It was Christmas eve in the little town of Eldore, England. But there was sadness in the Christmas preparations. Word had been spread that the Puritans, in their fanatical hatred of everything Catholic, were coming to destroy everything that savored of the sacred season.
Children wept at the news: "No Christmas." But one little lad seemed not to have heard or understood. Right after supper he put away his playthings and hurried to the cathedral, where the choir boys were to rehearse for Christmas night. None of the others appeared. Not even the sacristan was there. He waited. Finally he lit the candles and began to sing alone.
Meanwhile the stern and stolid enemies of everything Catholic plodded up the road. The lights of the cathedral stirred them to deeper determination to do away with the old time faith.
"Death to the Papists," they shouted, as they pushed open the cathedral door. They stopped in their tracks. There was no enemy to attack-only a fair-haired boy sweetly singing:
"Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to men of good will."They pulled off their hats and fell to their knees. When the singing
was over they silently departed. The lad did not even know they were there, although as he left he wondered why the snow was trampled about the door. Nor did he know that his Christmas carol saved the little, old town of Eldore from a miserable Christmas.
Ever since the Gloria was first sung to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem, it has been a favorite prayer and hymn of the followers of Christ. And it has always been an especially powerful prayer for the peace which the world always desires, the peace which Christ came to bring, the peace which God's people are continually beseeching of Him.
1. The Gloria is often called the Hymn of the Angels, because the heavenly messengers sang the first words of it on the first Christmas night. The remainder of the hymn was added later.
At first its use was restricted to the expression of Christmas and Easter joy. Up until the eleventh century only the bishop recited the Gloria, and that on feast days and Sundays. From that time the privilege was extended to priests. This hymn is omitted on days and in seasons of mourning and penance.
2. A few significant ceremonies accompany this triumphal chant of redemption. As the priest intones the first words he raises his hands, joins them and, as he sings the word "God," bows to the tabernacle where God is present, the same God who came down to earth as a Babe on the night those words were first sung. The celebrant also bows his head when he says, "we adore Thee," "we thank Thee," and "receive our prayer." At the words "Jesus Christ" he makes a profound bow of the head, including a slight bow of the shoulders (picture him bowing from the waste).
With the concluding words the priest makes the sign of the cross, apparently in tribute to the Holy Trinity whose names he has mentioned. We see another reason: The cross was always present to Christ even from His birth. In Bethlehem He foresaw the passion and death. Furthermore, shortly after birth He had to suffer persecution and flee into Egypt with Mary and Joseph.
3. The Gloria is rich in meaning. The opening words give the theme - glory to God. Giving Glory to God is the highest duty and the highest privilege of man. It is the work of the angels in heaven; it is the work of God's children on earth. That is why all of you should unite with the priest and with the choir in offering that prayer of praise.
4. The angels, with authority from God, promise "peace on earth to men of good will." Don't expect peace either in your own heart or in the world, if you do not try to show the love which Christ commanded toward all men.
5. "We praise Thee." God is great and worthy of all praise. There is no limit to His goodness, holiness, justice, power and beauty. These we praise.
6. "We bless Thee." We cannot make God holy, but we can tell the world, as we do in the Gloria, of the limitless holiness of our heavenly Father.
7. "We adore Thee." Adoration is the supreme honor which we can give to God alone. He is above all beings and above all things. We tell Him that in adoration.
8. "We glorify Thee." That is the reason God created us, to exalt and praise Him.
9. "We give Thee thanks for Thy great glory." God is perfect in Himself. We are grateful that we know this, and that we are privileged to sing about it.
10. We go on to sing the praises of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We ask our Redeemer to take away our sins, to receive our prayer, and to have mercy upon us all.
We should try to pray this hymn of the angels with the love and devotion of the angels. Say this prayer at every Mass with attention and meaning. Say it slowly and seriously. Think of its meaning, its beauty, its history. Say it outside of Mass also, as part of your private devotions at home or in church. It gives the two means for peace: giving glory to God; showing love to our fellow man. Do both and you will have peace.
The little lad singing alone in the cathedral did not realize that he was bringing peace to his home and town. Neither do we realize what blessings we bring when we pray the Gloria. But we do know that this is one of the greatest hymns in praise of God; we do know that the angels themselves sang it on the first Christmas night; and we do know that we can perform no higher and greater work than singing: Glory to God.
May the Gloria bring us peace and blessing. Amen.
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Adapted from Talks on the Mass
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (© 1950)
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