Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1Corinthians 10:31) Saint Paul, in the scripture passage above, tells us that, whatever we do, we are to have as our purpose the glory of God. Jesus, similarly, said in Matthew 6:33 that we are to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." In keeping with these statements, the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church has adopted for its rule of purpose the Non Nobis: "Non nobis, Domine, non nobis sed Nomini Tuo da Gloriam" Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Thy Name be the Glory Saint Ignatius of Loyola had as his rule the statement that all things should be done, "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam" (for the greater glory of God). This was more than a motto, it was the focus of his entire existence. This is also the focus of all we do at the Church of the Transfiguration. We, therefore, in addition to the ICCEC rule, take as our rule of purpose: "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam" For the Greater Glory of God All of creation exists to glorify God. Saint Paul tells us in Romans 4:20 of Abraham, that "he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God." In Isaiah 6:3 the prophet, describing the worship of heaven, says that the seraphim continually cry out the words of the Sanctus: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" The same picture is given us in the Book of the Revelation (4:8) when Saint John reports that the four living creatures do not cease saying day and night, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!" and the twenty-four elders respond with (verse 11), "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power." The prophet Habakkuk in the second chapter of his book, the 14th verse, tells us that, "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Summing all things up, Saint Paul said, "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen" (Romans 11:36). As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "The world was created for the glory of God." Furthermore, the Westminster Catechism says, "Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever." All the cultural and cultic work of men has as its principal end the glory of God. This is especially true of Christians individually and of the Church catholic. What does it mean to give God glory? The Hebrew word for glory is kabowd. It means honor, dignity, reputation, reverence, abundance, riches, treasure, splendor, brightness, and majesty. Kabowd is related to the word kabad which means to be heavy, to be weighty. Therefore, we see that glory has to do with that which has substance, weight, honor, abundance and splendor. In the New Testament, the Greek word for glory is doxa, which carries with it the ideas of praise, honor, splendor, brightness, magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace, and majesty. Glory is something that, ultimately, belongs to God, the kingly majesty that is His as supreme ruler, majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of His deity. Glory is spoken of in the Scripture as characteristic of God's kingly rule and presence. God's glory is manifest in the events and traditions recorded in Scripture such as the creation, the exodus, the tabernacle, and the temple, but chiefly in the redemptive incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ and His continuing work through His Church. Glory belongs to Jesus, the incarnate God, in His kingly majesty as the Messiah, His absolute and perfect personal excellency, and His present state with God the Father in heaven to which He was raised in His humanity after he had achieved his work on earth. Glory is, furthermore, the beatific perfection into which the faithful enter both in the intermediate state after death and in our resurrected bodies after our Savior's return from heaven on the last day. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "The ultimate purpose of creation is that God `who is creator of all things may at last become "all in all", thus simultaneously assuring his own glory and our beatitude'." So, what does this mean for us? It means that we must uphold God's honor and reputation in all we say and do. That we must carry out God's work in God's way, to reflect, in our lives individually and corporately, the love, holiness, and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It means that in our cultural work of exercising loving dominion over the earth and discipling the nations, we must manifest the Sovereignty of the Creator God, seeking His rule and righteousness in our lives and in the culture around us. It means that in our cultic work of prayer and the Liturgy, as we praise, worship, and magnify His infinite glory, that the focus of our worship is our Lord and His glory. In short: we do all Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, and our prayer is always Non nobis, Domine, non nobis sed Nomini Tuo da Gloriam.