Don't Swear Like That ~ Part 2

It is becoming the time of year when I get busy! I'm not able to post as often, but I am still checking in on my favorite bloggers.

My last post on swearing stopped short because long blogs are a turn off for some. The gist of that post is a loss of reverence for the Name of God. For the Jews, His Name was too sacred to be heard outside the holiest courts of the temple. We see in Sacred Scripture where Christ's Name hurled demons from their victims. Today His Name still holds our hope and His Holy Spirit embodies all that is Holy! How many times have we heard "holy" in front of "unholy" words?

On page 26 of this booklet, I read "Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name," He promised, "that will I do." This is the authority of Jesus.

Further, His name ... strong enough in its utterance to open the gates of heaven and to touch the very heart of the eternal Father. (Now that's what I call power!!!)

No wonder the Apostles began to preach and work miracles, "in His name."

How profound do you find the next paragraph? It would be interesting to know just how the Holy Name of Jesus Christ came to pass from this glorious and powerful invocation to the casual, contemptuous, and sinful use current in the world today. A dreadful sort of parody on prayer seems to be involved in the distortion. It is as if a brilliant enemy of Christ had taken the name of the Savior and twisted it to the most frivolous and debased uses.

Soon, quite too soon the Holy Name became the common "curse" word of men and women who hated Christ, no longer believed in Him, or regarded Him as of no importance. And so it has remained to this day.

Originally the Holy Name was meant to be used to work miracles of grace upon the world. It was a name for blessings. It was the name that rang with the certain hope of God's loving bounty and protection.

It looks like Part 2 will not be the end of this subject. For myself, I feel like reflecting on the above words from this little booklet. Words have power to heal and to hurt. Even the seemingly innocent "gee" used in the show Leave it to Beaver referred to the big "G" of God. I know I need to stop and think of the use of God's name, even in saying "Oh my God." It seems harmless, but I'm saying His Holy Name without thought and without meaning. Our Lord deserves so much more than my careless and thoughtless use of His Name. He suffered out of a great love for us, and we should remember this always!
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Our Almighty Father, our Precious Jesus and our Most Holy Spirit, thank you for knowing each of our names and lovingly calling us by our names. Help us to realize when we are thoughtless, and help us to bring others back to the Power of Your Name and and the Name of Your Love. Amen

Sunday Snippet-Catholic Carnival

Thanks to RAnn of This That and the Other Thing for hosting Catholic Carnival. Click the link to read other Catholic posts and for information on how to join.

My post for this Sunday is one I posted this morning. It is a sweet moment of parents passing on their Faith!
http://heartfeltheartlook.blogspot.com/2009/05/passing-on-faith.html

Passing on the Faith

My mother is Protestant so when I was small going to Mass consisted of my Dad, two brothers and me. Mom was there for the special occasions, but for the most part it was the four of us. Being the baby and the only girl, I usually ended up next to my Father. People would laugh and say during the homily they would see my Dad and me both asleep. To this day when his eyes are closed at the homily my Dad says he is praying. We all get a good chuckle out of it.

This morning during Mass a young couple with a small child sat in front of us. The little girl looked to be about two years old. When Father was ready to read the Gospel, and we all made the small cross on our forehead, lips and chest, I saw the little one’s Dad make the crosses on her too. I thought that was so sweet. After Father started the homily, I noticed the little girl was making the crosses herself. Towards the end of Mass when we made the sign of the cross, she was doing her best to make it also. I saw her Dad smile at her Mom, and I smiled too. Sometimes our Lord sends us the nicest blessings. Today he sent the wonder of watching two parents pass their Faith to their little girl!


Note: Before the Gospel we make a small cross on our forehead as a remembrance to keep God’s Word in our thoughts. We make a small cross on our lips as a remembrance to keep God’s Word in our speech. We make a small cross on our chest as a remembrance to keep God’s Word in our hearts.