Ordinary Time 33 - Thus Passes the Glory of the World

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 33

November 23, 2025

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

 

            In 1907, a book was released that shook the literary world: the first-ever dystopian novel, entitled “Lord of the World”, written by a Catholic priest named Msgr. Robert Hugh Benson. In the story, it shows a Catholic Church that is persecuted and meets secretly, because the atheistic one-world government rules all. The government is led by a man named Felsenburgh, who is not an evil man but whose motto is “God is man” – seeking to build a post-religious culture (not unlike what we often see today). They hear a false rumor that the Catholic Church is seeking to assassinate Felsenburgh, so the government burns down Rome and seeks to destroy the Pope and remaining Cardinals, who have fled to Nazareth. The Pope, of course, has no armies and no way to defend himself, so all he can do is place the Eucharist in the monstrance and process through the town, singing hymns to the Eucharist as bombers begin to rain down their firebombs. But as their hymn singing grows louder to drown out the bombs, the book suddenly ends with the most evocative words in the history of literature: “Then this world passed away, and all the glory of it.” Christ has come, let everything opposed to Him crumble into nothingness.

            Someday, all that the world values will pass away. Where are all the tyrants who persecuted Christians? Where are all the celebrities in history who, in their ego and vanity, considered themselves above the common horde? Where are those politicians who have grappled and lied and cheated their way to power? Thus passes the glory of the world.

            In the Gospel, Jesus’ disciples were marveling at the fine art that covered the Temple. But within one generation, the Temple itself was completely destroyed by the Romans. The only part still standing is the Western Wall, also called the Wailing Wall because Jewish men and women travel to the site to weep over the loss of their Temple.

            So will happen to all things that glorify man but not God. In our first reading, Malachi speaks of destruction – but of whom? “All the proud and all evildoers.” God cannot allow evil to triumph over the good forever – there must be a time when all things that do not belong to God are conquered, once and for all.

            We’ve seen glimpses of that throughout history. In 1675, Pope Urban VIII, who was originally from the Barberini family, ordered that the bronze on the Pantheon be dismantled and brought to St. Peter’s Basilica, where it was made into the famous bronze baldacchino (canopy) that covers the main altar. In fact, the removal of that famous pagan temple made the Romans famously exclaim, “What the barbarians didn’t remove, the Barberinis did!” But then the Pope took that ancient temple and re-consecrated it into a Church – instead of a pantheon dedicated to all the pagan gods (pan-theon meaning “all gods”), it became a Church dedicated to Mary and all the Saints. All that does not glorify God will be transformed into something that does.

            So it is good for us to evaluate all things in light of this principle: Thus passes the glory of the world. If it is not of God, it will pass away. All those riches – what do they matter? Our good looks – how quickly they pass! The awards, the sports trophies – nothing will be remembered in a hundred years. I was speaking with a young man in high school this past week and asked what he wanted to do for a career. He told me he wanted to be an entrepreneur, so that his name would be remembered forever. But since the beginning of human history, about 117 billion people have lived on earth…how many of them are household names? A couple hundred, maybe? People who thought they were incredibly important a hundred years ago are now just names on a gravestone, quickly fading into obscurity.

            The only thing that remains is our eternal soul – which will last forever as an eternal glory or an eternal tragedy. We must keep this before our eyes always!

            In the 1400s, crowning a new Pope was quite a show. The Pope would receive a three-tiered gold crown, and sit on a chair carried by four men, to the chants and praises of the assembled throng. But starting in 1409, a new addition entered into the ceremony: a priest would stop the procession of the new Pope three times, carrying a smoldering handful of straw, and proclaim the words, Sic transit gloria mundi – thus passes the glory of the world.

            I sometimes wish we had that phrase plastered on sports stadiums, on concert venues, on the halls of Congress, on the doorway into Sephora. May it always be written on the heart of every Christian: thus passes the glory of the world – that we may live for the One Who ever endures.