Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on Easter Sunday.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are eight (8) “In Brief” articles in the Catechism of the Catholic Church addressing the Second Commandment of the Decalogue, ‘You shall not take the Name of the Lord, your God, in vain.’ The following is a reflection on CCC 2160.
“O Lord our God how great is Your Name in all the universe” (Psalm 8:2).
While we are able to find the Ten Commandments in the Torah (Exodus 20:1–17 ; Deuteronomy 5:6–21) respect for the Holy Name of God is found throughout the Sacred Scripture. Enos, son of Seth, is the first man to call upon the Name of the Lord in Sacred Scripture (cf. Genesis 4:26). Abram/Abraham, for his part, called upon the Name of the Lord (cf. Genesis 12:8; 21:33). The Holy Name of God is great because God is great. The tetragrammaton YHWH is among the most privileged among the various ways God’s Holy Name has been uttered with respect and devotion. The Hebrew Adonai and Greek Kurios translate as “Lord,” while Elohim translates as “God” and is the most frequently used Name for God in the Old Testament (abut 200 times in Genesis alone).. The Greek equivalent is Theos, another revered Name which is used with reverence in reference to the Almighty (Hebrew, Shaddy; Greek, Pantokrator). Kdosh yisrael translates at the “Holy One of Israel.”
The current liturgical law of the Church reminds us of the devotion we are to have concerning the Holy Name of God, namely that “A bow signifies reverence and honor shown to the persons themselves or to the signs that represent them. There are two kinds of bow: a bow of the head and a bow of the body. A bow of the head is made when the three Divine Persons are named together and at the names of Jesus, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Saint in whose honor Mass is being celebrated (General Instruction of the Roman Missal 3rd Edition, 275).” Catholic devotional life has been familiar with the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus with sixty-three invocations built around His Holy Name. Great preachers of the Holy Name include Saint Bernadine of Siena (AD 1380–1444) and Saint John Capistrano (AD1386–1456) friends who both promoted the use of the IHS monogram for Jesus’ Holy Name to great effect. The IHS christogram / monogram is a part of the Seal of the Society of Jesus, Jesuits, and plays a prominent part in the coat of arms of Pope Francis. The IHS is an abbreviation from the Greek Iesous Christos. Some have offered other interpretations of the IHS to include In Hoc Signo, an allusion to the vision of Constantine before crossing the Milvian Bridge (although the sign he saw was the Chi Rho), “I Have Suffered” and “In His Service.” The current form of the Roman Calendar includes an optional memorial of the Holy Name of Jesus each third of January. Always revere God’s Holy Name!
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr