Ave Maria series
353 Why do we worship God?
We worship God because he exists and because reverence and worship are the appropriate response to his revelation and his presence. “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve” (Matthew 4:10) [2095-2105, 2135-2136]
Worshiping God, however, is also beneficial to men, for it frees them from servitude to the powers of this world. When God is no longer worshipped and when he is no longer thought to be Lord over life and death, others assume that position and put human dignity at risk. 485
“We should fear God out of love and not love him out of fear.” St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
[2095-2105, 2135-2136]
"HIM ONLY SHALL YOU SERVE"
2095 The theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity inform and give life to the moral virtues. Thus charity leads us to render to God what we as creatures owe him in all justice. The virtue of religion disposes us to have this attitude. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition
2096 Adoration is the first act of the virtue of religion. To adore God is to acknowledge him as God, as the Creator and Savior, the Lord and Master of everything that exists, as infinite and merciful Love. "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve," says Jesus, citing Deuteronomy.(Luke 4:8; Compare Deuteronomy 6:13.)13–CCC
2097 To adore God is to acknowledge, in respect and absolute submission, the "nothingness of the creature" who would not exist but for God. To adore God is to praise and exalt him and to humble oneself, as Mary did in the Magnificat, confessing with gratitude that he has done great things and holy is his name.(Compare Luke 1:46-49.)14 The worship of the one God sets man free from turning in on himself, from the slavery of sin and the idolatry of the world. –CCC
2098 The acts of faith, hope, and charity enjoined by the first commandment are accomplished in prayer. Lifting up the mind toward God is an expression of our adoration of God: prayer of praise and thanksgiving, intercession and petition. Prayer is an indispensable condition for being able to obey God's commandments. "[We] ought always to pray and not lose heart."(Luke 18:1.)15–CCC
2099 It is right to offer sacrifice to God as a sign of adoration and gratitude, supplication and communion: "Every action done so as to cling to God in communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness, is a true sacrifice."(St. Augustine, De civ Dei 10,6:Patrologia Latina 41,283.)16–CCC
2100 Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit. . . . "(Psalm 51:17.)17 The prophets of the Old Covenant often denounced sacrifices that were not from the heart or not coupled with love of neighbor.(Compare Amos 5:21-25; Isaiah 1:10-20.)18 Jesus recalls the words of the prophet Hosea: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice."(Matthew 9:13; Mt 12:7; Compare Hosea 6:6.)19 The only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father's love and for our salvation.(Compare Hebrews 9:13-14.)20 By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God. –CCC
2101 In many circumstances, the Christian is called to make promises to God. Baptism and Confirmation, Matrimony and Holy Orders always entail promises. Out of personal devotion, the Christian may also promise to God this action, that prayer, this alms-giving, that pilgrimage, and so forth. Fidelity to promises made to God is a sign of the respect owed to the divine majesty and of love for a faithful God. –CCC
2102 "A vow is a deliberate and free promise made to God concerning a possible and better good which must be fulfilled by reason of the virtue of religion,"(Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1191 § 1)21 A vow is an act of devotion in which the Christian dedicates himself to God or promises him some good work. By fulfilling his vows he renders to God what has been promised and consecrated to Him. The Acts of the Apostles shows us St. Paul concerned to fulfill the vows he had made.(CompareActs of the Apostles 18:18; Acts 21:23-24.)22–CCC
2103 The Church recognizes an exemplary value in the vows to practice the evangelical counsels(Compare Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 654..)23–CCC
Mother Church rejoices that she has within herself many men and women who pursue the Savior's self-emptying more closely and show it forth more clearly, by undertaking poverty with the freedom of the children of God, and renouncing their own will: they submit themselves to man for the sake of God, thus going beyond what is of precept in the matter of perfection, so as to conform themselves more fully to the obedient Christ.(Lumen Gentium 42 § 2.).24–CCC
The Church can, in certain cases and for proportionate reasons, dispense from vows and promises(Compare Codex Iuris Canonici, cann. 692; CIC 1196-1197.)25–CCC
2104 "All men are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and his Church, and to embrace it and hold on to it as they come to know it."(Dignitatis Humanae 1 § 2.)26 This duty derives from "the very dignity of the human person."(Dignitatis Humanae 2 § 1.)27 It does not contradict a "sincere respect" for different religions which frequently "reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men,"(Nostra Aetate 2 § 2.)28 nor the requirement of charity, which urges Christians "to treat with love, prudence and patience those who are in error or ignorance with regard to the faith."(Dignitatis Humanae 14 § 4.)29 –CCC
2105 The duty of offering God genuine worship concerns man both individually and socially. This is "the traditional Catholic teaching on the moral duty of individuals and societies toward the true religion and the one Church of Christ."(Dignitatis Humanae 1 § 3.)30 By constantly evangelizing men, the Church works toward enabling them "to infuse the Christian spirit into the mentality and mores, laws and structures of the communities in which [they] live."(Apostolicam Actuositatem 13 § 1.)31 The social duty of Christians is to respect and awaken in each man the love of the true and the good. It requires them to make known the worship of the one true religion which subsists in the Catholic and apostolic Church.(Compare Dignitatis Humanae 1.)32 Christians are called to be the light of the world. –CCC
IN BRIEF
2135 "You shall worship the Lord your God" (Matthew 4:10). Adoring God, praying to him, offering him the worship that belongs to him, fulfilling the promises and vows made to him are acts of the virtue of religion which fall under obedience to the first commandment. –CCC
2136 The duty to offer God authentic worship concerns man both as an individual and as a social being. –CCC
Delp Fr. Alfred Delp
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