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Me,' it is the same as to say: 'Thou shalt worship Me who am the true God, thou shalt not worship
strange gods.' . . . It should be accurately taught that the veneration and invocation of the Angels, of
the Saints, and of the blessed souls who enjoy the glory of heaven--and, moreover, the honour
which the Catholic Church has always paid even to the bodies and ashes of the Saints- -are not
forbidden by this Commandment" ("Roman Catechism," "First Commandment," 1, 2, 5, 8).
SECOND COMMANDMENT: "Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of the Lord Thy God in Vain."
This is the Second Commandment of the law. Just as there is but one God whom we must worship,
so there is only one God whom we should reverence in a special manner. This, first of all, has
reference to the name of God. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."[1]
THE MEANING OF IN VAIN
"In vain" has a threefold meaning. Sometimes it is said of that which is false: "They have spoken
vain things every one to his neighbour."[2] One, therefore, takes the name of God in vain when one
uses it to confirm that which is not true: "Love not a false oath."[3] "Thou shalt not live because
thou hast spoken a lie in the name of the Lord."[4] Any one so doing does injury to God, to himself,
and to all men.
It is an insult to God because, when you swear by God, it is nothing other than to call Him to
witness; and when you swear falsely, you either believe God to be ignorant of the truth and thus
place ignorance in God, whereas "all things are naked and open to His eyes,"[5] or you think that
God loves a lie, whereas He hates it: "Thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie."[6] Or, again, you
detract from His power, as if He were not able to punish a lie.
Likewise, such a one does an injury to himself, for he binds himself to the judgement of God. It is
the same thing to say, "By God this is so," as to say, "May God punish me if it is not so!"
He, finally, does an injury to other men. For there can be no lasting society unless men believe one
another. Matters that are doubtful may be confirmed by oaths: "An oath in confirmation puts an end
to all controversy."[7] Therefore, he who violates this precept does injury to God, is cruel to
himself, and harmful to other men.
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Sometimes "vain" signifies useless: "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men, that they are vain."[8]
God's name, therefore, is taken in vain when it is used to confirm vain things.
In the Old Law it was forbidden to swear falsely: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God
in vain."[9] And Christ forbade the taking of oaths except in case of necessity: "You have heard that
it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not forswear thyself. . . . But I say to you not to swear at
all."[10] And the reason for this is that in no part of our body are we so weak as in the tongue, for
"the tongue no man can tame."[11] And thus even in light matter one can perjure himself. "Let your
speech be: Yea, yea; No, no. But I say to you not to swear at all."[12]
Note well that an oath is like medicine, which is never taken continually but only in times of
necessity. Hence, the Lord adds: "And that which is over and above these is evil."[13] "Let not the
mouth be accustomed to swearing, for in it there are many falls. And let not the name of God be
usual in thy mouth, and meddle not with the names of saints. For thou shalt not escape free from
them."[14]
Sometimes "in vain" means sin or injustice: "O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart?
Why do you love vanity?"[15] Therefore, he who swears to commit a sin, takes the name of his God
in vain. Justice consists in doing good and avoiding evil. Therefore, if you take an oath to steal or
commit some crime of this sort, you sin against justice. And although you must not keep this oath,
you are still guilty of perjury. Herod did this against John.[16] It is likewise against justice when
one swears not to do some good act, as not to enter a church or a religious community. And
although this oath, too, is not binding, yet, despite this, the person himself is a perjurer.
CONDITIONS OF A LAWFUL OATH
One cannot, therefore, swear to a falsehood, or without good reason, or in any way against justice:
"And thou shalt swear: As the Lord liveth, in truth, and in judgement and in justice."[17]
Sometimes "vain" also means foolish: "All men are vain, in whom there is not the knowledge of
God."[18] Accordingly, he who takes the name of God foolishly, by blasphemy, takes the name of
God in vain: "And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him die."[19]
TAKING GOD'S NAME JUSTLY
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." However, the name of God may be
taken for six purposes. First, to confirm something that is said, as in an oath. In this we show God
alone is the first Truth, and also we show due reverence to God. For this reason it was commanded
in the Old Law that one must not swear except by God.[20] They who swore otherwise violated this
order: "By the name of strange gods you shall not swear."[21] Although at times one swears by
creatures, nevertheless, it must be known that such is the same as swearing by God. When you
swear by your soul or your head, it is as if you bind yourself to be punished by God. Thus: "But I
call God to witness upon my soul."[22] And when you swear by the Gospel, you swear by God who
gave the Gospel. But they sin who swear either by God or by the Gospel for any trivial reason.
The second purpose is that of sanctification. Thus, Baptism sanctifies, for as St. Paul says: "But you
are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
the Spirit of God."[23] Baptism, however, does not have power except through the invocation of the
Trinity: "But Thou, O Lord, art among us, and Thy name is called upon by us."[24]
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The third purpose is the expulsion of our adversary; hence, before Baptism we renounce the devil:
"Only let Thy name be called upon us; take away our reproach.[25] Wherefore, if one return to his
sins, the name of God has been taken in vain.
Fourthly, God's name is taken in order to confess it: "How then shall they call on Him, in whom
they have not believed?"[26] And again: "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be
saved."[27] First of all, we confess by word of mouth that we may show forth the glory of God:
"And every one that calleth upon My name, I have created him for My glory."[28] Accordingly, if
one says anything against the glory of God, he takes the name of God in vain. Secondly, we confess
God's name by our works, when our very actions show forth God's glory: "That they may see your
good works, and may glorify your Father who is in heaven."[29] "Through you the name of God is
blasphemed among the Gentiles."[30]
Fifthly it is taken for our defence: "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just runneth to it and
shall be exalted."[31] "In My name they shall cast out devils."[32] "There is no other name under
heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved.[33]
Lastly, it is taken in order to make our works complete. Thus says the Apostle: "All whatsoever you
do in word or work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."[34] The reason is because "our
help is in the name of the Lord."[35] Sometimes it happens that one begins a work imprudently by
starting with a vow, for instance, and then not completing either the work or the vow. And this
again is taking God's name in vain. "If thou hast vowed anything to God, defer not to pay it."[36]
"Vow and pay to the Lord your God; all ye that are round about Him bring presents."[37] "For an
unfaithful and foolish promise displeaseth Him."[38]
(For "Questions for Discussion" see Chapter 6.)
ENDNOTES
1. "He who requires that honour be paid Him, also demands that we speak of Him with reverence,
and He forbids the contrary. . . . There are those who are so blinded by darkness of error as not to
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