The Name Spoken Correctly
Updated: Sep 7
“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”Luke 19:5
Not the short version. Not the almost-right version. The name as the person has asked to be called, with the right sounds.
It takes a little attention. It gives back a little dignity.
Jesus used names with care. The crowd had other words for Zacchaeus. Jesus said his name. He did not call him only by his job or his reputation. He called him as he was.
Speaking a name correctly costs almost nothing. It tells the other person they have been seen properly. In a hospital, a church, or a queue, that can matter more than we think.
You do not have to make a show of getting it right. You do not have to correct other people in the moment.
At Mass we are not a nameless crowd to God. He knows who we are. We can offer one another a small share of that care by saying a name as it is meant to be said.
Just say it truly. That is enough.