Psalm Reflection: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - Cycle C

“O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!” - Psalms 8

When I was first hired as a youth minister I worked with middle schoolers. In the small town I grew up in, there was one main Catholic church. So, in an effort to build community and to collaborate, I became part of an ecumenical Christian group composed of all the local Christian youth pastors so we could pool our time and resources to be present to our students and help them to encounter the Lord. 

One outgrowth of this effort was “The Breakfast Club,” a zero-period club that met every Wednesday at the local middle school before first period where we provided breakfast and had the opportunity to lead worship and proclaim a message about Jesus. It was an incredibly fruitful ministry with over one hundred students there every week. I was blessed to befriend and work with so many other God-fearing men and women from the local Christian community, but my favorite was Dan.

Dan was always in a good mood and always told you he was “blessed,” when you asked how he was. Even the day he showed up to Breakfast club having been in a car accident and broken his leg the day before, he still always answered every “how are you,” with the word “blessed.”

One other thing Dan always did was when he heard someone say the name of God or Jesus in a blasphemous or inappropriate way, he would simply smile and say, “Lord’s name!” He did it to strangers in the grocery store, and to every student who said so much as an “Oh my God!” He had a deep reverence and respect for the Lord’s name.

"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” - Exodus 20:7 

The Jewish people had such reverence for the Lord’s name, Yahweh, that they never wrote it completely, abbreviating it as YHWH, and replaced it with the title Adonai, meaning “Lord,” when speaking. They could not speak this name either as it was so sacred, only the high priest could utter the name once per year on the Day of Atonement whilst appealing to God for mercy and forgiveness for the sins of the people and purifying the temple and people with the sacrificial blood of an animal. If the name of God was used or spoken in any other context, it was punishable by death.

"Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death, the whole community shall stone him. Alien and native-born alike, if they blaspheme the Name, they are to be put to death." - Leviticus 24:16

To this day, faithful Jews bow their heads anytime they think of God’s name or say Adonai in prayer, and they write G-d instead of spelling out God to show reverence for the power of God’s name. 

"But the one name that contains everything is the one that the Son of God received in his incarnation: JESUS. The divine name may not be spoken by human lips, but by assuming our humanity, the Word of God hands it over to us and we can invoke it: 'Jesus,' 'YHWH saves.' The name 'Jesus' contains all: God and man and the whole economy of creation and salvation. To pray 'Jesus' is to invoke him and to call him within us. His name is the only one that contains the presence it signifies. Jesus is the Risen One, and whoever invokes the name of Jesus is welcoming the Son of God who loved him and who gave himself up for him." - CCC 2666

In a world of anonymity and free speech, some believe they can say whatever they want with no consequences, and others believe you can only say what they agree with, otherwise it is considered hate speech. Whatever the case may be, it seems we have lost a sense of self-control and reverence in the way we speak, not only about God, but about one another.

Every single person that walks this earth is an intended creation by an all-loving, all powerful God. He is present in the face of each person you encounter, and our reverence toward Him and His name affects how we speak to and treat one another.

When we all revere God, and others by extension, His wonderful name will be known in all the Earth. 

I am praying for you, please pray for me and my family, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, June 15th, 2025, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - Cycle C: Psalms 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9