What is the offical Church teaching on using God's name, Yahweh, in general?

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Hi,

I read it is commanded by law in the Catholic Church in IL not to say Yahweh. I didn’t read this entire article:

americancatholicpress.org…an_Yahweh.html

What is the offical Church teaching on using God’s name, Yahweh, in general? In the USA it seems it isn’t used in the Liturgy.

Thanks!
Brian

PS - i first asked this question on someone else’ thread, but don’t think there was a response, so i decided to post a fresh question to start a new thread. I hope this was OK. Thanks!
 
Your link is broken.

The use of God’s Holy Name Yahweh is forbidden in liturgy. This was reiterated in an instruction from the Vatican in 2008; it has always been the case since before the founding of the Church, but in the post-Conciliar 1970s, a few songwriters decided to push the envelope and introduce it as an innovation. The Church took her sweet time on denouncing the practice, but it’s done now, and we should be happy.

In scholarship such as Bible study there is no prohibition. There is no specific prohibition or taboo in casual speech except for the fact that it is a Holy Name and we should treat it with due respect, and not take it in vain.
 
Elizium23 said:
I found the OP’s intended link.

americancatholicpress.org/Father_Gilligan_Yahweh.html

It is a well-meaning explanation that comes to the correct conclusion. It is, of course, outdated as of the promulgation of the 2008 letter from the CDWDS.
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Thanks for updating the link. My Messianic friend says it is not so much a Jewish reason why we don’t use it, but to not offend God… or something like that. The person spells even God as G-d, even though not using the official name Yahweh. Should Catholics and Christians (or all people for that matter) refrain from using God or Yahweh around Jewish or Messianic Jews or Messianic Christians?

Not sure if outside of liturgy what the proper usage of this term according to Catholic teaching or if it is just respectful to not use it around certain people.

Another thought, if we start observing other people’s religions, does that mean we start to assent their beliefs? I know we are Judeo-Christians, so it is a little different. I don’t tell my Muslim friend happy Ramadan nor Jews happy Yom Kipur, although the second might be OK, I am not sure.

Thanks for the insights.
 
Elizium23 said:
The conciliar Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium encouraged the faithful to take part in the eucharistic liturgy not “as strangers or silent spectators,” but as participants “in the sacred action, conscious of what they are doing, actively and devoutly”
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What does your quote mean, to be participants, not in the consecration, but when we receive the Body and Blood, or does it mean we should be more prayerful during the whole of the Eucharistic Liturgy? Thanks!
 
GodHeals said:
What does your quote mean, to be participants, not in the consecration, but when we receive the Body and Blood, or does it mean we should be more prayerful during the whole of the Eucharistic Liturgy? Thanks!
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It is the concept of participa actuosa espoused by Vatican II in which all the faithful should be actively engaged in participation with the liturgy. Yes, it means we should be more prayerful, but also attentive and participating by making the responses and singing along with the hymns and other music. Active participation comes first from an internal disposition, to be aware of the setting and mentally present, but of course it extends further than that. It means that we are silent when sacred silence is to be observed and we “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” when it is our turn. It also encompasses roles we take as ministers in the liturgy, those for both the clergy and the laity, such as lector, acolyte, choir, altar server, lay reader, EMHC. Done properly, active participation draws us in more fully to the Eucharistic celebration and disposes us to receive the graces God makes available to us through His Church.

The liturgy is not just for the priest nor is it just for the benefit of God who graciously accepts our sacrifices. It is truly by the people and for the people, and to this end, we all have a role to play, even to the young children sitting in the pew.
 
One of the great truths about Christianity and Judaism is that the One God has revealed that He has a Name. A name is a personal thing which gives intimacy and openess in relationships. God’s Name therefore is precious and sacred. This Name was revealed to St. Moses the Prophet on Mt. Sinai with the theophany of the burning bush:
Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you’, and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’. . . this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” (Ex 3:13-15)
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God’s Name therefore is “I AM.” It denotes His aseity and that He is the source of a being since He is Being in itself. Our Lord Jesus Christ, being the Son of God and God, applied this Name to Himself many times during His ministry. When the Name of God was revealed to St. Moses, the LORD Himself modified it in ancient Hebrew to provide a Name by which His People, the Hebrews, could call Him. It is a single word which means “He who is” and conveys the revelation of God’s Name. It is, frankly, God’s True Name as related to us as human beings.

It consists of a tetragrammaton (four letter word) in Hebrew, containing the consonants “yhwh.” Hebrew, being an abjad alphabet, does not contain letters for vowels; thus the true pronunciation of the Name is uncertain. It was lost since the Jews did not utter the Name in common use and it became exclusive to the priesthood. When that priesthood was destroyed by the Romans, the Name’s pronunciation became forever uncertain. Nevertheless, the evidence of Scripture, history, linguistics, and various other disciplines have aided us in coming close to (if not finding exactly) the pronunication of the Name. Out of reverence I will not write the full pronunciation here, but the vowel sounds which are believed to form the Name are: “ah” and “eh.” These are placed in the middle of the “YH” and “WH” respectively to form the Name. For the purposes of this note, I will use the Latin pronunciation since it retains a similarity to the Divine Name but obscures it slightly because of the hard “v” and unaspirated “h” in Church Latin: “Iahveh.”

