Through Him, With Him, and In Him Ghent altar piece

“Let us consider the glorious St. Paul: it doesn’t seem that any other name fell from his lips than that of Jesus, as coming from one who has kept the Lord close to his heart. Once I had come to understand this truth, I carefully considered the lives of some of the saints, and found that they hadn’t taken any other path: St. Francis demonstrates this through his stigmata; St. Anthony of Padua, with the Infant; St. Bernard found his delight in the humanity; St. Catherine of Siena—and many others.” -St. Teresa of Jesus

Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, In the unity of the Holy Spirit, All glory and honor is yours, For ever and ever. Amen

The Doxology What is through him with him and in him? Honor and Glory Glory: the manifestation of excellence, the renown of the good. It is something weighty.

Intrinsic Glory: The Trinitarian God knows and loves himself in the communion of persons perfectly and for all eternity. It is God himself. It is the splendor of infinite beauty, goodness, and truth. The Son is a Procession by way of Intellect, and the Holy Spirit is a Procession by way of Love. Extrinsic glory: All creation glorifies God.

There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream The earth, and every common sight, To me did seem Apparelled in celestial light The glory and the freshness of a dream… And To me the meanest flower that blows can give Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears -Wordsworth -Wordsworth

All creation is raised to God though humanity “Let no one therefore, glory in men… All are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ’s is God’s.” (1 Cor 3:23)

“Mine is the heavens, and mine is the earth. Mine are the people, the just are mine, and mine the sinners. The angels are mine, and the Mother of God and everything is mine. And God Himself is mine and for me, because Christ is mine and all for me. Why then do you inquire and search, my soul? Yours is all of this, and all is for you. Do not settle for less or look to the crumbs that fall from your Father’s table. Go out and glory in your glory. Cover yourself in it and rejoice, and you will obtain the desires of your heart.” -St. John of the Cross

“The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the knowledge of God.” -St. Irenaeus “But trailing clouds of glory do we come from God who is our home.” –Wordsworth “Human beings are created to praise reverence and serve God our Lord, and by means of this to save their souls. The other things on the face of the earth are created for the human beings, to help in working for the end for which they were created.” -St. Ignatius Loyola.

That means giving glory to God, which we do through, with, and in Christ. God willed that this come about by Jesus Christ, by sending him into the world by becoming human. That is why we pray in the name of Jesus, and ask everything through Christ the Lord.

How we glorify God THROUGH Christ Through translates per which can also mean ‘by’, or ‘by means of’. It is by Christ’s agency, or his doing. He is getting it done.

There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Tim 2:5) That means the role of mediation, or being through Christ, has to do especially with his humanity. St. Catherine of Siena calls him the bridge. He has one foot in both worlds, in a manner of speaking.

“The Lord helps us, and strengthens us, and never fails. He is a true friend. God desires that if we are going to please him and receive his great favors, we must do so through the most sacred humanity of Christ, in whom he takes his delight. Many, many time have I perceived this truth through experience. The Lord has told it to me. I have definitely seen that we must enter by this gate if we desire his sovereign Majesty to show us great secrets.” -St. Teresa of Jesus

How we glorify God WITH Christ -Present in our souls through Charity and grace, his invisible mission. -Faith, we are with him as he reveals himself. -Meditation on His life. -Sacraments, contact with Christ.

For if we have died with him (2 Tim 2:11) we were buried with him (Rom. 6:4) but God… raised us up together (Eph 2:6) brought us life together with Christ (Eph 2:5). We shall also live with him (2 Tim 2:11) and sit together in heaven with Jesus Christ. (Eph 2:6)

How we glorify God IN Christ All of what came before is to say that we are incorporated into Christ. “The life I live now is not my own. Christ is living in me.” (Gal 2:20)

We want to make it so that it is no longer we who live and act, but Christ who lives and acts in us. We want to take on the Christological modality. In Christ is all glory, the marriage and the point of contact between God and humanity.