COLLECT SERIES
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| THE MASS COLLECT SERIES ICON. |
COLLECT
The Collect for the 12th Sunday of Year C reads as follows:
Lord God, teach us to fear
and love Your Holy name,
for You never withdraw Your
guiding hand
from those You establish in
Your love.
We make this prayer through
our Lord Jesus Christ
who lives and reigns with
Him and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
In making this prayer tangible for my life during the week, the
following reflections questions emerged:
1.What does it mean to me to fear God?
2. What does the catechism of the Catholic Church say about
fearing God?
3. How can I love His Holy name?
4. What can I do when others profane God's Holy name in
conversation? Will I accept it or gently challenge them so as to bring a
greater understanding and love of God's Holy name?
5.How will I thank God for His continual guiding hand in my life?
6. How will I continue to establish my relationship with God this
week? Have I become slack or do I need to focus on my prayer life, receiving
the sacraments more sincerely or understanding the scriptures?
The second commandment tells us not to take the name of the Lord
in vain. When we love someone, we respect them and do not wish someone
else to disrespect them either. We use the Lord's name to praise, bless
and glorify God.
The compendium of the Catholic Church also tells us:
" It is
forbidden to call on the name of God to justify a crime and it is also
wrong to use the holy Name of God in any improper way as in blasphemy ( which
by its very nature is a grave sin, curses and unfaithfulness to promises made
in the Name of God".( no 447).
PERSONAL APPLICATION
I have a friend whom I see regularly. She is not a believer
and constantly takes the Lord's name in vain. I always find it
offensive. At first, when I did not know her very well, I used to let it
slide when she used God's name in vain in conversation. I thought it was
a tactful thing to do given that she is not a Catholic and not a
believer. Then I began to feel very uncomfortable with this
reasoning. I was also a little frightened to comment.
The next occasion that it occurred I felt weak and let it go
verbally, but my body language must have said something different. I found it
fascinating that she commented that I don't like that language. She
apologised for using it and said that she had just got into the habit of it and
that she would try and break the habit. I have known for over 3 years
since then, and there have been only a few occasions that she has reverted back
to her old habit.
By helping others to praise, bless and glorify God appropriately
and not accepting old habits, we can help them form new positive and a loving
relationship with God even if they are not aware of or acknowledge God
personally. We can still be a blessing for them.
2. Another misnomer that is often said by younger people is the word
"' adore"' as in they adore their cat or family or friend etc.
Adoration is meant for God alone. We may respect and love our family,
friends or even our cat/dog but never adore them. We venerate Mary and the
Saints in the Catholic Church but should not adore them as adoration is for God
alone.
3, We can also pray for those who either don't know when they
blaspheme God or when we hear it on TV. We can ask that their hearts be
enlightened and that they come to love and fear God. We can make a
difference in these ways.
Let us thank God for never
withdrawing His guiding hand from us
and make the effort this
coming week to establish a deeper loving relationship with God.
