“WITH MY BODY I THEE WORSHIP”

The word worship is a very imprecise way to describe what we do in the liturgy. It is too broad to describe the adoration, or act of faith, offered to God alone. At the same time, this word is too narrow since it refers to the worth-ness or worthiness not only of God, but any possible human. As we use it, both inside and outside the church, the word worship means any of the following: respect, adoration, veneration, honor, admiration, endearment, homage, adulation, and devotion.

Etymologically, worship is the updated version of the Old English weorthscipe, which means “worthiness, acknowledgment of worth.” To say “worship” is to say, “You are worthy.” Hence, although it ’s not very common, in some places certain persons are (still) called “Your Worship.” There is no thought that these persons are God or even godly. But that they have a dignity or honor, usually due to their role or position of authority.

That is the context of the word worship in the Rite of Holy Matrimony used in some of our Western Rite parishes.1 After the vows, when the husband gives the newly blessed ring to his bride, he says, “With this ring I thee wed: this gold and silver I thee give: with my body I thee worship: and with all my worldly goods I thee endow.”2 Among other things, the husband is saying that his bride is worthy of respect, honor, and dignity, precisely because she is an icon of the Church. Hence, she is not chattel or merely a member of his household. Rather, to her husband the bride is “Your Worship.”

In the context of the Marriage Rite, the word worship means “honor, respect, venerate, admire.” It is a term of endearment. In this way, worship is used in the same way that we may speak of “worshipping the saints” when we honor and respect them by venerating their icons or pleading their prayers. Yet here is the rub: to our ears the phrase “worshipping the saints” seems wrong. Depending on our background, we might have been trained to use the word worship exclusively for God. In this context, worship refers to devotions or prayers to God alone.

Fr. John Fenton

That’s how we use the word in the Gloria in excelsis when we sing: “We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory.” In this instance, worship clearly refers to praise for God alone. In a sense, we are saying that the Lord God is more than “Your Worship.” He is, most precisely, the Most High or Highest Worship (that is, the superlative worshipfulness). This understanding is supported by the Latin, which is foundational text for the Western Rite. The phrase “we worship Thee” translates the Latin “adoramus te.” Adoratio (adoration) is the Latin word used for latria. 3

Notice, then, that the context shifts the meaning of worship. This means that worship is not one-sizefits-all, that it can’t be flattened solely to describe prayers or a liturgy to God alone. In one instance, the word worship refers to adoration to God alone, and in another instance, it refers to veneration or honor to other persons.

In theological language, there is a significant distinction between veneration (veneratio/dulia) and adoration (adoratio/latria). Veneration is respect or honor given to a human, while adoration is the sacrifice of praise and devotion offered to God alone.

The two examples above – from the Marriage Rite and the Mass – perfectly illustrate this distinction. The husband venerates or honors his bride when he says, “with my body I thee worship.” And we adore or praise God alone when we say “we worship Thee” in the Gloria in excelsis at the beginning of the Mass. In both instances, we use the word worship, but we mean two very different things. Why? Because worship is an imprecise word. It is an umbrella word which gathers under its covering both veneration (dulia) and adoration (latria). Recognizing this broad understanding of the word worship allows us to describe its use in each instance according to context.

1. These words and practice described are not known in the traditional Marriage Rite in Rome. The Marriage service has always had episcopally approved adjustments based on local/national practices handed down through the ages.

2. The practice of a bride giving a ring to her husband is quite recent. When that occurs, it is not wrong but seems incongruous to say some or all of these words.

3. The Greek version of this same phrase, sung at the end of Orthros, is προσκυνοῦμέν σε which literally means “we prostrate or do obeisance to you.” In the New Testament this Greek word is used for God alone. (See proskynéō in TDNT.)

The Word 13