  Paradoxically, the Spirit of glory is only given to those who glorify God.  Catholic Catechism teaches that our whole purpose on earth is to seek the glory of God.  The purpose of creation is defined as being created for the glory of God.  God creates man freely from His own will.  Why is it that the only way to receive real glory for ourselves is to glorify God?  In order to understand the paradoxical relationship between the glory of God and our glory, we must first understand why our life is for the glory of God.

This expression “for the glory of God” needs clarification.  We must be careful not to imagine that God needs us to glorify Him or that God created the world and man to induce amazement and worship of His greatness. Such an interpretation would be false and misleading.  It would create an image of a God that is insecure.  On the contrary, God by His very nature is complete and self-sufficient.  He does not need us to glorify Him in order to be complete.  God did not create us in order to prove Himself or astonish anyone with His power.  God did not create us for His self-interests.  He is infinitely perfect and cannot grow more perfect than He eternally and necessarily is.

God did not create us for His own happiness.  God created us for His glory and for our happiness.  Jesus tells us that the Father has entrusted everything to Him.  God the Father has given everything to the Son.  He has given Him power, love and His word. The Father reserves nothing for Himself.  All that He has belongs to the Son.  By extension too, this same divine life which Jesus shares with the Father is now also given to us.  Jesus has been sent to us so that we can have a share in the eternal life of God.

So, then, why do we maintain that God created us for His glory?  The truth is that His glory is our happiness.  God created us for our happiness, which is ours if we manifest His glory, that is, His love and His life.  Unless we live our lives in such a way that glorifies God, we have no share in that glory.  By living His life of love and self-emptying we share in the life of God.  We share His glory by manifesting His goodness and joy in us.  So the paradox is that when we live the life of God, we actually glorify God. When we manifest the perfection of God in us, we consciously or unconsciously give glory to Him.  Insofar as we glorify Him by living His life, we also share in the happiness of living the life of God. Consequently we cannot seek glory directly but we can seek glory indirectly by glorifying God with our lives.

Within this context, we can understand why Jesus asked the Father to glorify Him.  To the extent that the Father glorifies Jesus, God is even more glorified.  This glorification of Jesus is His resurrection from the dead.  If God did not glorify Jesus after His death, then it would only prove that all that Jesus said and did were not from the Father.  But by glorifying Jesus, the Father actually glorified Himself, since the whole life of Jesus is now confirmed as expressing the life of God.  Hence, to glorify God is to glorify ourselves; and for God to glorify us is to glorify Himself.

Once this is understood, we must now ask ourselves, how can we best share His life in such a way that we manifest His glory in us and in turn share in His glory?  The first way of glorifying God is that we must share in the life of God.  Jesus said, “eternal life is this – to know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”  In Jesus, we see the life of God incarnated.  In Jesus, we see the love and glory of the Father.  If we want to share in the life of God, we must come to know Jesus and know the Father. It is in our union with God that we find real life.  This is what we are created for, to share in the Trinitarian life of God.  We are called to have a personal relationship with God through the Son in the Spirit.  The more we come to know God personally, the more we come to share in His life.  In sharing His life we will reflect His life in us and thus manifest the glory of God.

Secondly, Jesus tells us that the way to glorify God is to glorify Him by worshiping and glorifying Him. Jesus glorified His Father in the priestly prayer.  We too must also give eternal praise and glory to God in worship. Man’s life must become a praise of God.  The praise of God is fundamental to life. In praising God, we come to know ourselves and our place in creation and in life.  Praise however makes no sense if it has no consequence.  St. Augustine said:  “You are what you say.”  Authentic praise of God expresses who we are.  The praise and glory of God in prayer is to be manifested in the life that we live as well.

Thirdly, if our lives were to be an eternal praise and glory to God it entails that we also manifest the work of God in us.  Jesus told the Father, “In them I am glorified.” When we live the life of Jesus, Jesus is glorified in us; and in turn God is glorified in Him.  Hence, our lives must be an eternal praise and glory to God. If people were to see the glory of God in us, they can only see it in our lives.  It is in all that we do and say that will manifest the life and glory of God.  Indeed, the whole life of Jesus is to glorify God on earth by finishing the work God had given Him to do. Jesus glorified God by being faithful to His vocation in life and by keeping His word.

For us too, we also glorify God by being faithful to what we have been called to do in life.  It is fidelity to our calling in life that will truly make us happy and fulfilled people.  The more we are true to ourselves and to our being, just as Jesus was true to His Sonship and mission, the more we find true happiness.  The man who lives his life to the fullest is truly the manifestation of the glory of God.  When such a life is lived according to God’s calling, there can be no other fullness.    Hence, the fullness of human existence is identical with the glory of God. The more man realizes himself, and the world in him, the brighter the glory of the creator radiates from him.  Man therefore glorifies God in his being as Jesus did. The glory of God is manifested in the person who lives in Christ.

Fourthly, fidelity to our vocation and calling necessarily implies that quite often we will be required to share in the sufferings of Christ, as Peter tells us in the second reading.  Sharing in the sufferings of Christ entails a real sharing in His glory because we suffer for what is right and good.  When we suffer patiently, we will be like Jesus who was vindicated in the end.  Those people who suffer selflessly for their country, for truth, for justice or for the service of others inspire us. The martyrs manifested Christ in themselves.

Fifthly, to manifest the glory of God entails making the name of God known, for this is what Jesus did.  He said, “Father I have made your name known.”  It is not sufficient simply to glorify God in our lives.  We are also called to glorify God by proclaiming His name.  Unless we make His name known, people will not know that the glory that is manifested in and through us is from God. The truth is that many people might live a good life but are not grateful to God because they do not recognize that their goodness comes from a source beyond themselves whom we call the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Thus, they only glorify God unconsciously in their lives but do not know whom to thank for the life of God that they shared.

But if they were to come to know who God is and their purpose in life, they will be able to consciously turn to God and glorify Him more than ever.  Hence, it is necessary that we are all called to praise God both in our deeds and in our words so that the whole world comes to know God and praise Him consciously in their lives. Today, incidentally, we celebrate World Communication Sunday.  Mass media must serve the glory of God through the promotion of life, love and harmony.  When mass media is used to promote selfishness, disunity, falsehood and worldly ambitions, it causes division in His creation.  The great task before us as Church is to communicate the love of God to all humankind so that God’s glory is manifested in their lives, whether it is through the employment of the mass media or our own lives.

The truth is that one can only live the life of Jesus and the life of the Father when we share in their Spirit.  The power to live the life of God and bring glory to Him is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit.  It is through the Holy Spirit that the Father glorified Jesus in His Resurrection.  It is the Holy Spirit which Jesus gives us at Pentecost that empowers us to live our baptismal life.  It is for this reason, that Jesus reminded His disciples that they must wait for the Holy Spirit before they can glorify and proclaim His name and the glory of His Kingdom to the ends of the earth. Without the Holy Spirit, our proclamation will be ineffective.  Our words will be empty; and our deeds will be rooted not in God’s love but human recognition and human need.  Let us then imitate the example of Mary and the Apostles by praying for a new release of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved