Holy Is His Name - Scott Hahn - The Transforming Power of God’s Holiness in Scripture

Holy Is His Name: The Transforming Power of God’s Holiness in Scripture

Scott Hahn
Emmaus Road Publishing
ISBN 9781645852551

ISBN 9781645852568

eISBN 9781645852575

ASIN B0BC1TYSB7

When I first returned to the Catholic Church about 25 years ago, Scott Hahn’s works were instrumental in my being a revert. A few different priests at recollections or on retreat recommended his books. I have greatly benefited for everything of his I have read, and this one is another amazing read. Scott Hahn is a masterful writer. With every book I read I have a greater appreciation for his skill, as a wordsmith, for his faith, and for his ability to unpack topics and make them accessible to reader in the general public, or in other works for the staunchest academic. This book is written for the general public, but I hope it will grab hold in the halls of academia and theological schools, and for commentators on our culture. The description of this volume is:

“Catholics are taught to prize holiness—to admire it in others and to strive for it in their own lives. But we’re never quite told what holiness is. In Holy Is His Name: The Transforming Power of God’s Holiness in Scripture, Scott Hahn seeks to define the term in order to help us better understand our relationship with holiness. Tracing the meaning of holiness first through the Old Testament and then the New, Hahn masterfully reveals how God gradually transmits his holiness to his people—through creation, right worship, and more—and ultimately transforms them through the sharing of his divine life.”

And the chapters are:

Foreword

Preface

Luv Is Not All You Need

The Genesis of Holiness

The Holiness Explosion

Holiness in the Kingdom

Not Wholly Holy

Holiness in the Prophets

Holiness in Person

Becoming Holy, Becoming “Gods”

The Body of Holiness

His Type of Holiness

Holiness and Priesthood

Holiness in Hebrews

Holiness Today

Appendix

Several authors and clergy I greatly respect have already given this book a recommendation. Such as:

“We don’t have to learn to be frightened, but as loving children of a loving God, saved through the Cross of Christ, we do need to learn how to fear God. Scott Hahn’s Holy Is His Name explains for priests and lay people what it means to be holy, to realize how distant we are from God’s holiness, how we must be in awe and wonder at his transcendence and majesty and recognize our worth and our smallness before his all-knowing compassion.”

George Cardinal Pell

“Holy Is His Name offers a profound and thorough reflection upon the mark of holiness which belongs properly only to God but which belongs, by participation, to every Christian in virtue of the immeasurable and unceasing love of God for man. We are deeply indebted to Hahn for his labor of love of Christ and of his Church, which offers to us the great gift of Holy Is His Name.”

Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke

“Catholics are taught to strive for holiness. But what does it actually mean to ‘be holy’? In this captivating book, Dr. Scott Hahn traces the theme of holiness in Scripture and shows how it is about so much more than good behavior and doing good Catholic things. True holiness is ultimately about God’s very divine life dwelling within us, changing us, and making us ever more like him, so that we can be healed of our many sins and weaknesses and can begin to love with God’s own love. And this transformation is not just for priests, religious, or exceptional lay people; it is what God desires for every human person. Read Holy Is His Name and you no doubt will be inspired to deepen your own personal encounter with the power of God’s holiness.”

Edward Sri

“Scott Hahn presents, with a style both theological and masterful, the rich biblical spirituality of holiness. Taking us from the ‘luv’ generation of the 1960s and the Jesus Movement back through the Hebrew Scriptures to the New Testament and Christian experience, he ushers to the mystical heights of authentic holiness in Christ. This is a must-read.”

John Michael Talbot

And many other recommendations on the books site, inside the volume, and on the dust jacket. I am just a small time Catholic Book Blogger. I love reading and reviewing books I love. So this is my plug for this excellent volume.

This is a volume I wish had been around when I was in high school. If I had read this book in my teens or even my early 20’s. It is a book that would have saved me years away from the church, years of struggles, and likely many sins. This is a book that can be read by a high school student or from the most learned theologian. It is a volume that will transform lives. I could see it becoming a classic. It is a book that will open the eyes, encourage the heart, and challenge the mind. And it does it through the lens of scriptures. It is another excellent offering from Hahn’s masterful pen and a book I can easily recommend.

If you wish to buy the book directly from The St. Paul Center do so here. 

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2023 Catholic Reading Plan!

Books by Scott Hahn:
A Father Who Keeps His Promises
A Pocket Guide to Saint Paul
A Pocket Guide to the Bible
Angels and Saints: A Biblical Friendship with God's Holy Ones
Answering the New Atheism: Dismantling Dawkins's Case Against God
Catholic for a Reason
Consuming the Word: The New Testament and The Eucharist in the Early Church
Covenant and Communion
Evangelizing Catholics: A Mission Manual for the New Evangelization
First Comes Love: Finding Your Family in the Church and the TrinityHail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God

Holy Is His Name
Hope for Hard Times
Joy to the World: How Christ's Coming Changed Everything and Still Does
Kinship by Covenant: A Canonical Approach to the Fulfillment of God's Saving Promises
Letter and Spirit : From Written Text to Living Word in the Liturgy
Living the Mysteries - A Guide for Unfinished Christians
Lord Have Mercy: The Healing Power of Confession
Many Are Called: Rediscovering the Glory of the Priesthood
Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace
Politicizing the Bible: The Roots of Historical Criticism and the Secularization of Scripture 1300-1700
Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith
Rome Sweet Home
Scripture Matters
Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots
Swear to God : The Promise and Power of the Sacraments
The Creed: Professing the Faith Through the Ages
The Fourth Cup
The First Society
The Kingdom of God As Liturgical Empire
The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth
Understanding "Our Father"

Mary Mother of All

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