The Doxology - Gloria Patri

Veni Creator 7th stanza
                                  http://jamiesthots.com/2012/09/13/peace-from-the-doxology/

Now to the Father and the Son,
Who rose from death, be glory given,
with Thou, O Holy Comforter,
henceforth by all in earth and heaven.
Amen.

Praise to thy eternal merit,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Immortal honor, endless fame,Attend th’almighty Father’s Name:
The Savior Son be glorified,
Who for lost man’s redemption died:
And equal adoration be,
Eternal Paraclete, to Thee.

John Dryden

The dictionary defines doxology as “an expression of praise to God, especially a short hymn sung as part of a Christian worship service.” The word doxology comes from the Greek doxa, (“glory, splendor, grandeur”) and logos, (“word” or “speaking”). Most doxologies are short hymns of praise to God in various Christian worship services, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns.
The Gloria Patri, so named for its first two words in Latin, is commonly used as a doxology by Roman Catholics, Old Catholics, Independent Catholics, Orthodox and many Protestants including Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, and Reformed Baptists. It is called the "Lesser Doxology," thus distinguished from the "Great Doxology," Gloria in Excelsis Deo, and is often called simply "the Doxology." The Latin text of the Lesser Doxology is “Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.” Literally translated, it means “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.” As well as praising God, this doxology is also a short declaration of faith in the co-equality of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity.
Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/doxology.html#ixzz39l1oZoqL

   
Gloria Patri, also known as the Glory Be to the Father or, colloquially, the Glory Be, is a doxology, a short hymn of praise to God in various Christian liturgies. It is also referred to as the Minor Doxology (Doxologia Minor)or Lesser Doxology, to distinguish it from the Greater Doxology, the Gloria in Excelsis Deo.
The earliest Christian doxologies are addressed to God the Father alone, or to Him "through" (διὰ) the Son,[1] or to the Father and the Holy Spirit with( (μετά) the Son,[2] or to the Son with (σύν) the Father and the Holy Spirit.[3]
The Trinitarian doxology addressed in parallel fashion to all three persons of the Trinity, joined by and (καί), as in the form of baptism, Matthew 28:19, became universal in Nicaean Christianity, which became dominant with theEdict of Thessalonica of 380.[4]

 There is an alternate version which the Syriac Catholic Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church use in their Liturgies

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

And upon us, weak and sinful ones, let mercy and compassion be showered in both worlds, forever and ever. Amen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Patri

http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-english.html

...that we may see The Father and the Son by Thee.

 Veni Creator Stanza 6

Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow
the Father and the Son to know;
and Thee, through endless times confessed,
of both the eternal Spirit blest.

Other versions: 

Teach us to know the Father,
Son,and thee, of both, to be but One,
that through the ages all along,
this may be our endless song:

May we by thee the Father learn,
and know the Son, and thee discern,
who art of both; and thus adore
in perfect faith for evermore.
Robert Bridges

Make Thou to us the Father known,
Teach us the eternal Son to won
And Thee, whose name we ever bless,
Of both the Spirit, to confess.
Edward Caswall'

John Dryden's rather more ornate version, from 1693:

Create all new; our wills control,
Subdue the rebel in our soul;
Make us eternal truths receive,
And practice all that we believe;
Give us Thyself, that we may see
The Father and the Son by Thee.

                                      
                                             http://saints365.blogspot.in/2014/05/7-lessons-from-fr-raniero-cantalamessa.html
http://alisonmorgan.co.uk/Cantalamessa%2003.htm

20. Through you may we the Father know

The HS leads us to know God as the Father of his son Jesus Christ.

The best way to judge a theology of the Spirit is to ask, is it open or closed to a Trinitarian perspective?

The first thing the HS does in us is to make us see God in a different way. He leads us to discover:

• God is on our side
• God is suffering too

What should we ask of the Spirit – that he should make us know the Father’s love.

