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

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.

Scott Hahn is the Fr. Michael Scanlan Professor of Biblical Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990. Founder and President of the St. Paul Center, Dr. Hahn has been married to Kimberly since 1979; they have six children and twenty-one grandchildren. The author or editor of over forty popular and academic books, Dr. Hahn’s works include best-selling titles Rome Sweet Home, The Lamb’s Supper, Answering the New Atheism, Understanding Our Father, Scripture Matters, Spirit and Life, The Creed, It Is Right and Just, and Hope to Die. Holy Is His Name is the thirteenth book Dr. Hahn has published with Emmaus Road Publishing.

 

“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
Former Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy

 

“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
Member of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

 

“Scott Hahn helps unlock the biblical understanding of holiness beginning with the description of the Sabbath found in the first chapter of Genesis all the way through to the saints portrayed in the Book of Revelation. Holiness is the goal for every disciple of Jesus. Holy Is His Name helps the reader understand the development of the meaning of holiness for the people of God and what it means for a Christian to be holy in the twenty-first century. If you desire holiness, you need to read Holy Is His Name.”
Archbishop Joseph Naumann
Archbishop of Kansas City, Kansas

 

“God has called each one of us by name in a particular and concrete way, to be holy as he is holy. As Scott Hahn demonstrates so beautifully in his book Holy Is His Name, this is not a general idea but rather a particular invitation that our Lord makes to each one of us. The good news is, we don’t make ourselves holy. We simply learn to dispose ourselves to his transforming grace. May the reading of this book help us discover the holiness of God so as to find our perfect path to the amazing transformation our Lord desires to effect in each one of us.”
Bishop James Conley
Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska

 

“‘Be holy, for I am holy,’ said the Lord in Leviticus. But how does one become holy? What is holiness anyway? Where can we find the holy ground, the hallowed day, the holy place we desire? In these informative and inspiring pages, Scott Hahn carries us through God’s entire self-revelation to discover the Holy One who lovingly beckons us into his own holiness. We joyously find that we are not seeking something, but Someone, and that our journey is not so much a personal quest for holiness, but a personal question from the Holy One Himself: Will you let My holiness dwell in you?”
Bishop Thomas Paprocki
Bishop of Springfield, Illinois

 

“Once again, Scott Hahn provides us with a thought-provoking analysis of some of the most basic elements of faith—a focus that we need so desperately in the world today. I’m especially encouraged by his thoughts flowing from the Book of Genesis, as they are a reminder that holiness speaks of and comes from God our Eternal Father and Creator. It is necessary that we return to these most basic roots of our existence. Thank you, Dr. Hahn, for your clear voice of Truth.”
Bishop Joseph E. Strickland
Bishop of Tyler, Texas

 

“It is the responsibility of each baptized person to pursue holiness, which is alone found in God. To pursue holiness is to immerse oneself in our Lord’s Pascal Mystery. Dr. Scott Hahn’s book Holy Is His Name is an excellent resource to help the faithful on the road to sanctification. I can’t recommend this book enough. It is a must-read.”
Bishop James Wall
Bishop of Gallup, New Mexico

 

“Rich in ground-clearing scriptural insights, Holy Is His Name shows how ‘we become perfectly ourselves as we grow in holiness.’ And Scott Hahn doesn’t take long to make us want to get growing.”
Bishop Liam Cary
Bishop of Baker, Oregon

“Holiness is both attractive and mysterious. We stand in awe of the holiness of God. We admire the holiness of the saints. Are we also called to be holy? Scott Hahn has given us a wonderful and easy-to-read biblical review of what holiness means and how, yes, we are all called by God, and empowered by his grace, to be holy.”
Fr. Gerald E. Murray
Pastor, Church of the Holy Family, New York, NY,
and Author of Calming the Storm

 

“Holiness is not an option. We are commanded to be holy by the Lord himself—multiple times! And we know that what the Lord commands he gives the grace to fulfill. Scott Hahn has written a comprehensive and readable account of what it means to be holy and how special—and possible—it is. And how necessary.”
Ralph Martin
Director of Graduate Theology Programs in the
New Evangelization, Sacred Heart Major Seminary

 

“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
Author of The Art of Living: The Cardinal Virtues hand the Freedom to Love

 

“Holiness! It’s a universal call that often goes unanswered. But what is it? In his latest work, Scott Hahn turns to the Gospel texts in a thought-provoking explanation of what it means to be truly holy. It’s a revelatory journey that moves us beyond modern-day wholeness to the true transforming holiness God intends for all of us.”
Doug Keck
President and Chief Operating Officer of EWTN,
Host of EWTN Bookmark

 

“More than anything else, our Church and world need to rediscover the true face of God, who is both transcendently holy and intimately merciful and tender. In Holy Is His Name, Dr. Scott Hahn shows us how our personal transformation and eternal destiny are dependent on this essential discovery. I’m inspired by this book. I believe you will be as well.”
Bob Schuchts
Founder of the John Paul II Healing Center

 

“Once again, Dr. Hahn has brought clarity and practicality to a fundamental belief of our faith. Holy Is His Name offers readers an opportunity to respond to God’s invitation to be transformed by, and participate in, his own holiness. I highly recommend this impactful work!”
Curtis Martin
Founder and CEO, Fellowship of Catholic
University Students (FOCUS)

 

“Scott Hahn has given us a biblical overview of the notion of holiness, tracing it from the seventh day of creation through the Exodus and the Temple to Christ, the Church, and her earthly and heavenly liturgy. Hahn shows how the Incarnation makes holiness applicable to persons in Christ and to our daily life as taken up in him. In classic Hahn fashion, it is extremely readable and personal as it brings the Bible and holiness into the heart of everyday life.”
Lawrence Feingold
Professor of Theology, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary

 

“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
Grammy-Award-Winning Musician and Author