"If any one is a Worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him." 110 Such is the power of the Church's Prayer in the name of her Lord, above all in the Eucharist. Her prayer is also a communion of intercession with the all-holy Mother of God 111 and all the saints who have been pleasing to the Lord because they willed his will alone:

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." 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." 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. 32 Christians are called to be the light of the world. Thus, the Church shows forth the kingship of Christ over all creation and in particular over human societies. 33

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. 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.

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. 13

God makes himself known by recalling his all-powerful loving, and liberating action in the history of the one he addresses: "I brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." the first word contains the first commandment of the Law: "You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve him.... You shall not go after other gods." 5 God's first call and just demand is that man accept him and Worship him.

The moral life is spiritual Worship. We "present (our) bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God," 73 within the Body of Christ that we form and in communion with the offering of his Eucharist. In the Liturgy and the Celebration of the sacraments, Prayer and teaching are conjoined with the grace of Christ to enlighten and nourish Christian activity. As does the whole of the Christian life, the moral life finds its source and summit in the Eucharistic sacrifice.

It is here that the Father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family Exercise the Priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way "by the reception of the sacraments, Prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active Charity." 168 Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and "a school for human enrichment." 169 Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous - even repeated - forgiveness, and above all divine Worship in prayer and the offering of one's life.

"Whilst not having the supreme degree of the pontifical office, and notwithstanding the fact that they depend on the bishops in the Exercise of their own proper power, the priests are for all that associated with them by reason of their sacerdotal dignity; and in virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, after the image of Christ, the supreme and eternal priest, they are consecrated in order to preach the Gospel and shepherd the Faithful as well as to celebrate divine Worship as true priests of the New Testament." 46

"In the name of the whole Church" does not mean that priests are the delegates of the community. the Prayer and offering of the Church are inseparable from the prayer and offering of Christ, her head; it is always the case that Christ Worships in and through his Church. the whole Church, the Body of Christ, prays and offers herself "through him, with him, in him," in the unity of the Holy Spirit, to God the Father. the whole Body, caput et membra, prays and offers itself, and therefore those who in the Body are especially his ministers are called ministers not only of Christ, but also of the Church. It is because the ministerial Priesthood represents Christ that it can represent the Church.

Reading Sacred Scripture, praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the Our Father - every sincere act of Worship or devotion revives the spirit of conversion and repentance within us and contributes to the forgiveness of our sins.

Superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the Worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of Prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition. 41

The first commandment condemns polytheism. It requires man neither to believe in, nor to venerate, other divinities than the one true God. Scripture constantly recalls this rejection of "idols, (of) silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see." These empty idols make their Worshippers empty: "Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them." 42 God, however, is the "living God" 43 who gives life and intervenes in history.

Idolatry not only refers to false pagan Worship. It remains a constant temptation to Faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, "You cannot serve God and mammon." 44 Many martyrs died for not adoring "the Beast" 45 refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God. 46

This need also corresponds to a divine requirement. God seeks Worshippers in Spirit and in Truth, and consequently living Prayer that rises from the depths of the soul. He also wants the external expression that associates the body with interior prayer, for it renders him that perfect homage which is his due.

Certain constant characteristics appear throughout the Psalms: simplicity and spontaneity of Prayer; the desire for God himself through and with all that is good in his creation; the distraught situation of the believer who, in his preferential love for the Lord, is exposed to a host of enemies and temptations, but who waits upon what the Faithful God will do, in the certitude of his love and in submission to his will. the prayer of the psalms is always sustained by praise; that is why the title of this collection as handed down to us is so fitting: "The Praises." Collected for the assembly's Worship, the Psalter both sounds the call to prayer and sings the response to that call: Hallelu-Yah! (“Alleluia"), "Praise the Lord!"

For the People of God, the Temple was to be the place of their education in Prayer: pilgrimages, feasts and sacrifices, the evening offering, the incense, and the bread of the Presence (“shewbread") - all these signs of the holiness and Glory of God Most High and Most Near were appeals to and ways of prayer. But ritualism often encouraged an excessively external Worship. the people needed education in Faith and conversion of heart; this was the mission of the prophets, both before and after the Exile.

For this reason bishops, personally or through delegates, should see to the promotion of sacred art, old and new, in all its forms and, with the same religious care, remove from the Liturgy and from places of Worship everything which is not in conformity with the truth of Faith and the authentic beauty of sacred art. 297

Sanctifying Sundays and holy days requires a common effort. Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord's Day. Traditional activities (sport, restaurants, etc.), and social necessities (public Services, etc.), require some people to work on Sundays, but everyone should still take care to set aside sufficient time for leisure. With temperance and Charity the Faithful will see to it that they avoid the excesses and violence sometimes associated with popular leisure activities. In spite of economic constraints, public authorities should ensure citizens a time intended for rest and divine Worship. Employers have a similar obligation toward their employees.

On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the Faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the Worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord's Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. 123 Family needs or important social Service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. the Faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.

The Celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular Worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all." 109 Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people.

Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For Worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ: 107

God's action is the model for human action. If God "rested and was refreshed" on the seventh day, man too ought to "rest" and should let others, especially the poor, "be refreshed." 96 The sabbath brings everyday work to a halt and provides a respite. It is a day of protest against the servitude of work and the Worship of money. 97

Human life finds its unity in the adoration of the one God. the commandment to Worship the Lord alone integrates man and saves him from an endless disintegration. Idolatry is a perversion of man's innate religious sense. An idolater is someone who "transfers his indestructible notion of God to anything other than God." 47

Worship of the Eucharist. In the Liturgy of the Mass we express our Faith in the real presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord. "The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the Faithful, and carrying them in procession." 206

The Liturgy of the Eucharist unfolds according to a fundamental structure which has been preserved throughout the centuries down to our own day. It displays two great parts that form a fundamental unity: - the gathering, the liturgy of the Word, with readings, homily and general intercessions; - the liturgy of the Eucharist, with the presentation of the bread and wine, the consecratory thanksgiving, and communion. The liturgy of the Word and liturgy of the Eucharist together form "one single act of Worship"; 170 The Eucharistic table set for us is the table both of the Word of God and of the Body of the Lord. 171

"The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and that unity of the People of God by which the Church is kept in being. It is the culmination both of God's action sanctifying the world in Christ and of the Worship men offer to Christ and through him to the Father in the Holy Spirit." 136

"Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways." 325 The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, 326 "the first to hear the Word of God." 327 The Jewish Faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the Glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the Worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ", 328 "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable." 329

What are these bonds of unity? Above all, Charity "binds everything together in perfect harmony." 265 But the unity of the pilgrim Church is also assured by visible bonds of communion: - profession of one Faith received from the Apostles; -common Celebration of divine Worship, especially of the sacraments; - apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the fraternal concord of God's family. 266

"Often, too, the Church is called the building of God. the Lord compared himself to the stone which the builders rejected, but which was made into the comer-stone. On this foundation the Church is built by the apostles and from it the Church receives solidity and unity. This edifice has many names to describe it: the house of God in which his family dwells; the household of God in the Spirit; the dwelling-place of God among men; and, especially, the holy temple. This temple, symbolized in places of Worship built out of stone, is praised by the Fathers and, not without reason, is compared in the Liturgy to the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. As living stones we here on earth are built into it. It is this holy city that is seen by John as it comes down out of heaven from God when the world is made anew, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 148

To believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son: "with the Father and the Son he is Worshipped and glorified." 6 For this reason, the divine mystery of the Holy Spirit was already treated in the context of Trinitarian "theology." Here, however, we have to do with the Holy Spirit only in the divine "economy."

Far from having been hostile to the Temple, where he gave the essential part of his teaching, Jesus was willing to pay the Temple-tax, associating with him Peter, whom he had just made the foundation of his future Church. 359 He even identified himself with the Temple by presenting himself as God's definitive dwelling-place among men. 360 Therefore his being put to bodily death 361 presaged the destruction of the Temple, which would manifest the dawning of a new age in the history of salvation: "The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you Worship the Father." 362

The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Saviour of the world. the great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. 212 In the magi, representatives of the neighbouring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. the magi's coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations. 213 Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and Worship him as Son of God and Saviour of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament. 214 The Epiphany shows that "the full number of the nations" now takes its "place in the family of the patriarchs", and acquires Israelitica dignitas 215 (is made "worthy of the heritage of Israel").

Jesus' circumcision, on the eighth day after his birth, 209 is the sign of his incorporation into Abraham's descendants, into the people of the covenant. It is the sign of his submission to the Law 210 and his deputation to Israel's Worship, in which he will participate throughout his life. This sign prefigures that "circumcision of Christ" which is Baptism. 211

Creation was fashioned with a view to the sabbath and therefore for the Worship and adoration of God. Worship is inscribed in the order of creation. 215 As the rule of St. Benedict says, nothing should take precedence over "the work of God", that is, solemn worship. 216 This indicates the right order of human concerns.

From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and Service of angels. When God "brings the firstborn into the world, he says: 'Let all God's angels Worship him.'" 196 Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church's praise: "Glory to God in the highest!" 197 They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been. 198 Again, it is the angels who "evangelize" by proclaiming the Good News of Christ's Incarnation and Resurrection. 199 They will be present at Christ's return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgement. 200

The apostolic Faith concerning the Spirit was confessed by the second ecumenical council at Constantinople (381): "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father." 71 By this confession, the Church recognizes the Father as "the source and origin of the whole divinity". 72 But the eternal origin of the Spirit is not unconnected with the Son's origin: "The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son, of the same substance and also of the same nature. . . Yet he is not called the Spirit of the Father alone,. . . but the Spirit of both the Father and the Son." 73 The Creed of the Church from the Council of Constantinople confesses: "With the Father and the Son, he is Worshipped and glorified." 74

