I love holy cards and when I see them, I always take….more than my fair share (hey, I’m a prepper-it’s what I do!). I recently came across one explaining the importance of the Second Commandment:
Our Lord revealed to Sr. Marie de Saint-Pierre, a French Carmelite nun, the need for mankind to make reparation for the terrible sin of blasphemy. He told her: “Oh, if you only knew what great merit you acquire by saying even once:
Admirable is the Name of God!
…in the spirit of reparation of blasphemy!”
This card was published by Our Lady of the Rosary Library, based in Prospect, Kentucky. They seem to do good work. You can purchase their holy cards, in addition to books, rosaries, medals, etc., on their site store.
As the name of Nomen Christi Apostolate shows, we are greatly dedicated to the Holy Name of Christ. We are also dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima.
What does the Second Commandment mean in our own lives? Obviously, we are not ourselves, going to take His Name in vain, but it is certain, we will be exposed to this sin. We should avoid any entertainment that commits this sin, especially if we have children in the home. The more difficult thing, is responding properly when someone in our presence speaks the Name of Jesus or God in a flippant or even disrespectful way (if they respond badly, maybe you don’t need this person as a friend). This takes a game plan and practice. It is a social skill that we all need to develop. It is not just the Name of God we must defend, but also Catholic moral teaching, when we get into discussions where these issues pop up. Again, a social skill that requires practice. It might be okay to make a mistake once. It is not okay to fail to learn from it and make a plan for the next time it happens. We all must decide for ourselves how we will handle these situations. If you have not developed this skill, rather than tell you how I deal with it, please pray on it and come up with your own way. As I always say, I am not interested in dictating to anyone. I would like to see people creatively use their own minds and hearts to solve problems for themselves.
"But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth."
Apocalypse 3:16
As we can see by the Scripture quote from Apocalypse, God will not look kindly on our generation for this sin. Perhaps this is one reason we see the present chastisement. Let us resolve to more valiantly defend His Holy Name!
Image courtesy https://ryannstyles.blogspot.com