133. Third Monday of Easter

Meditations no. 179 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

God’s glory, the sole purpose of created beings.

In the Book of Revelation, St John reveals the glory which is given to God in heaven. I looked and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might.”

Glory belongs to God alone because he is the Lord of all things. Everything is his and all things should proclaim the glory of their Creator, who conserves them and takes care of them in his Providence. The stars shone in their watches, and were glad; he called them, and they said, “Here we are!” They shone with gladness for him who made them. The whole of creation is united in this praise, which is the true purpose of its existence. For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen.

Through Christian doctrine we know that our Lord is the beginning, the end and the centre of all creation. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God. My daughters and sons, Christ draws all creation to himself. All things were made through him, and without him was made nothing that has been made. And on being made man and coming to live among us, he has shown us that we are not on this earth to seek a passing, temporal happiness. We are here to reach eternal happiness, following in his footsteps. And we will only attain this by learning from him.

The Church has always been theocentric. Her mission is to see that all creation tends to God as its end through Jesus Christ, the head of his body, the Church… , that in all things he may have the first place. For it has pleased God the Father that in him all his fullness should dwell, and that through him he should reconcile to himself all things, whether on the earth or in the heavens, making peace through the blood of his Cross. We are going to enthrone him, not only in our hearts and in our deeds, but also through our desire and our apostolic work, at the summit of all human endeavours.

The world was created for the glory of God. He is the highest good and supreme goodness, and he knows that we can only be happy if we live for him. It is not surprising that he zealously defends the right order of things. Ego Dominus: gloriam meam alteri non dabo, I am the Lord: I will not give my glory to another. The only reason for the existence of creation is God’s love. And the only purpose of created beings, man included, is to give glory to God. We were born to give him glory. If life did not have as its aim to give glory to God, it would be detestable - even more, loathsome.

Let us not seek our own glory. Our life should be one of continuous praise to God.

The four living creatures … day and night did not cease to sing: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty so we read in the Book of Revelation.

Our life should be one of continuous praise, ceaselessly giving glory to God. How can we achieve this? By always attributing to the Lord every good thing he has placed in us, since, in St Augustine’s words, the glory which has merit in God’s eyes is the glory that glorifies God, not man. We should never seek our own glory. All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls.

Whatever is lovable in us belongs to God. Convinced of this reality, we must not work for our own glory, but in order to disappear from view; and with our sacrifice, we shall put Christ at the summit of all human activities.

Our motto is that of John the Baptist: Illum oportet crescere, me autem minui; it is right that Christ grow in me, and that I become smaller. For that reason, our greatest ambition - the true glory of the Work - is to live without human glory, so that God alone can be glorified, soli Deo honor et gloria.

We have already seen Jesus’ example. Let us return to it once more by reading a marvellous text from St Paul, which I have already quoted to you on another occasion: We ought not to please ourselves … For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, “the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

As well as our Lord’s example, we also have another very useful remedy in order to overcome our tendency towards self-complacency. Do you want to free yourself from vainglory and people’s praise? St John Damascene asks. Do not show your deeds to men. Work quietly so that no one sees you but God alone. As our Father told us: Give all the glory to God. With your will aided by grace, “squeeze” out each one of your actions, so that nothing remains in them that smacks of human pride, of self-complacency.

Beware of complacency in our apostolate. Rectify our intention.

My children, I have insisted on the need to put aside all earthly ambitions and to be filled with a continuous concern to serve. We are convinced that nothing is worthwhile, that nothing is of any importance and that nothing is of any consequence, when compared to that sublime mission of serving Christ our Lord. Because we have learned to shun human applause and any show of vanity, our desire to preserve the treasure of humility must be ever more attentive and careful.

We are exposed to a very subtle and almost imperceptible snare of the enemy who, when he sees us becoming more successful, redoubles his efforts to deceive us. This subtle danger, my daughters and sons, is a kind of hidden pride, and is often encountered in souls dedicated to working for God. It arises from the realization that we are the instruments of a wonderfully divine enterprise, and it is a form of quiet self-satisfaction at seeing the miracles we perform in the apostolate. For we see minds that were blind recover their sight, wills that were paralyzed move once again, hearts of stone turn to flesh and become capable of supernatural charity and human affection, consciences that were covered with the leprosy of sin being cleansed, and completely dead and rotten souls recover supernatural life - iam foetet, quatriduanus est enim: by this time there will be an odour, for he has been dead four days.

We also see difficulties being overcome, misunderstandings being straightened out, situations being turned around, and the apostolate becoming ever more extensive, more diverse and more effective… All this, my children, at times can prove to be the occasion for an unjustified, but very real, form of conceit. Since we have to be on our guard against it ever happening, we need to have a very sensitive conscience and be able to react immediately.

Let us repeat in the silence of our dialogue with God: Lord, for myself I want nothing. All for your glory and for Love. Our Lady lived a hidden existence, and yet her whole life was a constant act of praise to God. Magnificat anima mea Dominum, my soul glorifies the Lord. Let us ask her to help us rectify our intention many times during the day; and imitating her, let us repeat: Deo omnis gloria! - all the glory for God.