A Beacon Of Light… Honor His Holy Name

A Beacon Of Light…
Honor His Holy Name

By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON JR.

(Editor’s Note: Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn. He received his BA in religious studies and his MA in dogmatic theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.)

• + + As we study the Catechism, the Ten Commandments are being examined, assisting us on the journey of faith. Last week we looked at the First Commandment and our reflection touched upon who God is. More important, we focused on how we are called to honor God, and Him alone. The First Commandment is the foundation of all the other Commandments.
  Today we move on to the Second Commandment which is: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”
  It makes sense that if we are to honor the Lord with our whole heart, mind, and soul, we should then honor His Holy Name. Each of us is known by a particular name. This is important because it denotes who we are, sons and daughters of Christ.
  In the same way, God has revealed His name to us as, I AM WHO AM, and we must respect His Holy Name. The Lord revealed His name to us through the covenant made between Moses and the Israelite people. We participate in this same covenant, by virtue of our Baptism where the name we will be known by sacramentally is presented to the Lord.
  The Sacrament of Baptism begins by our parents being asked: “What name do you give your child?” (Order of Baptism of Children, p. 35). Because our name denotes who we are, there is an expectation that our name be respected. Sometimes that doesn’t happen! Sometimes when we are younger, we experience name calling by other children. We may have been taught by our parents the old adage about sticks and stone may break my bones, but names will never hurt me. This isn’t quite true. The Holy Name of God must be respected just as we want our name respected.
  How do we fail in living this Commandment? What are some examples? Have I used the name of God in cursing or blasphemy? Sometimes life can get the best of us, and we get frustrated. Sometimes in this frustration we can fall into temptation of abusing the Holy Name of the Lord. Often, we may hear people say: Oh my God! This should be avoided. Saying oh my gosh is much better.
  Failing to keep vows or promises that I have made to God is another offense of this Commandment. In our prayers we often ask God for help during certain misfortunes in our lives. Sometimes we bargain with the Lord. This bargaining involves promising to do something if God comes through and answers or provides for our needs. We must make sure we are committed to keeping whatever promises we have made before God.
  Today’s society is full of confusion and chaos. Sadly, this leads to irreverence toward the faith, the Church, the saints, and sacred things. This also refers to respecting the Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Holy Mother Church is Holy! Holy Mother Church is perfect because she was created by God Himself. Whenever we speak ill about the faith, the Church, the saints, or sacred things we disobey this Commandment.
  Have I watched television or movies, or listened to music that treated God, the Church, the saints, or sacred things irreverently? Today many of these forms of media show disrespect to God. I am amazed at how much of today’s music is full of language that disrespects God, and yet, our young people are listening to this! I wonder if parents take the time to listen to the music of their children. If not, please do! The souls of your children depend on it!
  Have I used vulgar, suggestive, or obscene speech? Today vulgar, suggestive, and obscene language is everywhere. We hear it in the workplace and everywhere else we go. The greatest concern, however, is that it has become part of family life. Children are following the example of their parents who speak like this frequently. I can remember growing up and getting soap put in my mouth for using these types of words. We need to clean up the mouths of today’s society with holy words and prayers.

Do Not Belittle Others

Have I belittled others in my speech? It’s easy for us to fail in loving our neighbor. Maybe it’s our boss at work? Maybe we don’t like our boss, so we gossip to co-workers and speak badly of our superior.
We also see this in the Church. How many times have we spoken ill about our priests? We may not like a priest’s style, so we talk among other parishioners complaining about petty stuff. Maybe the priests are preaching the truth about the faith, and we struggle with that teaching. This usually happens because the topic being discussed pricks our conscience and we don’t like that. When this happens, it means we must change our ways and it prompts conversion within us. Instead of going to see the priest directly, we talk behind his back and complain to others.
Remember the adage: If you don’t have anything nice to say, then, don’t say it at all! Instead of belittling someone, shouldn’t we pray for them instead?
Have I behaved disrespectfully in Church? Whenever we come to church, we enter the house of God and walk on holy ground. Every church is consecrated, set aside as a sacred place. Whenever we show disrespect, we fail in living this Commandment. Things like excessive talking in church before and after Mass, leaving Mass early right after Communion, answering our cell phone in church are examples of this.
Another example is disrespect to the Blessed Sacrament in church. So often people walk by the tabernacle and make no sign of reverence, acknowledging Jesus’ Real Presence.
Also, are we respectful in receiving Holy Communion? Do we receive Jesus reverently either on our tongue, or in our hand by making a throne to receive the King of Kings? Remember every time we are in church, we need to respect God’s house, the same way we would want someone to respect our own homes.
Have I misused places or things set apart for the worship of God? There are many religious articles that are part of our daily lives. Crucifixes, rosaries, statues, the Bible, and even sacred vessels used at Mass all need to be respected. Sadly, many people have forgotten that these articles are not just ordinary; they are extraordinary! They are meant to raise our minds to the Lord.
I remember going to bless a person’s house and seeing the Bible was being used on the floor as the support for a missing leg on a small table. I asked the person to remove the Bible and replace it with something else. The person was a bit miffed because I would not bless the house until the Bible had been put in a most prominent place.

Take Responsibility

Have I blamed God for my failings? Taking responsibility for our actions is the sign of a good person. Sometimes, however, we fail in this regard. When life gets tough or downright unbearable, we often find ourselves blaming others for our struggles. Often, God is the person we place at the center of this blaming game. We forget that our own actions contribute to the struggles that we blame on others.
I remember when I was little and got in trouble, I would try to blame the neighbor for whatever happened. My mother would always say: “I don’t care about what the neighbor did. I care only about what you did.”
What was our part in the action or situation? God doesn’t make things happen; He has given us free will to choose how we live our lives.
Having examined the Second Commandment, remember to respect the name of God. Don’t forget to take 10 to 15 minutes at the end of our day to see where we fell and where we succeeded.
Next week we will look at the Third Commandment.