According to Catholic Church, what does it mean to worship God in spirit and truth?
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We see Jesus telling the Samaritan woman at Jn 4: 23-24 (NRSVCE) :
>"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
See that Jesus repeats the phrase 'worship in spirit and truth', implying that he attaches much importance to it. Here, spirit and truth are components of a single integrated concept and are not separated from each other. While he explains ìn spirit 'by attributing it to the nature of God who is spirit, he does not elaborate the phrase `in truth'. Of course, he says elsewhere: "I am the way, the truth and the life " (Jn 14:6).
We also see Jesus telling Pilate :
>“You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
Though we see Pilate putting a question to Jesus on what truth is (Jn 18:38), he does not get an answer from Jesus; rather, he does not wait for one.
My question therefore is: How does the Catholic Church explain the term 'to worship in spirit and truth' as used by Jesus at Jn 4: 23-24?
Asked by Kadalikatt Joseph Sibichan
(13704 rep)
Feb 11, 2021, 04:14 AM
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Last activity: Mar 8, 2022, 08:03 PM