The Glory Be Prayer: Words and Meaning of this Catholic Doxology

　　"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." ~ Isaiah 60:1

　　"To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." ~ Ephesians 3:21

The Glory Be Prayer

History and Tradition of the Glory Be Prayer

　　"The Glory Be prayer is most familiar from the Rosary where it is recited at the end of each decade of the Hail Mary. It goes back many centuries and is known also by its Latin name and version as the Gloria Patri (Glory Be to the Father). It is also referred to in some older prayer books and scholarly writings as a doxology (which is a fancy name for a short expression of praise for God). The tradition for the doxology comes from the Jewish synagogues. St. Paul often used doxologies similar to the Glory Be in his letters. For example, he referred to “the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be honor forever and ever. Amen.” in the conclusion of his letter to the Romans (Rom 16:27).

　　Centuries later, in 1608, the famous bishop St. Francis de Sales ended his classic book Introduction to the Devout Life in a similar fashion: “Glory be to Jesus, to Whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be honor and glory, now and ever, and to all Eternity. Amen.” Notice how this sentiment resounds in the Glory Be itself:

　　Glory be to the Father,

　　And to the Son,

　　And to the Holy Spirit.

　　As it was in the beginning, is now,

　　And ever shall be,

　　World without end. Amen.

　　Many people make the sign of the cross when reciting this prayer or one of its variants which the priest says at the start of Mass: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.” The Glory Be prayer reaffirms the eternal glory of our “God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity,” as our Triune God is called in the well-known hymn Holy Holy Holy. Let us try each day, in reciting this prayer and others, to be open to God’s graces, so that we may live our lives as hymns of praise to Our Creator."

Meaning of the Glory Be Prayer

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　　"The “Glory Be” is far and away the most common Christian prayer after the Our Father and the Hail Mary. This prayer is called a doxology, from the Greek word meaning an expression of glory or praise. Christians usually use it as a way of summing up all their feelings and intentions at the end of some longer prayer. In a sense, the glory of God is the purpose and the content of all our prayers and actions, and so we bring them all together as our act of glorifying God in the Blessed Trinity.

　　The form of this prayer given in the Catechism of the Catholic Church is the one we teach our children; we use it most often when praying the rosary, at the end of each decade, or set of Hail Marys. When Our Lady prayed the rosary with St Bernadette at Lourdes, this was the only prayer she said aloud, since, of course, she would not be saying Hail Marys to herself!"

Doxology in the Bible

　　~ Romans 11:33-36

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