Sunday, November 12, 2017
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 359 – Part V.
(Youcat
answer - repeated) 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.
A deepening through CCC
(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.
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) 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.
(CCC Comment)
(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" (Mt
5:33-34, 37; cf. Jas 5:12). 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 (Cf. 2 Cor 1:23; Gal 1:20), 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" (CIC, can. 1199 § 1).
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