Thursday, 18 September 2025

The Name of God: The Revelation of the Merciful Presence of God - Michael Lewis - CTS Deeper Christianity

The Name of God: 
The Revelation of the Merciful Presence of God
Canon Michael Lewis
Catholic Truth Society
ISBN 9781860828966
eISBN 9781784694258
ASIN B073GZ5QBK
CTS Booklet SP41

The Name of God: The Revelation of the Merciful Presence of God - Michael Lewis - CTS Deeper Christianity

I have been focusing on this series and CTS books by Pope Benedict XVI lately, I have been tracking down as many of each as I can find, and I believe I now have all from this series. This is a great read in a wonderful series. Over the last several years, I have read many books from the Catholic Truth Society, in fact over 450 of them as of the reading of this volume; many read more than once; this all since the spring of 2018. Most were good reads; some were great reads; and a few are exceptional. This was the twenty-first in the Deeper Christianity Series that I have read; many of them have been read twice. This is the first I have read by Conon Michael Lewis, and I believe the only one of his published by the CTS. This booklet was originally published 2014 and the eBook was released in 2017. The description of this volume is:

“The revelation of God’s Name, which began in the Burning Bush, comes to completion in Jesus. This book takes us into the heart of the mystery of God’s Name and therefore the mystery of prayer.

Pope Benedict XVI wrote that the revelation of God’s Name, which began in the Burning Bush, comes to completion in Jesus. The mysterious Name of God revealed to Moses, a Name too sacred to be spoken aloud, signifies God’s merciful presence with his people. At the Incarnation, that Name is finally spoken fully in Jesus, which means “the Lord saves”. The revelation of the Name is the revelation of the presence of God, who seeks to immerse us in the ocean of his mercy. This book takes us into the heart of the mystery of God’s Name and therefore the mystery of prayer.”

The chapters in the book are:

To Make Known the Name of the Father
What’s in a Name?
The Burning Bush
I Am Who I Am
The Name and the Divine Mercy
The Mystery of the Name
The Giving of the Name
YHWH and Yeshua
The Words of the Lord on his Name
The Name that is Above All Other Names
On the Invocation of the Name

I highlighted only few passages while reading this volume, they are:

“Far from being a mere label, the name was seen as a manifestation of the person named, a part of them, a potent symbol that not only expressed but, in a mysterious way, was something actually charged with and expressing the being and the underlying reality of the person named.”

“This is why in Genesis, for example, whenever a man is born or given a given a new name, the meaning of that name is explained. If the names of mortal beings matter so much, how much more does the name of God?”

“God can indeed be the object of our thought, but our minds cannot comprehend him nor can he be reduced to the level of an object among other objects.”

“God names himself by saying he has been, is now and will be with his people. All tenses are present in the Name because time past and time future are all embraced in God’s eternal now. For the very first time, God calls Israel, “my people.””

“What is certain is that the theme of the Name runs like a golden thread throughout the Old Testament. God’s divine power and glory are constantly seen as present and active in his Name.”

“The naming of the Messiah is a sign of the divine paternity. Since the role of an angel is to bring a message from God, it is God who has chosen the name of the Messiah and of his Son. Now what is eternal begins to exist in time, and the name of the Word made flesh, eternally pre-existent in the mind of God, is now made known on earth.”

“The Shekinah had been present in the burning bush and is now present in the Blessed Virgin. In Rabbinic tradition, the cloud of the Tabernacle in Exodus 40: 34-38 was the cloud of the Shekinah. Mary is ‘overshadowed’ by the Holy Spirit and becomes the place of the Shekinah, the new Ark of the Covenant, the dwelling-place for the Name.”

“The five sacred letters of the name can be vocalised. Just as the Word is made flesh and becomes visible, so too the name can now not only be uttered, but can be invoked by all, for in Jesus dwells all the fullness of the divinity.”

“When we collate what our Lord says about his own name, we see that he is speaks in a totally semitic way of his name as a way of referring to actions done in his person, on his behalf or by his authority. In his name, prophecies are made, demons exorcised and mighty deeds worked.”

“Thus Christ says “I am”: 1. the bread of life, 2. the door for the sheep, 3. the good shepherd, 4. the resurrection and the life, 5. the way, the truth and the life, 6. the true vine.”

“To answer this question, we must always keep sharply in focus the fundamental truth that the one who bears the Name, Jesus, the Son of Mary, is both fully God and fully man. Jesus is the name of the Messiah, the name of the Word made flesh.”

I hope those quotes give you a feel for the volume. This book is about midway in the series for being academic or being devotional. It has a really well balanced mix of both elements. It is crisply written and easy to engage with. It could benefit anyone from secondary school on. 

This book is a great read and one any Catholic would benefit from reading. The CTS Deeper Christianity Series of books is written in such a way that they can easily be read in any order. Pick and choose the ones that interest you, read them in order, or jump around. I have been blessed by the entire series that I have read and can highly recommend this book and the series.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews:  2025 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.


Books in the Deeper Christianity Series:
7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit 
8 Deadly Sins Learning to Defend the Life of Grace 
Art and Prayer  
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