The Glory of God: Internal & External

The recognition and praise of someone’s excellence. Applied to God, the divine (internal) glory is the infinite goodness that the persons of the Trinity constantly behold and mutually praise. His external glory is first of all the share that creatures have in God’s goodness. Sometimes called objective glory, it is given to God by all creatures without exception, by their mere existence, insofar as they mirror the divine perfections. Formal glory is rendered to God by his rational creatures, when they acknowledge the divine goodness and praise God for who he is and what he has communicated of himself to the world. (Etym. Latin gloria, renown, splendor, glorification.)

—John A. Hardon, S.J., “Glory” in Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fourth Edition (Bardstown, KY: Eternal Life, 4^th edition 2008), p. 232, ISBN: 978-0-9672989-1-7 (hardcover).