Collect taken from Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time. During Ordinary time, the collect from Sunday is used throughout the week.
Collect: Grant, O Lord, that we may always revere and love your holy name, for you never deprive of your guidance those you set firm on the foundation of your love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…
“Grant, O Lord, that we may always revere and love your holy name,“
– Although it is our natural duty to worship and reverence God, our fallen nature makes twists and obscures this instinct. So, we ask for the grace to do it. The word for “revere” also means to fear, so we are asking in particular for a fear of the Lord, the beginning of Wisdom.
“for you never deprive of your guidance those you set firm on the foundation of your love.”
– Of course this fear cannot be divorced from God’s love, so our request includes the ability to Love God’s name and a reminder that we are set on the foundation of God’s love. Already, fear (or reverence) as the beginning of wisdom can be seen by remembering that God give his guidance to those who love him and God’s guidance is what gives us wisdom.
Questions & Advice: Do you fear and revere the name of God? How easy is it for you to speak the name of God or the name of Jesus without reverence or good reason? Do you want to be wise? Are you willing first of all to be set on the foundation of God’s love and second of all to follow his guidance?
Read about reverence and fear for God’s name in the Catechism (2144-2167). Pray the Our Father attentively and really consider the petition “Hallowed be thy name,” asking God to help you really treat his name as holy. Spend some of your prayer time asking for this gift of fear to help you know, understand, and follow God’s guidance.
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| A diagram of the names of God by Athanasius Kircher, via Wikimedia |