True glory is the glory of love

In the Bible, glory refers to God’s self-revelation. It is the distinctive sign of his saving presence among humankind. Now, Jesus is the One who definitively manifests God’s presence and salvation. And he does this at Easter: lifted up on the Cross, he is glorified (cf. Jn 12:23-33). There, God finally reveals his glory: he removes the last veil and astonishes us as never before. Indeed, we discover that the Glory of God is entirely love: pure, unbridled and inconceivable love, beyond every limit and measure.

At Easter, God voids the distances, revealing himself in the humility of a love that seeks our love. Thus, we give him glory when we live whatever we do with love, when we do everything from our heart, as if for him (Col 3:17).

True glory is the glory of love because it is the only kind that gives life to the world.

Via one or two serendipitous link clicks I came across these words from Pope Francis a few weeks ago. And since then, glory is the word I have heard St Madeleine Sophie whispering to me, quietly yet insistently. She wanted me to remember, with fullness and greater clarity, that glorifying the Heart of Jesus is at the heart of my being RSCJ. As our Constitutions remind us:

In all the circumstances of our life,
wherever our mission leads us
our sole purpose in living is to glorify the Heart of Jesus,
to discover and make known his love.

And, as always, she wanted me to dwell in this, and remember that the glory of his Heart is within and among us, not up and beyond, remote, exalted and unreachable. Rather, as our 1970 Chapter expressed it: It is in this very humanity whose fear and loneliness and love Christ shared that his GLORY must shine forth. It is within and among us, in our very being, and it is what we were created for.

And today, as we celebrate her feast, glory is her word to us all. She wants us to know that true glory comes from our transformation; from our healing and growth, from reconciliation, and our weakness and wounds transfigured; from generosity and self-gift, and grace freely, humbly received... and from our love, always our love, lavished and poured out; pure, tender and as unbridled as possible. 

True glory is the glory of love, because it is the only kind that gives life to the world... And because it is so, so needed by our world... 

How, I hear Sophie whisper, will your love and your life glorify Love today, tomorrow and every day? 


Comments

  1. Wonderful- thank you and Happy Feast

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  2. Beautiful. Thank you.

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  3. Thank you both, anon to me, but not to God

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