One may ask why I am showing such reverence to a simple pronunciation. The answer is because Christians, being the fulfillment of the Jews and the Jewish religion, retains the public respect due to the Name. Thus, like the Jews, we substitute other words and titles when the Divine Name is written or meant. These include: “LORD,” “GOD,” “Lord,” “God,” “the Name,” etc. The Divine Name, by custom, is never used during the Sacred Liturgy of the Church nor generally written down at all unless necessary. The sacred canons of the Church in fact forbid usage of the Name in public liturgical events; including but not limited to hymns, chants, responses, etc. But the Christian can rightly point out that He can use the Name more freely than the ancient Hebrews themselves did since he is a son of God through Christ. Why indeed should Christians be afraid of using the Name of their Heavenly Father?

Clearly, it is contrary to our Christian identity and custom to use the Divine Name frivolously or to pronounce it in public unless necessary. We have received that noble custom from our Jewish forefathers whom we revere as saints even to this day. But, we are compelled to ask whether a Christian can use the Divine Name in His own private devotion with the proper reverence and adoration? I believe that we can provided some guidelines are followed. CONTINUED:
 
First, we must recognize that there is no law, canonical or Divine, that forbids usage of the Divine Name even in its most proper pronunciation outside of liturgical events. Thus, one can find many Bibles, devotionals, texts, and such which have the Divine Name printed or used in such a way that expects verbal expression. The Church, being the New Israel, tolerates this practice and really doesn’t speak one way or the other, but simply asserts that the custom of the substitutionary reverence of the Name be respected. Private devotion however is a different matter. Theologically speaking, one can justify quite easily a Christian’s ability (or even right, in some sense) to verbalize the Divine Name. We are literally sons and daughters of God; we know God through the intimacy of Jesus Christ; God dwells within us, and so on. Usage of the Divine Name also can provide an intimacy with God and a sense of deepened identity with the Old Covenant, which has been continued and fulfilled in the New.

Second, it is the clear that compromises can be made with the Divine Name so as to keep the usage close but imperfect out of respect for the Name. The pronunciation of the tetragrammaton is very precise and follows a form of Hebrew that is no longer spoken natively. Thus, one can easily “garble” the true pronunciations whilst keeping the general structure. Some examples include: “Yaveh,” “Iahveh,” “Yahvé,” “Yah,” “Jahveh,” “Jah,” “Iabe,” “Yao,” and so on. One can also use a device founded by our Jewish ancestors which inserts different vowels into the tetragrammaton creating new names (which are, by nature, titles) such as: “Jehovah,” “Yehowah,” “Yahoveh,” “Yiyeh,” “Jehoveh,” and more.

Third, we must recognize that the Name of God is found more fully in Christ than in the tetragrammaton. The name “Jesus” is derived from the Hebrew “Yehoshua” (meaning: “YHWH saves”). It was shortened in the mid to late Old Covenant to “Yeshua” which is the Hebrew/Aramaic form of Our Lord’s Name. Thus, anytime the Name of Jesus is mentioned, the Divine Name is included by the nature of the Hebraic formula as “Yeh,” “Yah,” and “Yoh” all form linguistically equivalent expressions of the Name: “Iahveh.” This truth reminds us that the Name of Jesus is far more exalted and worthy of reverence than even the Divine Name in the New Covenant. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:
CCC, 2666: 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.
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So I would say that a Christian is free to use the Divine Name (preferrably in a compromised form) during his or her private devotions; especially if it is invoked in silence. Any utterance however must be accompanied by all due reverence, honor, and sense of the sacred. Any usage of the Divine Name or titles and words related to it (God, Lord, etc.) which are used disrespectfully or even frivolously is a sin against the Second Commandment. That being said, I encourage instead an increased usage and sense of reverence be cultivated in the Name of “JESUS,” as the Catechism states above. In the Name “JESUS” we receive all that was and is and will be the power of the Divine Name, YHWH, and also the very Presence of Christ in our hearts. I personally pray with the usage: “Iahveh” to God, especially on important or momentous occassions, however I strive to follow the Catechism’s teaching and rely more on the Name of Christ than the Divine Name as it was used in the Old Covenant.

I submit everything I have said, written, or implied to the judgment and correction of Holy Mother Church; most especially the Holy Roman Church under whose care I have been placed by God. Anything here that contradicts the teaching of Holy Mother Church in any way is null, void, and downright incorrect and should be seen as such.

“O YHWH, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth” (Ps 8:1)
 
Elizium23 said:
It is the concept of participa actuosa espoused by Vatican II in which all the faithful should be actively engaged in participation with the liturgy. Yes, it means we should be more prayerful, but also attentive and participating by making the responses and singing along with the hymns and other music. Active participation comes first from an internal disposition, to be aware of the setting and mentally present, but of course it extends further than that. It means that we are silent when sacred silence is to be observed and we “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” when it is our turn. It also encompasses roles we take as ministers in the liturgy, those for both the clergy and the laity, such as lector, acolyte, choir, altar server, lay reader, EMHC. Done properly, active participation draws us in more fully to the Eucharistic celebration and disposes us to receive the graces God makes available to us through His Church.

The liturgy is not just for the priest nor is it just for the benefit of God who graciously accepts our sacrifices. It is truly by the people and for the people, and to this end, we all have a role to play, even to the young children sitting in the pew.
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Thank you for sharing. Nice to read!
 
Antonius_Lupus said:
“O YHWH, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth” (Ps 8:1)
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Thank you for sharing, what is the link you took that text from? Did the Psalm come from it as well? It seems that the author wouldn’t have used God’s Divine Name much, so I am curious, unless the author was making a point that it is OK to use it.

I think some Messianic Jewish believers may say “G-d”. I wonder why they use the hyphen, since they aren’t saying YHWH or even its more fuller expression in any way…?!?

God Bless You!
Brian
 
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