Father Chas Canoy
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Why do Catholics rarely use the name Yahweh? In this episode of Ask Father Chas, Father Chas answers a thoughtful question about God’s personal name in the Old Testament, the Jewish tradition of reverence surrounding the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), and why the Church typically uses the title “Lord” in prayer and worship. He also reflects on the importance of reverently invoking the Holy Name of Jesus.
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Why Don’t Catholics Use the Name Yahweh?
Hi Father Chaz, Beth Torres here. So I am wondering, the Bible really focuses on the name of God, God gave us his name in the Old Testament as Yahweh, and yet we hardly ever use that name. Has it been replaced by just Jesus’ name? I always wonder about that.
Even the Our Father says, Hallowed be thy name. Okay, thanks Father, God bless. So the Jews don’t pronounce the Tetragrammaton.
You’re like, the Tetra what? Well, the Tetragrammaton literally means four letters referring to the four consonants of the personal name of God in the Bible, Yahweh. I tremble to even say that. So that would be YHWH.
So not using that personal name of God developed into a tradition because the Jews admirably considered it too holy to be uttered. After all, the second of the Ten Commandments is, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. And so to avoid even the risk of doing so, they did away with using Yahweh altogether and began referring to the name, or Hashem in Hebrew.
They would also use other titles to refer to God, such as Adonai, meaning Lord, or Elohim, which is the generic term for God, as opposed to His personal name of Yahweh, blessed be He. And out of respect for the Jewish tradition and our own reverence for God’s holy name, the Vatican, in a 2008 letter to the bishops on the name of God, mentioned that the Tetragrammaton should not be used in Catholic liturgies and prayers, but that Adonai, or Lord, be used in its place. So in light of that directive, I generally avoid using the personal name of God as a sign of reverence for His holy name.
But as you allude to in your question, we should reverently proclaim and invoke the holy name of Jesus frequently, as long as we do so with reverence. In fact, let’s end this response by doing just that, calling upon the holy name of Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
Most holy name of Jesus, have mercy on us. God bless you.