Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Heb 1, 6 Let all the angels of God worship him

(Heb 1, 6) Let all the angels of God worship him
[6] And again, when he leads the first-born into the world, he says: "Let all the angels of God worship him."
(CCC 2628) Adoration is the first attitude of man acknowledging that he is a creature before his Creator. It exalts the greatness of the Lord who made us (Cf. Ps 95:1-6) and the almighty power of the Savior who sets us free from evil. Adoration is homage of the spirit to the "King of Glory" (Ps 24, 9-10) respectful silence in the presence of the "ever greater" God (Cf. St. Augustine, En. in Ps. 62, 16: PL 36, 757-758). Adoration of the thrice-holy and sovereign God of love blends with humility and gives assurance to our supplications. (CCC 1352) The anaphora: with the Eucharistic Prayer - the prayer of thanksgiving and consecration - we come to the heart and summit of the celebration: In the preface, the Church gives thanks to the Father, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, for all his works: creation, redemption, and sanctification. The whole community thus joins in the unending praise that the Church in heaven, the angels and all the saints, sing to the thrice-holy God. (CCC 1192) Sacred images in our churches and homes are intended to awaken and nourish our faith in the mystery of Christ. Through the icon of Christ and his works of salvation, it is he whom we adore. Through sacred images of the holy Mother of God, of the angels and of the saints, we venerate the persons represented. (CCC 2131) Basing itself on the mystery of the incarnate Word, the seventh ecumenical council at Nicaea (787) justified against the iconoclasts the veneration of icons - of Christ, but also of the Mother of God, the angels, and all the saints. By becoming incarnate, the Son of God introduced a new "economy" of images.

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