Morning Prayer: "Spurn the glory of the world"


 

St. Gregory is praised as one who “spurned the glory of the world,” and the phrase lands differently today than it did in late antiquity. We don’t live in a world of imperial courts and public honorifics. Our “glory” is subtler, more ambient, woven into the texture of daily life. It shows up in the desire to be seen as competent, admirable, indispensable, impressive. It shows up in the quiet hope that someone will notice how hard we’re working, how much we’re carrying, how well we’re holding everything together.

To spurn that kind of glory is not to reject the world or withdraw from it. It is simply to refuse the illusion that our worth depends on being noticed. Gregory’s freedom came from knowing that the most important work is often hidden: feeding the hungry without fanfare, praying for a wounded city without applause, tending to the ordinary needs of ordinary people without needing to be extraordinary himself.

What gets in the way today is not pride so much as fear. Fear of being overlooked. Fear of being irrelevant. Fear that if we stop performing, we will disappear. The world trains us to believe that visibility is the same as value, and that if we are not shining, we are somehow failing.

But Gregory’s life suggests something gentler: that God’s gaze is enough. That quiet fidelity is enough. That the work done without witnesses is often the work that shapes us most deeply. To spurn the glory of the world is simply to let go of the need to be impressive, and to trust that the hidden places of our lives are where grace does its best work.



Read more Morning Prayer posts: MSI Press Blog

Note about Morning Prayer: Each morning prayer post reflects on one phrase from the Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. which can be found in the iBreviary (a downloadable app), Universalis (website) or Divine Office (publication and website). Post may be assisted by AI in image generation and content (research and/or wording).

Morning Prayer posts inspired by Being Catholic in Troubled Times (Dennis Ortman)

Book Description:

These are times that try our souls. This book is addressed to all, not just Catholics, who search for deeper meaning in tough times. Our age is marked by division and alienation. We long for some message that will bring peace to our world and our hearts.

This book suggests that the Catholic faith can provide strength in these troubled times. The word "catholic" means "all-embracing, universal." Nothing is excluded in the catholic mind. The truth that sets us free can be found everywhere, especially in unexpected places. It is often hidden in plain sight. In our darkest moments, we find new light and life. When we are most despairing, a ray of hope shines through.



Dr. Dennis Ortman, former priest and current psychologist, is the author of Anger Anonymous, Anxiety Anonymous, Depression Anonymous, Being Catholic in Troubled Times, and Life, Liberty, and COVID-19.


For more posts by and about Dennis and his award-winning books, click HERE.



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