21. Through you may we know the Son as well

The HS in scripture never puts himself forward proclaiming his own name; he’s always telling of the Father or of the Son. The Holy Spirit is God behind the scenes, 353.

There is no need for new theologies of the Spirit; if we lack the support of a lived experience of the Spirit (as they had in the C4th when the theology of the HS was first developed) then we won’t be able to write about him.

Charismatic movement – reveals that Jesus is Lord above all else. Demons called Jesus ‘Son of God’ or ‘Holy One of God’ – but never ‘Lord’.

Simeon the New Theologian was a great poet of the HS. He said, if a rich man gave a penny to a beggar and the beggar ran off to tell all the others so that they too came crowding to the rich man clamouring for a penny, the rich man would surely be irritated – but the Lord would be irritated if the beggar did not run off and tell all the others, so that they too should come to receive from him.

22. And you, the Spirit of them both, may we always believe

381 filioque controversy. Questions asked which are answered in the definition ‘the HS who is Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and with the Father and theSon is adored and glorified, and who has spoken through the prophets’:

• Who is the HS? – Lord, who proceeds from the Father and is to be adored as Father and Son are adored
• What does he do? – gives life

Irenaeus – the Father anoints, the Son is anointed, and the HS is the anointing.

Chase from our minds th' Infernal Foe

Veni Creator Spiritus Stanza 5

                    http://trendboiler.com/book/MTBybXdseA~~/Come-Creator-Spirit-Meditations-on-the-Veni-Creator 

Far from us drive the foe we dread,
and grant us Thy peace instead;
so shall we not, with Thee for guide,
turn from the path of life aside.

Our mortal foes afar repel,
grant us henceforth in peace to dwell;
and so to us, with thee for guide,
no ill shall come, no harm betide.
(a translation by Robert Bridges, from 1899)

Drive far away our wily Foe
And Thine abiding peace bestow;
If Thou be our protecting Guide,
No evil can our steps betide.
(Edward Caswall's 19th-century version)

Chase from our minds th' Infernal Foe;
And peace, the fruit of love, bestow;
And, lest our feet should step astray,
Protect, and guide us in the way.

(Tr. John Dryden)

http://www.rugusavay.com/john-dryden-quotes/

 http://alisonmorgan.co.uk/Cantalamessa%2003.htm

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa OFM.Cap.. ....Preacher to the Papal Household.http://thefranciscanfamily.blogspot.in/2011/06/fr-raniero-cantalamessa-preacher-to.html

17. The enemy drive from us away

Jesus casts out demons ‘by the finger of God’ (Luke 11.20); ‘by the Spirit of God’ (Matt 12.28) – where the HS comes in, evil spirits have to go out. The more the devil is left out of the ambit of fiath, the more prevalent he becomes in the ambit of superstition. Origen and Aquinas were the 2 writers who did the most to build up a ‘theology’ of the devil – and the periods they represent were relatively free of ‘demonism’.

Three phases in the history of treatment of the devil:

1.       Represented as ugly, grotesque – eg Dante

2.       Represented as beautiful – eg Milton

3.       Not represented at all. Bultmann: ‘it is not possible to use an electric light or listen to the radio, nor is it possible to go to a doctor or make use of clinical remedies when you are sick, and at the same time believe in the world of spirits’.

In the lives of the saints it’s very different; the devil is forced to stand out against the light. Temptation of Jesus. Francis of Assisi: ‘if the brothers knew how many trials and how great are the afflictions the demons cause me, there would be not one of them who would not be moved to pity and compassion for me’.

Augustine: the devil delights in being blamed for something. In fact he actually wants you to blame him. He is more than wiling to listen to all your recriminations, as long as they keep you from making your own confession!.

Satan today is behind the fear and anxiety which dominates our age. The saints suffered fear at his coming – he gives present reality to the possibility that they too might, if they so willed, rebel as he did : and to lose God is to lose everything.

