Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on Ascension 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 2166.
When we begin the Holy Mass, we invoke the Holy Trinity, each Divine Person, by Name. The final blessing at the end of Holy Mass, similarly invokes the Divine Persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit. These, however, are not the only times when we utter the Trinitarian formula. With reverence and devotion we are to begin each and every prayer with the sign of the Cross “in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” When we trace the Cross upon our bodies we call down blessings upon ourselves, body and soul alike. We say Who God is and how God has saved us through the death of Christ Jesus on His Cross and His resurrection on the third day. The use of the singular “Name” should remind us of the unicity or oneness of God.
We can learn this simple and most basic of prayers even in early childhood. Can you remember when you learned to make the Sign of the Cross? While it does not require advanced degrees in Sacred Scripture, theology or philosophy in order to invoke the Holy God of Heaven and Earth while tracing the instrument of the Passion upon ourselves, the Sign of the Cross has a depth and insight which is truly profound. More often than not, we have learned this devout practice at “our mothers’ knee” as the saying goes, at least Mother Church teaches us.
Sometimes people sin through blasphemy, using God’s Holy Name without either reverence or devotion. The Divine Praises invokes God’s Holy Name with both devotion and reference, often in reparation for blasphemy. I can recall two specific occasions, before I was a priest, once in the grocery store check out line and the other in a department of motor vehicles line when the person in front of me started to curse God’s Holy Name. I began to pray aloud the Divine Praises: “Blessed be God, Blessed be His Holy Name, Blessed be Jesus Christ true God and true man…” Normally, by the third invocation the offending party would turn around and say “what are you doing?” I would calmly explain that they had cursed God’s Holy Name, I was praising it. The other person would apologize, but I was not able to offer absolution, not yet having been ordained. I said “Don’t tell me you are sorry, tell God!”
Whether it by the Sign of the Cross, both gesture and words or the Divine Praises we are to revere the Holy Name of God and use it with devotion. We can and should encourage each other in such wholesome behavior, especially by our good example.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr