Worship is Adoration

Worship is Adoration

“But the hour will come – in fact it is here already – when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth:  this is the kind of worshippers the Father wants.  God is spirit and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.”  (John 4: 23 – 24)

The message from Jesus today is about the genuine worship of God.  Genuine adoration of the Father will be in spirit and truth.  What does this mean?  “God is spirit and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.”  In order to worship God properly, we must realize our spiritual nature and close all the doors to our senses.  The senses are evidence of materiality and are distraction and obstacle to genuine worship.  When I close my eyes, I pray better.  It also helps during prayer to be still and cultivate a sense of the presence of God.

It is only the Holy Spirit in us who leads us into the true worship of the Father.  The Holy Spirit inspires us to worship and teaches us how to adore God.

On worship, the Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say, “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 exult 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.  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 # 2097)