Wednesday, XXVII Week of Ordinary Time
(Luke 11:1-4)
With Halloween fast approaching we might want to reflect on the first desire expressed in the Lord’s Prayer, “hallowed be your name.” The word Halloween comes from a form of hallowed. It is actually short for all hallows even, or the eve of All Saints. American Catholics have a sense of this because of the obligation to attend Mass the next day, the Feast of All Saints.
Obviously then, "hallowed" is connected with saints. Indeed, it is an ancient way of saying “holy.” When we heed Jesus’ instruction to pray “hallowed be your name,” we express our wish that God’s name be recognized as holy. Here name is more than a way to call something; rather, it means one’s fame or reputation. We can look at two famous Shakespearean quotes to appreciate the difference. In Romeo and Juliet the heroine downplays the importance of a name when she tells her lover, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by another name would smell so sweet.” The character Cassio in Othello captures more the biblical idea of name when he speaks of reputation, “Reputation, reputation, reputation! Oh I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself...”
Holiness, of course, is the chief element of God’s reputation. He shows His holiness through His glory which is nothing less than the manifestation of His divine and gracious will throughout creation. When all women and men follow God’s will, His name is truly hallowed and peace reigns of earth.
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