Worship Mary!

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*“For to be right and good, worship of the Mother of God ought to spring from the heart; acts of the body have here neither utility nor value if the acts of the soul have no part in them.” *

AD DIEM ILLUM LAETISSIMUM
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS X ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
FEBRUARY 2, 1904

Pope Pius X actually approved of, and encouraged the worshipping of Mary, which is supposedly forbidden by the church. Can someone please explain what this was all about?
🤷
 
For the same reason that Christians encouraged the ‘worship’ of spouses by each other in the older form of the marital vows, in which one spouse stated to the other ‘with my body I thee worship, with all my worldly goods I thee endow…’

And in the same way the legal system encourages the ‘worship’ of certain judges in my own jurisdiction by stipulating that they actually be addressed as ‘Your Worship’!

Firstly remember Pius wrote in Latin, as our Popes do today, which was translated into English. Latin has three very precise terms - latria, hyperdulia and dulia. All can be translated into English as ‘worship’, but only latria refers to the type of worship/veneration to be given to God alone.

Doubtless Pius used the word ‘hyperdulia’, which is the Latin term invariably used for the appropriate level of ‘worship’ to be given to Mary, and it was translated in a manner which Catholics of the day understood properly, but which we who have moved away from the broader use of the term ‘worship’ find odd. Much as we do when we hear the word ‘gay’ used in its old sense of happy or cheerful as opposed to homosexual.
 
I don’t know what language Pope Pius X was using when he said this, but NT Greek is VERY precise about the LATREIA (whence the word idolatry) that belongs to God alone, and the douleia/proskynesis/timi that is given to others–the “honor to whom honor is due”.

English is much less precise. In British usage, are not judges frequently called “Your Worship”?
 
bpbasilphx said:
I don’t know what language Pope Pius X was using when he said this, but NT Greek is VERY precise about the LATREIA (whence the word idolatry) that belongs to God alone, and the douleia/proskynesis/timi that is given to others–the “honor to whom honor is due”.

English is much less precise. In British usage, are not judges frequently called “Your Worship”?
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No, in britain they are refered to as “your honour.”
Doubt they are honourable though…
 
Worship of the saints is summarized as thus: Blessed be God in all His Angels and in all His Saints.

To give a longer explanation: We honor God by honoring His servants, who themselves honored God in their lives, and it is because of the honor they gave to God, which we attempt to imitate in our own lives, that we honor them.
 
TLM08 said:
*“For to be right and good, worship of the Mother of God ought to spring from the heart; acts of the body have here neither utility nor value if the acts of the soul have no part in them.” *

AD DIEM ILLUM LAETISSIMUM
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS X ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
FEBRUARY 2, 1904

Pope Pius X actually approved of, and encouraged the worshipping of Mary, which is supposedly forbidden by the church. Can someone please explain what this was all about?
🤷
Click to expand...
I tried to find the original Latin version of this document (assuming, of course, that Pope Pius X wrote it in Latin) but have so far been unsuccessful. If anyone knows where it can be found, please enlighten me.

But in any case, TLM08, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Pius X did not use the word “latria”, but rather a different term like “dulia”, in which case there’s really no issue with what he said.
 
See this: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=334887&highlight=why+did+pius+x+tell+us+to+worship+mary

Basically, the word “worship” has changed since this encyclical was translated into English. Before, it meant “to honor.” For example, people referred to judges in Britain as Your Worship, rather than the more American Your Honor. Today the term is limited to adoration, which is only due to God.

There was change in the meaning of a word over time. Nothing to fuss over; this happens all the time.
 
LilyM said:
Firstly remember Pius wrote in Latin, as our Popes do today, which was translated into English. Latin has three very precise terms - latria, hyperdulia and dulia. All can be translated into English as ‘worship’, but only latria refers to the type of worship/veneration to be given to God alone.

Doubtless Pius used the word ‘hyperdulia’, which is the Latin term invariably used for the appropriate level of ‘worship’ to be given to Mary, .
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Lets hope this is the case.

However, Luke’s Gospel 1:42 says "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb ! "

If the word latria is used for both Mary & Jesus … and translated as blessed … then we have to ask ourselves was Luke’s choice of word for Mary appropriate. Or if the word for ‘blessed’ was hyperdulia … then we need ask why Luke didn’t used latria for Christ … to set apart his divine status from that of non-divine woman.
 
The word is in fact “εὐλογουμένη” (eulogumene), which leaves the relationship to latria and dulia ambiguous. Here’s what greekbible.com has to say about εὐλογέω (eulogeo), the verb root of εὐλογουμένη:
  1. to praise, celebrate with praises 2) to invoke blessings 3) to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers 3a) to ask God’s blessing on a thing 3b) pray God to bless it to one’s use 3c) pronounce a consecratory blessing on 4) of God 4a) to cause to prosper, to make happy, to bestow blessings on 4b) favoured of God, blessed
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A form of εὐλογουμένη is used for both Mary and Jesus in that verse, so the question of latria and dulia does not come up. Because the word is so general, the passage doesn’t seem to indicate that Mary and Jesus are equally blessed; it is only stated that (Elizabeth stated that) some people (not excluding God) would confer blessings on Jesus and Mary.
 
I think it’s time for a modern retranslation of this encyclical.
 
Eleve said:
A form of εὐλογουμένη is used for both Mary and Jesus in that verse, so the question of latria and dulia does not come up. Because the word is so general, the passage doesn’t seem to indicate that Mary and Jesus are equally blessed; it is only stated that (Elizabeth stated that) some people (not excluding God) would confer blessings on Jesus and Mary.
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So, that would seem to give Pope Pius X some cover. However, the Church today clearly teaches we are NOT to WORSHIP Mary.

St. Paul was very clear that Christ & Trinity] are the sole object of our Worship. Did Paul ever mention Mary ? We surely need to remember [honor] Mary and all the Supersaints in our prayers / devotions. As part of the Tree of Life, all the living mini-saints are connected to Christ thru our Christian forebears. They intercede for us and deserve our utmost respect.
 
Any such scholarship would have to start with the Latin text, which is elusive. This thread, found through Google, suggests that it is in Volume XXXVI of the Acta Sanctae Sedis, or Acta Apostolicae Sedis, so that should at least be a head start if anyone here could get access to a copy.
 
I have learned a lot reading this thread.

O kings of the earth! He Who is the sovereign Lord of all is come.
The Kingdom is God’s, the omnipotent Protector, the Self-Subsisting.
Worship none but God, and, with radiant hearts,
lift up your faces unto your Lord, the Lord of all names.
This is a Revelation to which whatever ye possess can never be compared,
could ye but know it.(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 210)
 
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