On The Lord's Prayer - St. Nikolai Velimirovic (3)

HALLOWED BE THY NAME

Thou wouldest not be holier by our hallowing Thee, but in hallowing Thy Name we make ourselves holy. Thy Name is wondrous. The people quarrel on this earth about names: whose name is great? It is good that sometimes Thy Name is mentioned in these quarrels, because all the loquacious tongues become at once slow and hesitating, and all the great human names melted together cannot compare with Thy Name, Holy, All-Holy!

When men want to hallow Thy Name they ask nature for help. They take stone and wood to make the temples; they adorn the altars with pearls and flowers, and make fire of plants, their sisters; and take scent of the cedars, their brothers; and strengthen their voices by the voice of the bells; and call the animals for help, to hallow Thy Name. Nature is as pure as Thy stars, and as innocent as Thine Angels, O Lord. Be merciful with us for the sake of the pure and innocent nature which hallows Thy Name, together with us, Holy, All-Holy!

In what way should we hallow Thy name?

Is it by innocent joy? – then be merciful with us for the sake of our innocent children.

Is it by suffering? – then look at our cemetaries.

Or is it by self-sacrifice? – then remember our mothers, O Lord!|

Thy name is stronger then steel and clearer then light. Blessed be the man who depends upon and enlightens himself by Thy Name!

The fools says: “We are armed with steel; who can resist us?” And Thou destroyest kingdoms with invisible insects!

Terrible is Thy Name, O Lord! It illuminates and it consumes like a great fire-cloud. Nothing is holy and nothing terrible that is not bound with Thy Name. Give me, O Holy, give me as friends those in whose hearts Thy Name is engraved, and as enemies those who do not wish to know anything about Thee. For such friends will be my friends to the death, and such enemies will kneel and surrender to me as soon as their steel is broken.

Holy and terrible is Thy Name, Holy, All-Holy! Let us remember Thy Name in every moment of our joy and of our abasement in life, as we remember it in the hour of our death, yea, our heavenly Father, our Holy Father!