(Twenty-sixth Sunday of the Year
(A): This homily was given on September 25, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly
[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Twenty-sixth Sunday 2011]
Father Gabriele Amorth is the chief
exorcist of the Diocese of Rome. In a
recent issue of the Magnificat
magazine, he was quoted as saying the following:
Christ’s centrality tells us that we can be saved only in his
name. It is only in his name that we can
win and free ourselves from the enemy of our salvation, Satan. At the end of the most difficult exorcisms,
when I am confronted with total demonic possession, I pray the Christological
hymn of the Letter of Paul to the Philippians [2: 6-11, which we heard in
our second reading at this Mass]. When I speak the words “so that all beings
in the heavens, on earth, and in the underworld should bend the knee at the
name of Jesus,” I kneel, everyone present kneels, and always the one possessed by the demons is also compelled to
kneel. It is a moving and
powerful moment. I always feel that all
the legions of the angels are surrounding us, kneeling at the name of Jesus.
It’s very interesting—even during
an exorcism, the demons of hell must acknowledge the truth about Jesus Christ,
our Savior. Although I’m sure they don’t
want to, they’re compelled to acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus, and to express
reverence for his holy name.
So what are we to conclude about
those human beings—those men and women in our world today—who regularly use our
Savior’s name as a curse word?
People possessed by demons bend their
knees at the name of Jesus, and these others use the Lord’s holy name to express their anger or to curse out their
neighbors!
I’d like to think that no one
here does that, but there are many out there who do! And that includes some who call themselves
Christians!
On that note, have you noticed
how the television and radio censors have changed their policy in recent
years? I’m sure some of you have. It used to be the case that all 4-letter
words, as well as all curses involving the name of God and the name of Jesus,
got censored on network TV and on radio.
But not anymore! Oh yes, the 4-letter words still get
“bleeped-out” (at least some of the time!) but all the curses that mention God
and Jesus are left alone.
If you haven’t noticed that trend
before in the media, pay attention to it in the future.
Paragraph 2146 of the Catechism
states: “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.”
I don’t know about you, but I
cringe when I hear the name of God or Jesus or Mary or one of the saints used
in an improper way—especially when it’s done by someone who claims to love the
Lord!
Would a husband who claimed to
love his wife ever use her name as a curse word? Would a wife who claimed to love her husband ever
use his name in that way?
Of course not!
Here I think we Christians can
learn a very important lesson from our Jewish brothers and sisters. The Jews, you know, have an incredible
reverence for the name of God. They
always have. In Old Testament times, for
example, God was designated by many titles—El, Elohim, Adonai, etc.—but the
proper name of God (that is to say, the name he revealed to Moses on Mt. Sinai:
Yahweh) was never said either in religious rituals or in casual conversation. The only time it was ever spoken was once a
year, by the high priest, when he went into the Holy of Holies of the Temple for
a special ceremony on the Day of Atonement.
Other than that, nobody said
it. Nobody DARED to say it. This was a sign of the reverence the Jewish
people had for the Lord who had rescued them from slavery and brought them into
the Promised Land. And it was also a
sign that they recognized God’s supreme and ultimate authority over their
lives.
That’s because when we human
beings use someone’s name, we often do it to assert our authority over that particular
person. When I did something wrong as a
child, for example, my mother would begin her reprimand in one of 3 ways. She would sometimes say, “Raymond!”—then I
knew I was in trouble; or she’d say, “Raymond Nicholas!”—then I knew I was in
big trouble; or she’d say, “Raymond Nicholas Suriani!”—then I knew I’d better
get out of town fast!
She asserted her authority over
me by using my name (in various forms!).
Jews don’t speak God’s name at
all, because they understand that they don’t have authority over him; rather he has authority over them!
On this same point, many of you
know Carol Marzano, John’s wife. Carol
comes to Mass with John almost every Sunday, although she is Jewish. She’s actually more faithful to Sunday Mass
than many Catholics are! Well every once
in awhile Carol will send me an email, and she’ll end it by saying “God bless”;
however God will be written G-d. In
fact, anytime she mentions God in a letter that’s how she’ll write the word.
To this day, good Jews like Carol
Marzano continue to show special reverence for God by not speaking his proper
name, and by leaving out the middle letter “o” whenever they write or type the
word “God”.
And to think that so many Christians
use the name of Yahweh’s divine Son, Jesus Christ, as a curse word! Or that they use the name of God as an
exclamation—as a way of expressing surprise or fear: “Oh my God!” Even that, my brothers and sisters, is
something I think we should try to avoid—out of reverence for the Lord. The only time an exclamation like that would
be acceptable is if it’s at the beginning of a prayer: “Oh my God, please help
me!” Otherwise it would be better to say
something else: “Oh my gosh!”; “Oh my goodness”—something along those lines.
The name of Jesus, when it’s spoken
with love and reverence, has great power, as Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the exorcist,
attests in that paragraph I read to you at the beginning of my homily. In the old Catholic Encyclopedia it says this:
The name of Jesus, invoked with
confidence . . .
1.
Brings help
in bodily needs, according to the promise of Christ [given in Mark
16:17-18]. In the name of Jesus the apostles
gave strength to the lame (Acts 3:6; 9:34) and life to the dead (Acts 9:40).
2.
[The name of
Jesus] gives consolation in spiritual trials. The name of Jesus reminds the
sinner of the prodigal son's father and of the Good Samaritan; it recalls to
the just the suffering and death of the innocent Lamb of God.
3.
[The name of
Jesus] protects us against Satan and his wiles, for the Devil fears the name of
Jesus, who has conquered him on the Cross.
4.
In the name
of Jesus we obtain every blessing and grace for time and eternity, for Christ
has said: "If you ask the Father anything in my name he will give it
you." (John 16:23) Therefore the Church concludes all her
prayers by the words: "Through our Lord Jesus Christ", etc.
And so, Lord Jesus, please help us—and please help every Christian
on this planet—to speak your holy name with the love and with the reverence
that it deserves—for your glory, and for our benefit. Amen.
