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The Second
Commandment: You Shall Not Take the Name of the Lord Your God in Vain.
359 Why does God want us to “hallow” his name
(that is, keep it holy)?
To tell someone your name is a sign of trust. Since God has told us his name, he makes himself recognizable and grants us access to him through this name. God is absolute truth. Someone who calls Truth himself by his name but uses it to testify to a lie sins seriously. [2142-2155, 2160-2164]
Madonna of the people by Federico
Barocci, 1579. ….. 359
One must not pronounce the name of God irreverently. For we know him only because he has entrusted
himself to us. The Holy Name, after all,
is the key to the heart of the Almighty.
Therefore it is a terrible offense to blaspheme God, to curse using
God’s name, or to make false promises in his name. The Second Commandment is therefore also a
commandment that protects “holiness” in general. Places, things, names, and people who have
been touched by God are “holy”.
Sensitivity to what is holy is called reverence.
“Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and
for evermore!” Psalm 133:2
“Reverence is the pole on which the world turns.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832, German
poet)
[2142-2155, 2160-2164]
* I. THE NAME OF THE LORD IS HOLY
2142 The
second commandment prescribes
respect for the Lord's name. Like the first commandment, it belongs to
the virtue of religion and more particularly it governs our use of speech in
sacred matters. –Catechism of the
Catholic Church, Second Edition
2143 Among
all the words of Revelation, there is one which is unique: the revealed name of
God. God confides his name to those who believe in him; he reveals himself to
them in his personal mystery. The gift of a name belongs to the order of trust
and intimacy. "The Lord's name is holy." For this reason man must not
abuse it. He must keep it in mind in silent, loving adoration. He will not
introduce it into his own speech except to bless, praise, and glorify it.( Compare Zechariah 2:13; Psalm 29:2; Ps 96:2; Ps 113:1-2.)74 --CCC
2144 Respect
for his name is an expression of the respect owed to the mystery of God himself
and to the whole sacred reality it evokes. The sense of the sacred is part of the virtue of religion: --CCC
Are
these feelings of fear and awe Christian feelings or not? . . . I say
this, then, which I think no one can reasonably dispute. They are the class of
feelings we should have
- yes, have to an intense degree - if we literally had the sight of Almighty
God; therefore they are the class of feelings which we shall have, if we realize His
presence. In proportion as we believe that He is present, we shall have them;
and not to have them, is not to realize, not to believe that He is present.( John Henry Cardinal Newman, Parochial and
Plain Sermons V,2 (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1907) 21-22.)75
--CCC
2145 The
faithful should bear witness to the Lord's name by confessing the faith without
giving way to fear.( Compare Matthew 10:32; 1 Timothy 6:12.)76 Preaching
and catechizing should be permeated with adoration and respect for the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ. --CCC
2146 The
second commandment forbids the
abuse of God's name, i.e., every improper use of the names of God,
Jesus Christ, but also of the Virgin Mary and all the saints. --CCC
2147 Promises made to
others in God's name engage the divine honor, fidelity, truthfulness, and
authority. They must be respected in justice. To be unfaithful to them is to
misuse God's name and in some way to make God out to be a liar.( Compare 1 John 1:10.)77
–CCC
2148 Blasphemy is
directly opposed to the second commandment. It consists in uttering against God
- inwardly or outwardly - words of hatred, reproach, or defiance; in speaking
ill of God; in failing in respect toward him in one's speech; in misusing God's
name. St. James condemns those "who blaspheme that honorable name [of
Jesus] by which you are called."( James 2:7.)78 The
prohibition of blasphemy extends to language against Christ's Church, the
saints, and sacred things. It is also blasphemous to make use of God's name to
cover up criminal practices, to reduce peoples to servitude, to torture persons
or put them to death. The misuse of God's name to commit a crime can provoke
others to repudiate religion. –CCC
Blasphemy is contrary to
the respect due God and his holy name. It is in itself a grave sin.( Compare Codex Iuris Canonici,
can. 1369.)79 --CCC
2149 Oaths which
misuse God's name, though without the intention of blasphemy, show lack of
respect for the Lord. The second commandment also forbids magical use of the divine
name. –CCC
[God's]
name is great when spoken with respect for the greatness of his majesty. God's
name is holy when said with veneration and fear of offending him.( St. Augustine, De serm. Dom. in monte 2,5,19:Patrologia
Latina 34,1278.)80 --CCC
2150 The
second commandment forbids false
oaths. Taking an oath or swearing is to take God as witness to what one
affirms. It is to invoke the divine truthfulness as a pledge of one's own truthfulness.
An oath engages the Lord's name. "You shall fear the LORD your God; you
shall serve him, and swear by his name."( Deuteronomy 6:13.)81
--CCC
2151 Rejection
of false oaths is a duty toward God. As Creator and Lord, God is the norm of
all truth. Human speech is either in accord with or in opposition to God who is
Truth itself. When it is truthful and legitimate, an oath highlights the
relationship of human speech with God's truth. A false oath calls on God to be
witness to a lie. --CCC
2152 A
person commits perjury when
he makes a promise under oath with no intention of keeping it, or when after
promising on oath he does not keep it. Perjury is a grave lack of respect for
the Lord of all speech. Pledging oneself by oath to commit an evil deed is
contrary to the holiness of the divine name. --CCC
2153 In
the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained the second commandment: "You have
heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but
shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not swear
at all. . . . Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more
than this comes from the evil one."( Matthew 5:33-34,37; Compare James 5:12.)82 Jesus
teaches that every oath involves a reference to God and that God's presence and
his truth must be honored in all speech. Discretion in calling upon God is
allied with a respectful awareness of his presence, which all our assertions
either witness to or mock. --CCC
2154 Following
St. Paul,( Compare 2
Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 1:20.)83 the
tradition of the Church has understood Jesus' words as not excluding oaths made
for grave and right reasons (for example, in court). "An oath, that is the
invocation of the divine name as a witness to truth, cannot be taken unless in
truth, in judgment, and in justice."( Codex Iuris
Canonici, can. 1199 § 1.)84 --CCC
2155 The
holiness of the divine name demands that we neither use it for trivial matters,
nor take an oath which on the basis of the circumstances could be interpreted
as approval of an authority unjustly requiring it. When an oath is required by
illegitimate civil authorities, it may be refused. It must be refused when it
is required for purposes contrary to the dignity of persons or to ecclesial
communion. --CCC
IN BRIEF
2161 The
second commandment enjoins respect for the Lord's name. The name of the Lord is
holy. --CCC
2162 The
second commandment forbids every improper use of God's name. Blasphemy is the
use of the name of God, of Jesus Christ, of the Virgin Mary, and of the saints
in an offensive way. --CCC
2163 False
oaths call on God to be witness to a lie. Perjury is a grave offence against
the Lord who is always faithful to his promises. --CCC
2164 "Do
not swear whether by the Creator, or any creature, except truthfully, of
necessity, and with reverence" (St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual
Exercises, 38). --CCC
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