Caesarius of Arles: ‘the devil is bound, like a dog on a chain. He cannot bite anyone unless, having no concern about the danger, they go too close.. He can bark, he can whine and entice, but he can bite only those who go close an dlet him.’

Conversely, the HS frees us from all fear.

18. Peace then give without delay

The HS gives the peace of God.  Peace for the Christian occupies the same place as nirvana for the Buddhist – it points to the ultimate outcome of all things, the supreme achievement of the adventure of life and time. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit – Rom 8.6; Rom 114.17; Gal 5.22.

Augustine: ‘peace is the tranquillity of order’

Scripture speaks also of the ‘peace of God’ – eg Phil 4.7; Rom 15.33. Peace is not sth that God does, but sth that he is. Peace in the fullest sense is that which reigns in God.

Dante – in his will is our peace.

Peace comes down on a soul in the presence of the Spirit as quiet comes down on the field of battle after the enemy has fled.

19. With you as guide we avoid all cause of harm

The Spirit functions as guide

·          Pillar of cloud/fire

·          Jesus was ‘led’ by the Spirit into the wilderness

·          We are ‘led by the Spirit’, Gal 5.18

·          Luke wrote Acts to show that the same Spirit who guided Jesus is now guiding the church

·          Peter went to Cornelius and the pagans because guided by the Spirit to do so, Acts 10-11

The Holy Spirit guides us:

• Through conscience – cp Rom 9.1, ‘my conscience confirms it by the HS’

o         He teaches us; 1 Jn 2.27

o         Through inspiration/illumination

• Through the Church – eg the Spirit guiding the churches in Revelation

o         The Spirit helps us discern the signs of the times; between spirits, 1 Cor 12.10/1 John 4.1.

o         He guides the church sometimes directly, through revelations and prophetic inspirations; and sometimes in a collegial way, through discussion to a point of agreement – eg Acts 15.28, ‘it has been decided by the HS and by ourselves’.

o         He helps us distinguish the Spirit of God from the spirit of the world.

Ignatius Loyola suggested that in decision making we should settle on one choice and rest with it as if made, for a day or more, to test it.

Come Holy Spirit, kindle our senses

Veni Creator - Stanza 4 http://www.fotosearch.com/UNN403/u13583163/

Kindle our sense from above,
and make our hearts o'erflow with love;
with patience firm and virtue high
the weakness of our flesh supply.

A Prayer by John V. Taylor, A Matter of Life and Death

Spirit of God, Lord and Giver of Life, moving between us and around, like wind or water or fire; breathe into us your freshness that we may awake; cleanse our vision that we may see you more clearly; kindle our senses that we may feel you more sharply; and give us courage to live as you would have us live, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen’ 

Come Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

                           http://douglawrence.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/read-the-compendium-of-the-catechism-of-the-catholic-church-for-free/

687 "No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."⁷ Now God's Spirit, who reveals God, makes known to us Christ, his Word, his living Utterance, but the Spirit does not speak of himself. The Spirit who "has spoken through the prophets" makes us hear the Father's Word, but we do not hear the Spirit himself. We know him only in the movement by which he reveals the Word to us and disposes us to welcome him in faith. The Spirit of truth who "unveils" Christ to us "will not speak on his own."⁸ Such properly divine self-effacement explains why "the world cannot receive [him], because it neither sees him nor knows him," while those who believe in Christ know the Spirit because he dwells with them.⁹

The proper name of the Holy Spirit

691 "Holy Spirit" is the proper name of the one whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has received this name from the Lord and professes it in the Baptism of her new children.¹⁶

The term "Spirit" translates the Hebrew word ruah, which, in its primary sense, means breath, air, wind. Jesus indeed uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of him who is personally God's breath, the divine Spirit.¹⁷ On the other hand, "Spirit" and "Holy" are divine attributes common to the three divine persons. By joining the two terms, Scripture, liturgy, and theological language designate the inexpressible person of the Holy Spirit, without any possible equivocation with other uses of the terms "spirit" and "holy."

