What does a name tell us? Your name identifies you in many ways. When someone hears your name, it brings to mind their thoughts and impressions of you. For the people of ancient Israel, names had a particular significance. In Sacred Scripture, a name often identifies the vocation God is calling them to follow.

What does a name tell us? Abraham means ‘father of many’. God chose Abraham to be the ‘father’ whose descendants would become the people of God. Israel means ‘let God rule’. The sons of Jacob (Israel) would be the leaders of the twelve tribes of God’s people. Ruth means ‘friend’. Because of her compassion, generosity and fidelity, Ruth never left Naomi’s side. Isaiah means ‘God is salvation’. God called Isaiah to preach a message of liberation and hope to his people, despite their rebellion against him. Mary means ‘beloved’. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is beloved of God. Catholics honor Mary with the words from the greeting of her relative Elizabeth, ‘Blessed are you among women’ (Luke 1:42).

What does a name tell us? God’s name, YHWH, was revealed to Moses at the theophany of the burning bush. God appeared to Moses saying, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ (Exodus 3:6). The Hebrew letters YHWH can be translated as ‘I am who I am’, ‘I am He who is’, or ‘I am whom I am’.

What does a name tell us? The name Jesus is a translation of the Hebrew and Aramaic name Yeshua which means ‘YHWH is salvation’. The four Gospel accounts reveal the relationship binding Jesus with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the beloved Son of God the Father. Jesus commissioned the Apostles to baptize ‘in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’.

You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain The second commandment speaks to the profound reverence we are to have and to show to God. As we cherish the name of someone we love, all the more we cherish the name of God. Jesus showed a profound reverence for the name of God when the disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. ‘When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come”’ (Luke 11:2).

You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain Blasphemy is a direct offense to God himself. It is an act of putting oneself before God It is the utterance of words of hatred or defiance against God. When you make a promise, you ‘give your word’. Sometimes promises are made in God’s name. To be unfaithful to a promise made in God’s name or in the name of Jesus is to ‘misuse God’s name’.

You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain ‘An oath is an invocation to the divine name as witness to the truth’ (Code of Canon Law [CIC], canon 1199 §1). A person commits perjury when he or she lies under oath.

Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day The creation story tells us that in six days God made the earth, filled it with plants and animals, and then created humans. On the seventh day God rested from all work he had done. The Hebrew word Sabbath means ‘end’, ‘cease’ or ‘rest’. The Israelites were to end and cease from their work and set aside the Sabbath day of each week for holy purposes. The Sabbath day is a concrete sign of the irrevocable Covenant between God and his people.

Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day In Jesus’ time there were numerous ‘laws’ detailing the celebration of the Sabbath Commandment. Sometimes keeping the ‘laws’ blurred the life-giving meaning of the Sabbath. At times Jesus was in dispute with the Pharisees over their legalistic observation of the Sabbath.

Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day A group of Pharisees confronted Jesus as the disciples were picking corn to eat on the Sabbath. Jesus rejects their interpretation explaining that while the plucking of grain to feed oneself when one is hungry is a technical violation of one of the many Sabbath laws, it is not a violation of the true purpose of the Sabbath Commandment. Jesus stated: ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath’ (Mark 2:27).

Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day On the Sabbath, Jesus is healing a crippled woman. The leader of the synagogue confronts the woman saying: ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day’ (Luke 13:14). Jesus responds by teaching that helping others in need honors God on the Sabbath.

Love the Lord your God with your whole mind Sunday is the Lord’s Day for Christians. Christians remember and celebrate that Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, liberated us from sin and death by his own dying and rising. Christians celebrate the Lord’s Day by gathering and by giving adoration and blessings to God.

Love the Lord your God with your whole mind Catholics celebrate the Lord’s Day by gathering together to celebrate the Eucharist. Catholics have a ‘Sunday Obligation’ set forth by the Precepts of the Church to join together in celebration of the Mass and to refrain from engaging in activities that might hinder the worship due to God.

St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556), seeing God in everything Ignatius of Loyola was born in 1491 to a large family of minor nobility in northern Spain. While serving as a page in the Velazquez household, Ignatius developed habits which took him away from Godly choices and toward deeds which fed his own pride. In 1591 Ignatius was gravely wounded in a battle with the French. While he was recuperating, he was inspired by reading of the lives of Jesus and of the saints, and he experienced a conversion.

St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556), seeing God in everything St. Ignatius was inspired to do great things, not for himself, but for God. Over the years he became an expert on seeing God in all people and in all things, and in centering his life on God. His thoughts, prayers and teachings today are gathered in the Spiritual Exercises, which is recognized by many as one of the most influential books on the spiritual life ever written. St. Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits.

St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556), seeing God in everything Throughout the centuries many people have been inspired by the Spiritual Exercises. Countless others have benefited from attending a Jesuit educational institution. Today in the U.S there are twenty-eight Jesuit colleges and universities and over fifty Jesuit high schools.