As it was…

Glory be to God, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

I love things in three: Faith, hope, love; God, Son, Spirit; Love God, Love yourself, Love your neighbor. For me, there is a rhythm in threes, a completeness. As a spiritual practice, I pray the breviary three times a day - morning (which is a relative term in my life:), afternoon, and evening. Each piece starts with three readings of scripture and at the end of each scripture, I say the above mentioned prayer. So, I say this prayer a minimum of 9 times a day - except on Rosary day, then add 5 more. One might think that it has become such a remote response for me, I don’t pay attention to its words anymore. For some prayers, I confess, this is true, but not this one. Maybe it’s because each sentence is a three. But more realistically, it is because it instills a deep level of hope in me every time I speak it.

This prayer sums up for me the most important parts of my faith. It’s by far inclusive of all pieces, but it holds a key for me. First, it reminds me of how I understand the different aspects of God. God our loving creator, forming us, welcoming us, committed to us. Then comes the Son, God becoming human. Jesus knew what it was like to be us, knew the fears, the joys, the sorrows we face every day. He was the One who showed us the power of God through his resurrection. And last but not least, the Spirit. The Spirit who lives in our hearts and souls, guiding us, sustaining us, gracing us at all times. The Spirit who inspires relationships with God and with one another and frees our imaginations to become more holy in our actions, to honor the belovedness of ourselves and others - to serve as Jesus served. The triune God - it is so.

I also love the second sentence because it reminds me that we are on a continuum, but on that moving timeline is a constant. God was, is, and always will be our loving creator, our redeemer, our companion, our strength. God has never been a part from us, isn’t now, and never will be. God loved us in our murky past, our bumbling present, and our unknown future. It brings me such peace to know that those who have gone before me, those of you with me now, and those who have yet to become are always present. We are the community of saints and our souls, along with God, will always be joined.

And finally, I love the fact this prayer is one of gratitude - Glory Be. Being grateful always calms me because I remember how great God is, how much love there really is in this crazy world, and how hope is alive and well (even though sometimes we have to search hard for it!).

So, brothers and sisters, I offer you this prayer in the fullness of faith and in the hope of glory.

Glory be to God, 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.

Rev. Joan