Titles of the Holy Spirit

692 When he proclaims and promises the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls him the "Paraclete," literally, "he who is called to one's side," ad-vocatus.¹⁸ "Paraclete" is commonly translated by "consoler," and Jesus is the first consoler.¹⁹The Lord also called the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth."²⁰

693 Besides the proper name of "Holy Spirit," which is most frequently used in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles, we also find in St. Paul the titles: the Spirit of the promise,²¹ the Spirit of adoption,²² the Spirit of Christ,²³ the Spirit of the Lord,²⁴ and the Spirit of God²⁵ - and, in St. Peter, the Spirit of glory.²⁶

Thou, finger of God's hand we own;

Veni Creator Spiritus - Stanza 3

                  http://www.prayerthoughts.com/prayerthoughts/God/PT_1363_God.html

Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known;
Thou, finger of God's hand we own;
Thou, promise of the Father, Thou
Who dost the tongue with power imbue.  

The mystic sevenfold gifts are Thine,
Finger of God’s right hand divine;
The Father’s promise sent to teach
The tongue a rich and heavenly speech.

Symbolism of the Hand and Finger of God as quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
699 The hand. Jesus heals the sick and blesses little children by laying hands on them.51 In his name the apostles will do the same. Even more pointedly, it is by the Apostles' imposition of hands that the Holy Spirit is given. The Letter to the Hebrews lists the imposition of hands among the "fundamental elements" of its teaching. The Church has kept this sign of the all-powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit in its sacramental epicleses.

700 The finger. "It is by the finger of God that [Jesus] cast out demons." If God's law was written on tablets of stone "by the finger of God," then the "letter from Christ" entrusted to the care of the apostles, is written "with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts." The hymn Veni Creator Spiritus invokes the Holy Spirit as the "finger of the Father's right hand."

 Veni Creator Spiritus should not be confused with the " golden sequence for Pentecost", Veni Sancte Spiritus. It is usually attributed to either the thirteenth-century Pope Innocent III or to the Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton, although it has been attributed to others as well. 
                                                http://www.pinterest.com/pin/228698487297775294/

Since the English Reformation in the 16th century, there have been more than fifty English language translations and paraphrases of Veni Creator Spiritus. The version included in the 1662 revision of the Book of Common Prayer retained the Latin title and was written by Bishop John Cosin for the coronation of King Charles I of Great Britain in 1625. The same words have been used at every coronation since, and is sung by the choir after the singing of the Creed, while the sovereign is dressed in a white alb and seated in the Coronation Chair, prior to the Anointing. The third stanza reads as follows: 

Anoint and cheer our soiled face
with the abundance of thy grace.
Keep far from foes, give peace at home:
where thou art guide, no ill can come.

St. John Paul II says:

Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life....

St Paul writes in the Letter to the Romans, proclaimed a few moments ago: "All who are led by the Spirit of God are Sons of God" (Rm 8: 14).
These words suggest a further way of understanding the wonderful action of the Spirit in our life as believers. They open the way for us to reach the human heart: the Holy Spirit, whom the Church calls upon to give "light to the senses", visits man inwardly and directly touches the depths of his being.Pope John Paul II  http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=377

Paraclete , Sweet Unction.

                 Veni Creator -  stanza 2

Qui diceris Paraclitus,
altissimi donum Dei,                        
fons vivus, ignis, caritas,
et spiritalis unctio.

Thou who art called the Paraclete,
Best gift of God above,
The living spring, the living fire,
Sweet unction and true love.

[O comforter, to Thee we cry,
O heavenly gift of God Most High,
O fount of life and fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.]

[Thou art that Comfort from above,

The Highest doth by gift impart;
Thou spring of life, a fire of love,
And the anointing Spirit art.
Version by George Wither]

Translation by John Dryden

O, Source of uncreated Light,
The Father's promis'd Paraclete!
Thrice Holy Fount, thrice Holy Fire,
Our hearts with heav'nly love inspire;
Come, and thy Sacred Unction bring
To sanctify us, while we sing!

http://revjohnkc.blogspot.in/2010/08/paraclete-in-johns-gospel.html

Let us look a little deeper into the words "Paraclete" and "sweet unction" today.

