glory-be-prayer
Prayers

The Glory Be Prayer

THE Glory Be Prayer is a traditional Christian prayer that dates back to the 1st-century Church.  It is deceptively simple and, at the same time, immensely profound. Known as the little doxology, it expresses the Trinitarian Christian belief of God. While at the same time reminding us to look past ourselves and creation and to glorify God.

The prayer was prayed initially in Antioch using the wording: “Glory be to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.” The formula eventually evolved into the present form.  The current wording better aligns with the baptismal prayer and also clarifies the divinity and equality of all three godheads.

The prayer also invites us genuinely glorify God in the best way possible: to pause, open our hearts and minds to His presence, and acknowledge His greatness and holiness. To quote Father Michael Kerper:

“When we pray the Gloria Patri we actually call upon ourselves and others to ‘give glory to God.’ But how can we give to God that which He already possesses? By deliberately turning our gaze outward toward His glory. This requires us to turn away from ourselves and the created world, thereby gazing momentarily on the glory of God, who is our origin and destiny. By doing this we see the fullness of reality. Otherwise, we lose our awareness of God and see only a tiny piece of reality devoid of God.”

Father Michael Kerper

The Church realized early on that we humans frequently forget to glorify God properly. Because we tend to forget God, the Church inserted the Glory Be in most liturgies and prayers. An example of this being the recitation of the prayer after each decade of the Rosary.  The idea is to remind us to pause and glorify God by admiring Him in His essence.

Below is the prayer as taught by the Catholic Church:

The Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.

Amen

Notes:

¹ Article in Parablemag.com. “What is the meaning behind the Glory Be prayer?” Father Michael Kerper, pastor of Saint Patrick Parish in Nashua, NH. March/April 2015.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.