“Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.” Psalm 91:14
The Catechism says in paragraph 203, a name expresses a person’s essence and identity and the meaning of this person’s life.
To disclose one’s name is to make oneself known to others. In a way, it is to hand over oneself by becoming accessible, capable of being known more intimately and addressed personally. God has revealed Himself through His names down through the years, piecemeal, little bit at a time. Moses learns of the name of God in Exodus chapter 3, I AM WHO I AM. Later, this name, which in the Jewish community was and is the unpronounceable name, is YHWH.
Jews would not utter the name. In fact, they replaced the name with Adonai when reading it. The Israelites believed that calling upon the name of God invoked His presence. The name expressed and represented the person. God was present in a special way wherever the name of Yahweh was.
In Genesis 22:14, God revealed Himself to Abraham and Isaac as Yahweh Yireh, which means God will provide. Maybe you heard it as Jehovah Jireh. Later, God revealed Himself as Yahweh Rapha, the Healer, Yahweh Nissi, the Banner, our Banner, my Banner, Yahweh Shalom, our Peace, Yahweh Ra’ah, my Shepherd, Yahweh Tsidkenu, our Righteousness, and Yahweh Shammah, the Lord is Present. Now God is referred to as God, Elohim, 2,555 times in the Bible. Now in the Bible also, the name Lord Yahweh, 5,500 times. Almighty, El Shaddai. Most High, El Elyon. Living God, El Chai. The Almighty God, El Gibor, Lord of Hosts, Sabbaoth, but then everything changes.
At the Annunciation, we learn that God will take on flesh, but He will also take on a special name, Jesus. His name is announced. Jesus. Yeshua. What does it mean? Yahweh saves.
In the Old Covenant, God revealed his name at the burning bush. Now in the New Covenant, God reveals his name at the new and greater burning bush, the Virgin Mary. That’s Catechism paragraph 724. Matthew 1 tells us she will bear a Son, and you are to name him Jesus, Yeshua, because he will save his people from their sins.
The divine name may not be spoken by human lips, but by assuming our humanity, the Word of God hands it over to us, and we can invoke it. Jesus, Yahweh saves. The name Jesus contains all, God and man and the whole economy of creation and salvation. To pray Jesus is to invoke him and to call him within us.
“Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11