CHRISTIAN WORSHIP

RET.115
Jason Junsay - ppt
NDDU
FILIPINO CONTEXT

 In the Gloria of the Mass on Sundays and

feastdays we sing or proclaim:

Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father;

We worship you, we give you thanks, We praise you
for your glory…

 This fundamental human sense of worship

comes natural to us as Filipinos (may loob sa
Diyos)…
Jason T. Junsay - NDDU
RE 115 ppt
 We spontaneously adore God our
Father-Creator; Jesus Christ, His Son
and our Savior, and the Holy Spirit
who sanctifies us by His presence
within us…

RE 115
Jason ppt
T. Junsay - NDDU
Definition of Worship:

RE 115
Jason T. Junsayppt
- NDDU
 The word worship in its most general sense
is homage (a show of reverence or respect)
paid to a person or a thing.

 Christian Worship - homage paid to God, to

Jesus Christ, to His saints, to the beings or
even to the objects which have a special
relation to God…

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
Several Degrees of Christian Worship

RE 115
Jason T. Junsayppt
- NDDU
1. Superior, Absolute or Supreme Worship
(Cultus Latria) - Adoration

 it is addressed directly to God.

 This sovereign worship is due

to God alone; addressed to a
creature it would become
idolatry.

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
2. Subordinate Worship (Cultus Dulia)
-Veneration

 When worship is addressed only indirectly

to God, that is, when its object is the
veneration of martyrs, of angels, or of
saints.
 It is dependent on Supreme Worship… as
it honours the creatures of God for their
peculiar relations with Him.

RE 115
Jason ppt
T. Junsay - NDDU
“dulia”
a term denoting servitude, and
implying, when used to signify
our worship of distinguished
servants of God, that their
service to Him is their title to
our veneration.

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
3. Cultus Hyperdulia

 The special veneration due to the

Blessed Virgin Mary who has a
separate and absolutely superiminent
rank among the saints.

 It is substantially less than the cultus

latria (adoration), which is due to God
alone. But it is higher than the cultus
dulia (veneration), due to angels and
other saints.
Jason T. Junsay - NDDU
RE 115 ppt
As the Church understands the veneration
of Mary, it is to be closely associated but
subordinated to that of her Son.

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
Important note….

***In accordance with these principles it will readily be

understood that a certain worship may be offered even to
inanimate objects, such as the relics of a martyr, the Cross
of Christ, the Crown of Thorns, or even the statue or picture
of a saint. There is here no confusion or danger of idolatry,
for this worship is subordinate or dependent. The relic of
the saint is venerated because of the link which unites it
with the person who is adored or venerated; while the statue
or picture is regarded as having a conventional relation to a
person who has a right to our homage — as being a symbol
which reminds us of that person.

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
SCRIPTURAL BASIS

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

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A. Old Testament

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
 “I, the Lord, am your God who
brought you out of the land of
Egypt, that place of slavery.
You shall not have other gods
besides Me… you shall not
bow down before them or
worship them..”
Deuteronomy 5:6-7,9

The calling of the Israelites to

acceptable worship…

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
“What do I care for the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD. I have had
enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; In the blood of calves, lambs,
and goats I find no pleasure. When you come to appear before me, who asks
these things of you? Trample my courts no more! To bring offerings is useless;
incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath, calling assemblies-
festive convocations with wickedness—these I cannot bear. Your new moons and
festivals I detest; they weigh me down, I tire of the load. When you spread out
your hands, I will close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not
listen. Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean! Put away your
misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice
your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.”
Isaiah 1:11-17

 The denunciation of empty ritualism, stressing that

true worship consists not in words on the lips but
deeds from the heart…
 Authentic worship means doing good and
rendering justice to the poor, the widow and
Jason T. Junsay - NDDU
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orphan…
B. New Testament

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

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“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you
prepared for me; holocausts and sin offerings you took no
delight in. Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
Behold, I come to do your will, O God.”
Hebrew 10:5-7

 Worship is revolutionized by Jesus by His

obedience to the Father….
 He purified worship by linking it directly to
moral living…
 Like the prophets, Jesus denounced empty
ritualism…
Jason T. Junsay - NDDU
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 ELEMENTS OF AN
AUTHENTIC WORSHIP

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
A.Interior Worship:
Inner Attitude of Reverence and Divine Homage
before the Divine Majesty

 An attitude or disposition of feeling God’s

presence…
 There is a sense of the Divine –
acknowledging the presence of the sacred
(example: entering a classroom compared to a chapel)

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
B. External Worship:
Outward Expression in signs of words, actions,
dances, enacted in public ritual

It is expressed in different levels…

a.Personal prayer and devotion – performed
unseen or seen by a few…
b.Group prayer – block rosary, prayer meetings,
etc…
c. Liturgy – official worship of the Church… it is
communal and ceremonial/ritual
Jason T. Junsay - NDDU
RE 115 ppt
Important note….

Worship should be interior, otherwise it would be

mere comedy, a purely pharisaical worship...

But it should not be purely interior worship.. man

should adore God not only in his soul but also in his
body.

This is the justification of all external manifestations

of worship — genuflexion, prostration, kneeling,
standing, the sign of the cross, the lifting-up or
imposition of hands…
Jason T. Junsay - NDDU
RE 115 ppt
RITUALS

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

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Definition of Ritual:

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
Definition:

… a social, programmed symbolic activity that

has power for creating, communicating,
criticizing and even transforming the basic
meaning of community life.

Examples:
school graduation ceremonies,
inauguration of our political leaders,
Labor and Independence Day
holidays…

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

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Religious Rituals

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

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 Religious ritual is a ceremony having
religious meaning…

 Common religious rituals for the Filipino

Catholic: Christmas, Holy Week, and
countless fiestas…

 But there are superstitious practices

mixed among authentic religious
rituals…
Jason T. Junsay - NDDU
RE 115 ppt
But Authentic Religious Rituals develop personal
relationship with God through actions characterized
by four constant traits:

1.Symbolic
2.Consecratory
3.Repetitive
4.Remembrance

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
1. SYMBOLIC: using natural signs to
make present the divine (example: water)

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

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2. CONSECRATORY: enables the participants to
share in the divine power/love (example: bread and wine
to body and blood, anointing and laying of hands)

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
3. REPETITIVE – the ritual is repeated, using
traditional prayers and actions (example: rite of
baptism/confirmation)

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

RE 115 ppt
4. REMEMBRANCE– the ritual link the
celebrant with their past and the original religious
event that the ritual is celebrating (example: Holy
Communion – The Last Supper)

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

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Authentic religious ritual, purified from
all superstition, is experienced in the
Liturgy of the Church…

Jason T. Junsay - NDDU

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Jason T. Junsay - NDDU
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