Palms of Glory

I am in the process of collating a few Lenten liturgical reflections of mine to put into a small book. To what end, I don't know, only that it might prove to help people get closer to God. I post a little extract from the Saturday before Palm Sunday in lieu of a sermon for Palm Sunday which usually gets set aside by the Long Gospel of the day. I hope this proves edifying.

Saturday before Palm Sunday

Antiphon on Benedictus

O Father, glorify Thou Me † with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world began.

Reflection

Glory is related to the idea of weight, solidity, and impact. Things that we find glorious have a substance which creates an impact in our lives. The effect of encountering the glorious is almost like being hit in the face. We are wakened from our sleep of ignorance and come face to face with that which delights, enthrals us, even terrifies us for a reason that we may not immediately see.

Our Lord Jesus possesses a glory from before the Universe. How can this be if there is nothing for Him to make an impact on?

His being does make an impact on the Father: the glory of the Trinity is something that is in an Eternal state of persons impacting on each other. This can only happen if Our Jesus is as substantial as the Father. Yet before Creation, there can only be one substance – that of God Himself. Thus in glorifying the Son, the Father demonstrates clearly to little human beings that the Son has the same substance as the Father, and the Holy Ghost.

Further, this glory, this impact of the Son is in reference to the World. It is a creating weight and shows that Our Jesus is not only present at the beginning of the World, but is instrumental in its Creation. In being glorified by the Father, Jesus is glorified beyond the Trinity into Creation itself!

We examine ourselves to see that glory of Jesus, for we believe in our hearts that the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we can behold his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Collect

We beseech Thee, O Lord, let the people dedicated unto Thee advance in the spirit of godly devotion: that being disciplined by holy exercises, they may become the more pleasing unto Thy Majesty as they increase in more excellent gifts. Through.