Whether Adoration Is an Act of Latria or Religion?
Objection 1: It would seem that adoration is not an act of latria or
religion. The worship of religion is due to God alone. But adoration
is not due to God alone: since we read (Gen. 18:2) that Abraham
adored the angels; and (3 Kings 1:23) that the prophet Nathan, when
he was come in to king David, "worshiped him bowing down to the
ground." Therefore adoration is not an act of religion.
Obj. 2: Further, the worship of religion is due to God as the object
of beatitude, according to Augustine (De Civ. Dei x, 3): whereas
adoration is due to Him by reason of His majesty, since a gloss on
Ps. 28:2, "Adore ye the Lord in His holy court," says: "We pass from
these courts into the court where we adore His majesty." Therefore
adoration is not an act of latria.
Obj. 3: Further, the worship of one same religion is due to the three
Persons. But we do not adore the three Persons with one adoration,
for we genuflect at each separate invocation of Them [*At the
adoration of the Cross, on Good Friday]. Therefore adoration is nol
an act of latria.
_On the contrary,_ are the words quoted Matt. 4:10: "The Lord thy God
shalt thou adore and Him only shalt thou serve."
_I answer that,_ Adoration is directed to the reverence of the person
adored. Now it is evident from what we have said (Q. 81, AA. 2, 4)
that it is proper to religion to show reverence to God. Hence the
adoration whereby we adore God is an act of religion.
Reply Obj. 1: Reverence is due to God on account of His excellence,
which is communicated to certain creatures not in equal measure, but
according to a measure of proportion; and so the reverence which we
pay to God, and which belongs to latria, differs from the reverence
which we pay to certain excellent creatures; this belongs to dulia,
and we shall speak of it further on (Q. 103). And since external
actions are signs of internal reverence, certain external tokens
significative of reverence are offered to creatures of excellence,
and among these tokens the chief is adoration: yet there is one thing
which is offered to God alone, and that is sacrifice. Hence Augustine
says (De Civ. Dei x, 4): "Many tokens of Divine worship are employed
in doing honor to men, either through excessive humility, or through
pernicious flattery; yet so that those to whom these honors are given
are recognized as being men to whom we owe esteem and reverence and
even adoration if they be far above us. But who ever thought it his
duty to sacrifice to any other than one whom he either knew or deemed
or pretended to be a God?" Accordingly it was with the reverence due
to an excellent creature that Nathan adored David; while it was the
reverence due to God with which Mardochai refused to adore Aman
fearing "lest he should transfer the honor of his God to a man"
(Esther 13:14).
Again with the reverence due to an excellent creature Abraham adored
the angels, as did also Josue (Jos. 5:15): though we may understand
them to have adored, with the adoration of latria, God Who appeared
and spoke to them in the guise of an angel. It was with the reverence
due to God that John was forbidden to adore the angel (Apoc. 22:9),
both to indicate the dignity which he had acquired through Christ,
whereby man is made equal to an angel: wherefore the same text goes
on: "I am thy fellow-servant and of thy brethren"; as also to exclude
any occasion of idolatry, wherefore the text continues: "Adore God."
Reply Obj. 2: Every Divine excellency is included in His majesty: to
which it pertains that we should be made happy in Him as in the
sovereign good.
Reply Obj. 3: Since there is one excellence of the three
Divine Persons, one honor and reverence is due to them and
consequently one adoration. It is to represent this that where it is
related (Gen. 18:2) that three men appeared to Abraham, we are told
that he addressed one, saying: "Lord, if I have found favor in thy
sight," etc. The triple genuflection represents the Trinity of
Persons, not a difference of adoration.
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