These words mean to adore God as the Lord of everything that exists; to render to him the individual and community worship which is his due; to pray to him with sentiments of praise, of thanks, and of supplication; to offer him sacrifices, above all the spiritual sacrifice of one’s own life, united with the perfect sacrifice of Christ; and to keep the promises and vows made to him.
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2095. The theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity inform and give life to the moral virtues. Thus charity leads us to render to God what we as creatures owe him in all justice. the virtue of religion disposes us to have this attitude.
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2096. 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
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2097. 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.14The worship of the one God sets man free from turning in on himself, from the slavery of sin and the idolatry of the world.
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2098. The acts of faith, hope, and charity enjoined by the first commandment are accomplished in prayer. Lifting up the mind toward God is an expression of our adoration of God: prayer of praise and thanksgiving, intercession and petition. Prayer is an indispensable condition for being able to obey God's commandments. " (We) ought always to pray and not lose heart."15
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2099. It is right to offer sacrifice to God as a sign of adoration and gratitude, supplication and communion: "Every action done so as to cling to God in communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness, is a true sacrifice."16
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2100. Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit...."17The prophets of the Old Covenant often denounced sacrifices that were not from the heart or not coupled with love of neighbor.18Jesus recalls the words of the prophet Hosea: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice."19The only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father's love and for our salvation.20By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God.
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2101. In many circumstances, the Christian is called to make promises to God. Baptism and Confirmation, Matrimony and Holy Orders always entail promises. Out of personal devotion, the Christian may also promise to God this action, that prayer, this alms-giving, that pilgrimage, and so forth. Fidelity to promises made to God is a sign of the respect owed to the divine majesty and of love for a faithful God.
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2102. "A vow is a deliberate and free promise made to God concerning a possible and better good which must be fulfilled by reason of the virtue of religion,"21A vow is an act of devotion in which the Christian dedicates himself to God or promises him some good work. By fulfilling his vows he renders to God what has been promised and consecrated to Him. the Acts of the Apostles shows us St. Paul concerned to fulfill the vows he had made.22
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2103. The Church recognizes an exemplary value in the vows to practice the evangelical counsels:23
Mother Church rejoices that she has within herself many men and women who pursue the Savior's self-emptying more closely and show it forth more clearly, by undertaking poverty with the freedom of the children of God, and renouncing their own will: they submit themselves to man for the sake of God, thus going beyond what is of precept in the matter of perfection, so as to conform themselves more fully to the obedient Christ.24
The Church can, in certain cases and for proportionate reasons, dispense from vows and promises25
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2104. "All men are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and his Church, and to embrace it and hold on to it as they come to know it."26This duty derives from "the very dignity of the human person."27It does not contradict a "sincere respect" for different religions which frequently "reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men,"28nor the requirement of charity, which urges Christians "to treat with love, prudence and patience those who are in error or ignorance with regard to the faith."29
Acesse nossos estudos biblicos:
What is the example of faith that the poor widow gives us in Luke 21:1-4?
What is the significance of the founding of the church in Ephesus described in Acts 19:1-10?
What does the promise of salvation amid darkness in Micah 7:7 mean?
Justification by Faith: What Does the Bible Say? (Romans 1:17)
