The Catechetical Review - Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization

Sacred Signs: The Name of God

Authored by Romano Guardini in Issue #34.4 of The Sower
This liturgical meditation is taken from Romano Guardini's book, Sacred Signs. We men have become gross; of many profound and delicate things we now know nothing. The word is one of those things: we think of it as superficial, for we no longer realise its inwardness; we think of it as transitory, for we no longer feel its force – it does not hit, it does not strike; it is only a light structure of sounds. But it is a fine body for something spiritual. The essence of some object before us, and what is awakened in our own soul on seeing it – these two meet and find expression in the word. That is how it should be, and how it surely was with the first man. In the earliest pages of Holy Writ we are told that God “brought the animals to Adam, to see what he would call them.” With open mind and seeing soul, man looked through the form of the animal and spoke its name, and his soul responded to the creature. Something stirred in him which stood in special relationship to that creature, for man is the summary and union of all creation. And this essence of the thing outside, and this response within man himself, both in living union, were the twofold source of the name spoken by man.

The rest of this online article is available for current subscribers.

Start your subscription today!


This article is from The Sower and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of Maryvale Institute. Contact [email protected]

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

Witnessing to Life
By Kimberly Baker
As Christians, we are called to affirm the dignity of each human being. This dignity has its beginning from our first moment of existence, when each of us receives the gift of life itself. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of... Read more
AD: Glorious Works of Art and Inspiration
By Colleen Rainone
Free This is a paid advertisement. To order these resources visit www.ignatius.com or call 800-651-1531.... Read more
AD: Decided Excellence Catholic Media
By Colleen Rainone
Free This is a paid advertisement in the January-March 2024 issue. Advertisements should not be viewed as endorsements from the publisher. To find out more, go to www.decidedexcellence.com or email at [email protected] .... Read more

Pages

Watch Tutorial Videos

We've put together several quick and easy tutorial videos to show you how to use this website.

Watch Now