Hopkins, the Jesuit poet has given a beautiful definition of "Paraclete"in one of his sermons ( preached on 25 April, 1882). Here is the relavant quote from the sermon:

[B]ut what is a Paraclete? often it is translated Comforter, but a Paraclete does more than comfort. The word is Greek; there is no one English word for it and no one Latin word, Comforter is not enough. A Paraclete is one who comforts, who cheers, who encourages, who persuades, who exhorts, who stirs up, who urges forward, who calls on; what the spur and word of command is to a horse, what clapping of hands is to a speaker, what a trumpet is to the soldier, that a Paraclete is to the soul: one who calls us on, that is what it means, a Paraclete is one who calls us on to good. One sight is before my mind, it is homely but it comes home: you have seen at cricket how when one of the batsmen at the wicket has made a hit and wants to score a run, the other doubts, hangs back or is ready to run in again, how eagerly the first will cry / Come on, come on! - a Paraclete is just that, something that cheers the spirit of man, with signals and with cries, all zealous that he should do something and full of assurance that if he will he can, calling him on, springing to meet him half way, crying to his ears or to his heart: This way to do God's will, this way to save your soul, come on, come on!

http://www.godsradioministry.com/home/index.php

?option=com_content&view=article&id=67:break-free&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=146

Now a note on "sweet unction":

"But you have an unction (or anointing) from the Holy One, and you know all things." -1 John 2:20.

Unction literally means "anointing".

Verse 27 says, "But the anointing which you have received of him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in him" .

The primary purpose of anointing with the holy anointing oil was to cause the anointed persons or objects to become qodesh – most holy (Exodus 30:29).
Originally the oil was used exclusively for the priests and the Tabernacle articles but was later extended to include prophets and kings (I Samuel 10:1). It was forbidden to be used on an outsider (Exodus 30:33) or to be used on the body of any common persons (Ex. 30:32a) and theIsraelites were forbidden to duplicate any like it for themselves (Ex. 30:32b).
The Christian Church has continued the practice of using holy anointing oil as a devotional practice, as well as in the liturgy.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_anointing_oil)

Here is a quote from the detailed study on the "unction" by J. C. Philpot ( http://www.biblebb.com/files/philpot/unction_of_the_holy_one.htm)

1. Oil is of a SOFTENING, suppling nature. It is applied to the body to soften and supple it. So spiritually, the unction, or anointing of the oil of the Holy Spirit makes the conscience tender. Wherever that unction comes, it takes away the heart of stone, and gives a heart of flesh. It removes impenitence, unbelief, waywardness, perverseness, self-righteousness, and self-conceit; it softens and supples and makes tender the heart and conscience, so as to fall under the power of the truth..........

2. Again, unction or anointing oil is of a PENETRATING nature. When ointment or oil is rubbed on anything it penetrates into the substance beneath. It does not lie on the surface; it penetrates below the surface into the very substance of that to which it is applied. So it is spiritually with respect to the unction of the Holy One on the heart and conscience. In the case of most people who have truth in the understanding, but it is not brought into the heart by divine power--the effect is superficial. There is no depth of vital experience in their hearts; thus they resemble the stony ground hearers of whom we read in the parable of the sower: .....

3. Again, unction, or oil is of a SPREADING nature. It diffuses itself, as it is termed. It is not confined to the little spot where it falls, but it extends itself in all directions. So it is with the unctuous teaching of the Blessed Spirit in a man's heart. It spreads itself through the soul. The Lord therefore compares it to leaven (Matt.13:33). How does leaven act? It is very small in itself, a little lump; but when put into the large mass of meal, it diffuses itself through every portion of it; so that not a single crumb of the loaf is unaffected by it.