Angels and Worship

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In Bible study yesterday, we covered angels. One scripture we looked at was the scripture in Revelation where John falls before the archangel Michael.

Rev 19:10 At this, I fell at his face to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!

This is not just any angel, this is Michael the arch-angel, a very powerful and important angel. He knows his place and that is to worship, not receive any of the worship that is due to God alone. John was a great apostle so if he was tempted to worship an angel, how much we should be on guard against temptations to do the same!

I’m interested to know how this admonition and encounter John had is able to be reconciled with praying to the angels for any reason?
 
Substantial difference between asking their help and intercession and worshipping them.

Ever met an angel up close and personal? The Bible records a lot of such encounters and they are apparently so powerful that most everyone flips out when they meet them.

You would too…
 
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mumof5:
In Bible study yesterday, we covered angels. One scripture we looked at was the scripture in Revelation where John falls before the archangel Michael.

Rev 19:10 At this, I fell at his face to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!

This is not just any angel, this is Michael the arch-angel, a very powerful and important angel. He knows his place and that is to worship, not receive any of the worship that is due to God alone. John was a great apostle so if he was tempted to worship an angel, how much we should be on guard against temptations to do the same!

I’m interested to know how this admonition and encounter John had is able to be reconciled with praying to the angels for any reason?
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Confusing post. Who worships angels? Are you referring to some type of strange angel worshipping cult? :confused:
 
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Mickey:
Confusing post. Who worships angels? Are you referring to some type of strange angel worshipping cult? :confused:
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Yeah, I don’t know ANY Catholics who worship angels…or even any that worship anyone but almighty God. :confused:
 
I’ve never heard of anyone worshiping angels. Was this a Catholic bible study?
 
There are many forms of prayer and not all are worship. Among others there is petition, thanksgiving, praise(could be either honoring or worshipping which depends on the intent of the person praying.), etc. As Catholics we believe in the Community of Saints or the Mystical Body which is made up of those in heaven with God, those being purged in purgatory, and those on earth still working out their salvation in union with Christ as our head… We believe that one member of this body is or should be concerned with the welfare of the others. Thus we might ask our friends here on earth to pray for us, but also we can ask those in heaven or purgatory to do so likewise. We can ask a Saint to pray to God for someone else as well. We honor the Saints and angels, but we worship only God. As I have mentioned earlier the main difference between honor and worship is in the intent of the person praying and an outsider who cannot read minds could not really tell the difference.
 
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rwoehmke:
There are many forms of prayer and not all are worship. Among others there is petition, thanksgiving, praise(could be either honoring or worshipping which depends on the intent of the person praying.), etc. As Catholics we believe in the Community of Saints or the Mystical Body which is made up of those in heaven with God, those being purged in purgatory, and those on earth still working out their salvation in union with Christ as our head… We believe that one member of this body is or should be concerned with the welfare of the others. Thus we might ask our friends here on earth to pray for us, but also we can ask those in heaven or purgatory to do so likewise. We can ask a Saint to pray to God for someone else as well. We honor the Saints and angels, but we worship only God. As I have mentioned earlier the main difference between honor and worship is in the intent of the person praying and an outsider who cannot read minds could not really tell the difference.
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OK, thanks for that perspective. Thought about it yesterday and wanted to ask 🙂
 
Momof5,
Prayer is not worship.
Praying to Michael the Arch Angel or asking for prayers of him is no different than my asking for prayers from you. We are not seperated by death.

May I point you to where the Catechism discusses worship/prayer?

Be Blessed,
CS
 
The Angels are spiritual creatures created by God and are deserving our respect and honor (for their choice to follow God and serve Him).

Angels can impact our lives and we can communicate (pray) with them. Each human person has an angel assigned to the by God to assist and protect them in their lives. We call these angels guardian angels. Many people talk to their guardian angels all the time asking for their help, guidance, and intercession. St. Pio (Padre Pio) would send his guardian angels around the world on missions of mercy in response to prayer requests that he received.

