Adoration – THE INSTITUTE OF ST JOHN

Theological Perspective 3 The Christian is called to adore God in an enlightened way. Jesus said “God is spirit and those that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The use of the imperative ‘must’ indicates our obligation to discover more about what Adoration is and how best to fulfil…

Theological Perspective 2 “I was standing on the seashore, then I saw a beast emerge from the sea….. I saw one of its heads appeared to have a fatal wound but it had healed and after that the whole world had marvelled and followed the beast… then I saw a second beast emerging from the…

Theological Perspective 1 “Then in my vision I saw a door open in heaven…..and I saw a throne standing in heaven and the One who was sitting on the throne…. Round the throne were 24 elders sitting … and in the centre… were four animals with many eyes…. And day and night they never stopped…

Biblical Perspective 7 Continuing on from the previous talk, Fr Thomas gives four possible interpretations of what it means to worship ‘in spirit and in truth’. Click on the arrow below to listen on your computer or go to the image to subscribe to the podcast

Biblical Perspective 6 “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when true worshippers will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know, we worship what we do know; …. But the hour will come … when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in…

Biblical Perspective 5 “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law but to complete it.” Matthew 5: 17-18. What does Jesus mean by this? Fr Thomas looks closely at the vocabulary used for Adoration in the Gospels and the number of times the words denoting it occur and in which passages. The…

Biblical Perspective 4 “Thus says Israel’s king and his redeemer, the Lord Sabaoth: I am the First and I am the Last: there is no other God besides me.” Isaiah 44: 6 In the book of Wisdom the idolatry of the pagans is described as foolishness: “Yes, naturally stupid are those who are unaware of…

Biblical Perspective 3 “Go down now, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have apostasised. They have been quick to leave the way I marked out for them; they have made for themselves a calf of molten gold and have worshipped it….” Exodus 32: 7-8. In many ways the history of Israel and…

Biblical Perspective 2 “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall have no other Gods except me. You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth; you shall not…

Biblical Perspective 1 Adoration in the Old Testament is very concrete and is signified by a gesture, that of prostration or ‘bowing low’. This can be an act of honour to another person or as an act of adoration of God himself. Progressively it is revealed that Adoration is to be reserved to God alone…

Philosophical Perspective 3 The existence of God is not evident in natural philosophy even if religious practice is evident in all times and all cultures. What is called ‘natural theology’ is the search for God or gods outside the light of revelation. Natural Adoration is the natural love of a creature for its Creator, analogous…

Philosophical Perspective 2. The existence of God is not evident in natural philosophy even if religious practice is evident in all times and all cultures. What is called ‘natural theology’ is the search for God or gods outside the light of revelation. Natural Adoration is the natural love of a creature for its Creator, analogous…

Philosophical Perspective 1 Does philosophy have anything to say about Adoration? What is my human experience of Adoration? Searching the truth with regard to the existence of God is of fundamental importance to us as human beings but we have to admit that the human experience of God is very limited, it is not at…