Tag: Glory Be

Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving

January 11, 2026
Divine Office
Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office)

My prayer life in recent years began with a gifted period of contemplative prayer (as told here). Hands-down, my two favorite pray-ers are the contemplative mystics Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross (I still recall being at daily mass one day when Fr. Bryan Dolejsi mentioned Teresa of Avila being a Doctor of the Church. “What?” I wanted to know, “What is a Doctor of the Church and who is Teresa of Avila?” Those questions sent me off on a follow-up inquiry for which I am grateful). I experience joy within contemplative prayer and a movement toward becoming more of the person that God wants me to be.

An additional form of prayer recently entered my daily routine when I enrolled in theological studies. We were told to start daily participation in the morning and evening prayers of Liturgy of the Hours (see my previous post about this daily set of prayers that are prayed collectively by the Universal Church).

I am still finding my way into being consistently prayerful within the set daily structure of Liturgy of the Hours. In my previous post about Liturgy of the Hours, I mentioned being told that Liturgy of the Hours is meant to be a tool for prayer than a a straight jacket dictating how we are to pray (hmm…. I thrive prayerfully within a structured mass, why I am having to find my way within the structured Liturgy of the Hours?). I discussed this recently with a priest I see once a month – he told me to find one phrase in each day’s Liturgy of the Hours that I can grab onto and basically do Lectio Divina with that one phrase……

I recently took note that Liturgy of the Hours (also called “Divine Office”) starts with us asking God to come to our assistance – followed by the Glory Be and an Alelluiah.

Hmmm….. Within contemplative prayer, I experientially appreciate God’s loving presence and appreciate that God is acting to bring about positive change within me. Basically, adoration. A relational experience and receiving. I a starting to see a new opportunity within Liturgy of the Hours – learning a new way of appreciating God via the Glory Be and an Alelluiah. Contemplative adoration is a relationship, while the Glory Be and an Alelluiah are about praising God for God’s own sake. (Life’s not “all about us!!!”). Contemplative prayer and Liturgy of the Hours are complimentary – receiving in one, praising God for God’s own sake in the other. We hear at mass that God has no need of our praise, but that our praise is itself our gift to God.

There a good many ways to praise God. There are songs of praise, a thank you during the day, and – most importantly – thanking God by being of useful service to God’s children. Living a life of faith becomes living a life of gratitude. Alleluiah!

Kim Burkhardt blogs about faith at The Hermitage Within. Thank you for reading this faith blog and for sharing it with your friends. While you are here, please feel welcome to provide support to sustain this blog ($$).

Glory be to God

November 14, 2025
Photo of fountain
Fountain at Saint Martin’s University

Yesterday, I was on campus at Saint Martin’s University where I am starting a Master’s in Theological Studies MTS (I took the photo shown above while on campus).

While I was on campus, I joined the campus’s Benedictine monks (and a handful of students) for mid-day prayer in the campus chapel. Several recitations of the The Gloria Patri (Glory Be) were included in mid-day prayers.

The Gloria Patri, of course, is included at mass and in the rosary (“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). Thus, I’ve orally prayed it countless times. Yet, it specifically captured my attention during mid-day prayers yesterday.

We hear at mass “”Lord, although you have no need of our praise, yet our thanksgiving is itself your gift, since our praises add nothing to your greatness but profit us for salvation through Christ, Our Lord.”

“Sing a joyful song unto the Lord” (a popular hymn based on Psalm 100) is a great way to pray. There’s an adage that “those who sing pray twice.” This doesn’t just apply at church. Praying with joyful praise when we are alone at home is also a great way to pray!

There are plenty of ways to incorporate “joyful praise” into our personal prayer life:

  • Verbal thanks in prayer expressing appreciation for specific items for which we are grateful.
  • Prayerful and joyful music at home (uplifting!)
  • Being joyfully attentive to God in prayer
  • And…. (there’s no limit to how we can be joyful and praiseful)

Praise to God “profits us for salvation.” How might you regularly incorporate joyful praise into your personal prayer life?

Kim Burkhardt blogs about faith at The Hermitage Within. Thank you for reading this faith blog and for sharing it with your friends. While you are here, please feel welcome to provide support to sustain this blog ($$).