We have now entered Advent, and the next prayer we will examine is not said at Mass until Christmas – the Gloria. The Gloria, perhaps the single most beautiful prayer of the Mass, currently reads as follows:
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.
With the new translation, however, the first part of the Gloria will read as follows:
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you, we bless you,
we adore you, we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory,
Lord God, heavenly King,
O God, almighty Father.
The new translation will wonderfully restore a traditional rendering drawn from the Gospel of Luke. In Luke 2:14, an angel of the Lord appears to shepherds to deliver the good news that, “today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord…you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” Suddenly “there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” This rendering might sound odd to us at first hearing. After all English speaking Christians – even Catholics – have grown accustomed to the rendering as it is drawn from the Protestant King James Version of the Bible. That rendering pops up so often on signs and cards at Christmas time: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” There is a tremendous difference between God granting peace to those He favors and granting peace toward men whether they are favored or not. The second KJV’s rendering might sound more generous to us, but it is not the best translation.
A restoration of the traditional sense of the Gloria is important because the prayer is – like so much about the Mass – more than it seems. The Gloria is referred to as the Greater Doxology. A doxology is a hymn or formulaic praising of God. Many of the great attributes of God are enumerated in the Gloria: He is Lord, God, the heavenly King, almighty God and Father, and so on. The first attributes are perhaps taken directly from the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in God, the Father almighty…”
Whereas Mary sang the Magnificat after the conception of Jesus in her womb, and Zachariah sang the Benedictus after the birth of his son, John the Baptist, the Gloria is a song not from human beings but from the very angels who serve God. The Gloria came from heaven. It was the heavenly announcement to men that the Savior was born to them. It must be admitted, however, that although ancient and medieval Christians often envisioned angels delivering this message to the shepherds by way of song, angels – according to a strict reading of scripture in the Greek – (and as recently pointed out by our own Alex Weber), are nowhere depicted as singing. That may be a surprise for many as it was for me.
Who received this heavenly announcement – whether sung or said? Kings? Generals? High Priests from the Temple? No, just simple shepherds tending their flocks. But as Mary said of God in her Magnificat, “He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.” (Luke 1:52) The lowly were lifted up just as we lift up our voices in singing the Gloria which long ago became the song of the Church as well as the angels. Our response to that heavenly message should be the same as the shepherds, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." (Luke 2:15) The shepherds do not hesitate to go to see the gift given them by God. The place complete trust in the heavenly message. We too should place our trust in that same message: “…I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)
Wednesday First Week of Advent,
Dr. Tim Brennan