After Israel's sin, when the people had turned away from God to Worship the golden calf, God hears Moses' Prayer of intercession and agrees to walk in the midst of an unFaithful people, thus demonstrating his love. 18 When Moses asks to see his Glory, God responds "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name "the Lord" [YHWH]." 19 Then the LORD passes before Moses and proclaims, "YHWH, YHWH, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and Faithfulness"; Moses then confesses that the LORD is a forgiving God. 20

"Hence the laity, dedicated as they are to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit, are marvellously called and prepared so that even richer fruits of the Spirit maybe produced in them. For all their works, Prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit - indeed even the hardships of life if patiently born - all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In the Celebration of the Eucharist these may most fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord. and so, Worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world itself to God, everywhere offering worship by the holiness of their lives." 434

"All generations will call me blessed": "The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian Worship." 513 The Church rightly honors "the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of 'Mother of God,' to whose protection the Faithful fly in all their dangers and needs.... This very special devotion ... differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration." 514 The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian Prayer, such as the rosary, an "epitome of the whole Gospel," express this devotion to the Virgin Mary. 515

Incorporated into the Church by Baptism, the Faithful have received the sacramental character that consecrates them for Christian religious Worship. 83 The baptismal seal enables and commits Christians to serve God by a vital participation in the holy Liturgy of the Church and to Exercise their baptismal Priesthood by the witness of holy lives and practical Charity. 84

A Church, "a house of Prayer in which the Eucharist is celebrated and reserved, where the Faithful assemble, and where is Worshipped the presence of the Son of God our Savior, offered for us on the sacrificial altar for the help and consolation of the Faithful - this house ought to be in good taste and a worthy place for prayer and sacred ceremonial." 57 In this "house of God" the truth and the harmony of the signs that make it up should show Christ to be present and active in this place. 58

When the Exercise of religious liberty is not thwarted, 56 Christians construct buildings for divine Worship. These visible Churches are not simply gathering places but signify and make visible the Church living in this place, the dwelling of God with men reconciled and united in Christ.

The Worship "in Spirit and in truth" 53 of the New Covenant is not tied exclusively to any one place. the whole earth is sacred and entrusted to the children of men. What matters above all is that, when the Faithful assemble in the same place, they are the "living stones," gathered to be "built into a spiritual house." 54 For the Body of the risen Christ is the spiritual temple from which the source of living water springs forth: incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit, "we are the temple of the living God." 55

The Liturgy of the Hours, which is like an extension of the Eucharistic Celebration, does not exclude but rather in a complementary way calls forth the various devotions of the People of God, especially adoration and Worship of the Blessed Sacrament.

Inasmuch as they are creatures, these perceptible realities can become means of expressing the action of God who sanctifies men, and the action of men who offer Worship to God. the same is true of signs and symbols taken from the social life of man: washing and anointing, breaking bread and sharing the cup can express the sanctifying presence of God and man's gratitude toward his Creator.

"The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of Christ and, finally, to give Worship to God. Because they are signs they also instruct. They not only presuppose Faith, but by words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and express it. That is why they are called 'sacraments of faith."' 44

The three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders confer, in addition to grace, a sacramental character or "seal" by which the Christian shares in Christ's Priesthood and is made a member of the Church according to different states and functions. This configuration to Christ and to the Church, brought about by the Spirit, is indelible, 40 it remains for ever in the Christian as a positive disposition for grace, a promise and guarantee of divine protection, and as a vocation to divine Worship and to the Service of the Church. Therefore these sacraments can never be repeated.

In the sacramental economy the Holy Spirit fulfills what was prefigured in the Old Covenant. Since Christ's Church was "prepared in marvellous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and in the Old Covenant," 14 The Church's Liturgy has retained certain elements of the Worship of the Old Covenant as integral and irreplaceable, adopting them as her own: -notably, reading the Old Testament; -praying the Psalms; -above all, recalling the saving events and significant realities which have found their fulfillment in the mystery of Christ (promise and covenant, Exodus and Passover, kingdom and temple, exile and return).

"Christ, indeed, always associates the Church with himself in this great work in which God is perfectly glorified and men are sanctified. the Church is his beloved Bride who calls to her Lord and through him offers Worship to the eternal Father." 12

In the New Testament the word "Liturgy" refers not only to the Celebration of divine Worship but also to the proclamation of the Gospel and to active Charity. 6 In all of these situations it is a question of the Service of God and neighbor. In a liturgical celebration the Church is servant in the image of her Lord, the one "leitourgos"; 7 she shares in Christ's Priesthood (worship), which is both prophetic (proclamation) and kingly (service of charity):

This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life and Worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes." 37 "The sayings of the holy Fathers are a witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her Prayer." 38

"The wonderful works of God among the people of the Old Testament were but a prelude to the work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect Glory to God. He accomplished this work principally by the Paschal mystery of his blessed Passion, Resurrection from the dead, and glorious Ascension, whereby 'dying he destroyed our death, rising he restored our life.' For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth 'the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church."' 3