God does not need worship, but we are obligated to worship Him.

The Catholic tradition teaches that divine worship (latria) is not performed because God lacks anything or is in any way deficient; rather, worship is the proper response of created beings to the supreme goodness, justice and providence of the One true God.

1. God’s self‑sufficiency

• God is the first principle of all our goods and the source of every grace. As Aquinas explains, “the nature of the debt to be paid must vary… the cause of debt is found… in God, in that He is the first principle of all our goods”1. Since He is the ultimate cause of everything, He has no need for anything external, including worship.

• The Summa Contra Gentiles stresses that worship is owed to God because He alone is supreme, not because He requires it: “We pay worship to God… not as though He needed it, but to strengthen in ourselves… a true opinion about God”2.

2. The moral and spiritual purpose of worship

• Gratitude and justice: Because every good we possess comes from God, we owe Him a debt of honor. The Council of Trent teaches that “the people understand… how just and reasonable it is to devote certain days exclusively to the worship of God…”3. This debt is a matter of justice toward the Creator.

• Formation of the heart: Worship is a “sensible sign” that helps the soul conceive a true reverence for God and keeps the mind turned toward Him2. Mediator Dei likewise states that “God cannot be honored worthily unless the mind and heart turn to Him… the worship rendered… is the most efficacious means of achieving sanctity”4.

• Communal dimension: The Church teaches that worship is both an individual and a social duty. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “The duty to offer God authentic worship concerns man both as an individual and as a social being”5. Public liturgy, especially the Eucharist, makes the worship of the faithful the “real presence of Christ” and the “doxological sacrifice” that draws us into the mutual glorification of the Trinity6.

3. Worship as a means of our own salvation

• By participating in liturgical worship we share in Christ’s sacrifice and thus “enter into the doxological sacrifice of Christ, which in turn brings about our enfoldment in the mutual glorification of the divine persons”6.

• The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that worship “should be interior… but also exterior… through genuflexion, kneeling, the sign of the cross, etc.,” because it forms the whole person—body and soul—in the act of adoration7.

4. Summary

• God does not need worship in any ontological sense; He is self‑sufficient and complete.
• We need to worship because:
  
  1. It is a just response to the debt we owe Him for all gifts.
  2. It forms our hearts and minds toward true reverence.
  3. It unites us with the Church’s communal worship and the saving sacrifice of Christ.

Thus, worship is directed to God for our own good, to perfect our love, obedience, and participation in the divine life.