Luke 20
36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
Jesus declared that the just dead are "equal to angels" (Lk 20:36)
for God in not the God of the dead, but of the living; "for to Him ALL OF
THEM
ARE ALIVE." (Lk 20:36) Jesus directed these statement to the Sadducees who
did not believe in an after life.
Saint Matthew actually provides even more detail - Matt 22:30
>
> "For IN the RESURRECTION they neither MARY nor are given in marriage
> but are LIKE THE ANGELS in heaven. But REGARDING the RESURRECTION
> of THE DEAD have you not heard that which was spoken to YOU by God.
I AM the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and and the God of Jacob"a quote from Exodus 3 where God is speaking to Moses LONG centuries after
these men have died.
Christ is participating in the debate - and will PROVE the resurrection in
a way that totally crushes the defense of the Sadducees - even those
standing
around will see that Christ took COMMON ground and using that - boxed in the
Sadducees. "having put them to silence"
I will explain the term Worship to you.
In common speech "worship" means the adoration given to God alone. In this
sense Catholics don't worship Mary or any of the other saints. In fact, the
Catholic Church forbids any adoration to be given to any one or any thing
but God. But in an older use of the term "worship" could cover not just the
adoration of God but also the honor given to anyone deserving of honor.
Begin with the word itself. It comes from the Old English weorthscipe, which
means the condition of being worthy of honor, respect, or dignity. To
worship in the older, larger sense is to ascribe honor, worth, or excellence
to someone, whether a sage, a magistrate, or God.
In fact in England a high Court Judge is referred to as your Worship
denoting his high status and honour
But there are different kinds of worship, just as there are different kinds
of honor. The highest honor, and thus the highest worship, is given to God
alone, while the honor or worship given to living men or to saints in heaven
is of a different sort. Idolatry thus does not simply mean giving worship
(in the old sense) to living men or to saints; it means giving them the kind
reserved for God.
Nowadays, there is a problem using the word "worship" because in the popular
mind it refers to the worship of God alone. For practical purposes it has
come to mean nothing else than adoration. Although it was commonly used in
the wider sense as recently as the nineteenth century.
Is this distinction without a difference? It would be if the worship given
to God were the same as the honor given to a saint. But it isn't.
The term "worship" was used in the same way in the Bible that it used to be
used in English. It could cover both the adoration given to God alone and
the honor that is to be shown to certain human beings. In Hebrew, the term
for worship is shakah. Its appropriately used for humans in a large number
of passages. For example, in Genesis 37:7-9 Joseph relates two dreams which God gave him
concerning how his family would honor him in coming years. Translated
literally the passage states: "'behold, we were binding sheaves in the
field, and lo, my sheaf arose and stood upright; and behold, your sheaves
gathered round it, and worshipped [shakah] my sheaf.' . . . Then he dreamed
another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, 'Behold, I have
dreamed another dream; and behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were
worshipping [shakah] me.
In Genesis 49:8, Jacob pronounced a prophetic blessing on his sons, and
concerning Judah he stated: "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your
hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall worship
[shakah] you." And in Exodus 18:7, Moses honored his father-in-law, Jethro:
"Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and worshipped [shakah] him and
kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare, and went into the
tent."
So when WE catholics use the term Worship, ethier to Mary or Saints, dont take it how you want to see it. Take it how it is to give Honor, respect and show love.
Hope this helps
"Oh my Jesus I love you to the point of madness" St Foustina