How do you explain this? Why does this book used the word “worship” to Mary?
Rev. 3:9 [King James Version] – “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and WORSHIP before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.”
In Rev. 3:9 of KJV sinasabi diyan, that the Lord will make the Synagogue of Satan “WORSHIP” before the feet of the Saints. Ibig sabihin ba niyan that the Lord will make the Synagogue of Satan WORSHIP other gods before him? No.No.No. It simply means the Lord will let the minions of Satan bow down to the Saints.
You are looking for the Old English meaning of worship. That passage from Rev. 3:9 of KJV is one example of that Old English meaning that it was NOT exclusive to ADORATION or LATRIA.
Check the following verses in the King James Version (Daniel 2:46, 2 Kings 2:15, Joshua. 5:14, Daniel. 8:17). These verses uses the word “worship” in the sense of veneration or reverence and not in the sense of adoration. Thus when non-Catholics would ask you: Do Catholics worship Mary? Before you answer, call for a definition by asking: What do you mean in your use of the word worship, is it to adore or to venerate? If he answers to adore then we reply that we don’t worship Mary. If he answers to venerate then we reply that we worship Mary. This is how we avoid the dilemma or trap set by non-Catholics in debates.
“Worship” originally meant “to give honor”, “to give (or acknowledge) one’s worth” (Worth + ship). In the original (pre-20th century) Anglican Book of Common Prayer, in the wedding service, the groom at one point actually tells his bride “with my body I thee worship”.