We also pray to other angels, not our guardian angels, to ask for their help and intercession as well. God out of His love for us and for them, permits them, to hear them, to intercede for us, and at times to even directly assist in our needs.

Worship is reserved for God alone.
 
The Lord said that, in the Resurrection, we will be equal to angels (Luke 20:36). We will judge angels, i.e. those that had fallen (1 Corinthians 6:3), as the Twelve will judge the Twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28). But the angels refer to themselves as our fellow servants (Revelation 19:10, 22:9), and they are referred to as “sons of God” also (compare Genesis 6:2, 4; Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7; Luke 20:36; Romans 8:14). “Equal to angels” however, does not imply being identical to angels, since they are non-physical beings.
 
You know it could be too, that in the presence of angels, us sinners just feel so earthly dirty in their presence that when an angel idetifies itself to us, we just wanna hit the ground bury ourselves in more dirt and have the hardest time trying to meet the creature face to face. My take on it anyway. Furthermore, to be in company of a pure spiritual being, and all good, well if you don’t have fear in that presence, then I think you may be fearing the wrong things.

emp
 
Michael’s rebuke of John for going down on his face should be a caution to all who kneel or bow to anyone other than God. Today, kneeling in front of a statue of Mary or a saint is called “veneration”, but Michael’s admonition to John should apply. It’s too much like worship, “don’t do it. Worship God alone!”
 
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DavidB:
Today, kneeling in front of a statue of Mary or a saint is called “veneration”, but Michael’s admonition to John should apply. It’s too much like worship, “don’t do it. Worship God alone!”
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Veneration is the same as honor. We honor all those in God’s family, inluding the angels and all the saints who went before us and are now alive in Christ. Worship is for God alone.

But of course you already know all of this David— you just wanted to get a little jab in. 😦
 
Michael the archangel didn’t say ‘don’t talk to me!’; he said ‘don’t worship me.’
 
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DavidB:
Michael’s rebuke of John for going down on his face should be a caution to all who kneel or bow to anyone other than God. Today, kneeling in front of a statue of Mary or a saint is called “veneration”, but Michael’s admonition to John should apply. It’s too much like worship, “don’t do it. Worship God alone!”
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It’s only dangerous for a person who does not know the difference between prayer and veneration, and worship. And it would only be a problem for someone who equates prayer with worship. Many non-Catholics (perhaps understandably) do so because, for them, since they do not have a true, sacrificial Mass, prayer IS the highest form of worship.
 
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JimG:
Michael the archangel didn’t say ‘don’t talk to me!’; he said ‘don’t worship me.’
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Have you noticed that the angels don’t actually get into dialogues or conversation with people? When they deal with them it’s because they have been given a job to do. They do it and are off. When they speak, it’s very short, abrupt and to the point.
 
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Mickey:
Veneration is the same as honor. We honor all those in God’s family, inluding the angels and all the saints who went before us and are now alive in Christ. Worship is for God alone.

But of course you already know all of this David— you just wanted to get a little jab in. 😦
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My point wasn’t to jab, but to remind everyone of the lesson in that scripture. Veneration has crossed over into worship when one bows down to a saint or Mary, if we are to trust Michael’s statement.
 
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DavidB:
My point wasn’t to jab, but to remind everyone of the lesson in that scripture. Veneration has crossed over into worship when one bows down to a saint or Mary, if we are to trust Michael’s statement.
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Actually no. It depends on the intent and meaning to the bow. Many Britians bow or kneel to the Queen of England, but none worship her. It is just a sign of respect as it is when Catholics bow to or kneel at a statue.
 
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mumof5:
Have you noticed that the angels don’t actually get into dialogues or conversation with people? When they deal with them it’s because they have been given a job to do. They do it and are off. When they speak, it’s very short, abrupt and to the point.
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Not so… You’ve never read **Tobit **have ya?
 
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