Whether Adoration Denotes an Action of the Body?
Objection 1: It would seem that adoration does not denote an act of
the body. It is written (John 4:23): "The true adorers shall adore
the Father in spirit and in truth." Now what is done in spirit has
nothing to do with an act of the body. Therefore adoration does not
denote an act of the body.
Obj. 2: Further, the word adoration is taken from _oratio_ (prayer).
But prayer consists chiefly in an interior act, according to 1 Cor.
14:15, "I will pray with the spirit, I will pray also with the
understanding." Therefore adoration denotes chiefly a spiritual act.
Obj. 3: Further, acts of the body pertain to sensible knowledge:
whereas we approach God not by bodily but by spiritual sense.
Therefore adoration does not denote an act of the body.
_On the contrary,_ A gloss on Ex. 20:5, "Thou shalt not adore them,
nor serve them," says: "Thou shalt neither worship them in mind, nor
adore them outwardly."
_I answer that,_ As Damascene says (De Fide Orth. iv, 12), since we
are composed of a twofold nature, intellectual and sensible, we offer
God a twofold adoration; namely, a spiritual adoration, consisting in
the internal devotion of the mind; and a bodily adoration, which
consists in an exterior humbling of the body. And since in all acts
of latria that which is without is referred to that which is within
as being of greater import, it follows that exterior adoration is
offered on account of interior adoration, in other words we exhibit
signs of humility in our bodies in order to incite our affections to
submit to God, since it is connatural to us to proceed from the
sensible to the intelligible.
Reply Obj. 1: Even bodily adoration is done in spirit, in so far as
it proceeds from and is directed to spiritual devotion.
Reply Obj. 2: Just as prayer is primarily in the mind, and
secondarily expressed in words, as stated above (Q. 83, A. 12), so
too adoration consists chiefly in an interior reverence of God, but
secondarily in certain bodily signs of humility; thus when we
genuflect we signify our weakness in comparison with God, and when we
prostrate ourselves we profess that we are nothing of ourselves.
Reply Obj. 3: Though we cannot reach God with the senses, our mind is
urged by sensible signs to approach God.
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