2 January 2010: On the Name of Jesus

“Thou shalt call His name Jesus ...” (Mt 1:21) Great in its ‘origin’ for God Himself gives it through an archangel. Great in its significance, his ‘mission’, for Jesus means ‘Saviour’ -- who brings security and true peace.

“At the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.” (Philippians, 2:9-10) We ought to invoke it with great confidence in our temptations, troubles, perplexities, in all undertakings. Jesus has said, “If you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it to you” (Jn 15:16).

Peter and John, “teaching and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead, were arrested and brought to the high priest, Annas”. He asked “By what authority or in what name have you done this?”

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, replied “... in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified ... For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (cf Acts 4:2-3,6-7,12)

If by mere mention of the name ‘every knee should bend’, then we must avoid a cursory nod of the head or an awkward bow before the Blessed Sacrament.

Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp5

What does the Name of Jesus mean?

The Holy Name of Jesus is an all-powerful prayer. When we say, ‘Jesus’, let us ask God for all we need with absolute confidence. Thus, the Church ends her prayer with the words “through Jesus Christ ...”, which give the prayer a divine efficacy.

Each time we say, ‘Jesus’, we give God infinite joy and glory, for we offer Him all the infinite merits of the passion and Death of Jesus Christ.

Each time we say, ‘Jesus’, let us then offer God all the Masses being said all over the world for our intentions; and share in these thousands of Masses.

We gain a partial indulgence which we apply to the souls in Purgatory and liberating them from their pains. They thus become our best friends who pray for us with incredible fervor. It is an act of perfect love for we offer to God the infinite love of Jesus.

Ref: P O’Sullivan, “The Wonders of the Holy Name”, pp3-4

Invoking the Names of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Saint Josemaria Escrivá advises: “Don’t be afraid to call Our Lord by his name -- Jesus -- and to tell him that you love him” (“The Way”, 303). We call a friend by his first name. Our greatest Friend’s first name is JESUS; “thus he had been called by the angel before he was conceived in his mother’s womb” (cf Lk 1:31).

The Holy Name of Jesus saves us especially from the power of the devil, who is always seeking to do us harm. The Name of Jesus gradually fills our souls with a peace and a joy we never had; and gives us strength to make our sufferings easy to bear.

To invoke the name of Jesus is to be saved. To believe in this name is to be counted among the children of God (cf Jn 1:12); and assured of being heard. “Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name.” (Jn 16:23)

In the name of Jesus we obtain pardon for our sins (cf 1 Jn 2:12) and our souls are purified and made whole (cf 1 Cor 6:11). Preaching of this name is the whole essence of apostolate (Acts 8:12), for he “is the goal of human history, the focal point of the desires of history and civilization, the center of mankind, the joy of all hearts, and the fulfilment of all aspirations” (Second Vatican Council, “Gaudium et spes”, 45).

Mankind finds in Jesus what it needs most -- salvation, peace, happiness, the forgiveness of sins, freedom, understanding and friendship. Let us listen to St Bernard: “O Jesus, how consoling you are to those who invoke you! How good you are to those who seek you! Only he who has felt it can know what it is to languish in love for thee, O Jesus!” (cf St Bernard, “Sermons on the Canticles”, 15)

The names of Mary and Joseph should also be on our lips. Our Lord must have said them most often. About Mary, the first Christians gave her name many different meanings -- “Most Lovable, Star of the Sea, Queen, Princess, Light, Beautiful ...”

St Jerome gave her the title ‘Stella Maris’, 'Star of the Sea', since she is who guides us to a safe heaven in all the storms of life. Let us invoke her name especially in the ‘Hail, Mary’ and in all other prayers Christian devotion inspired over the centuries.

“If the whole Church is in debt to the Virgin Mary, since it was through her that she received Christ, in the same way she owes to St Joseph a special gratitude and reverence.” (St Bernardine of Siena, “Sermon 2”)

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.” (Fr Charles Belmonte and Fr James Socias [editors], “Handbook of Prayers”, 1988, p26)

Millions of Christians have learned at their mothers’ knees these aspirations and other similar ones, which they later repeated to their dying days. Let us not forget to have daily recourse to this ‘trinity on earth’.

Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:297-303

Prayer

A Catholic, without prayer? It is the same as a soldier without arms. (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Furrow”, 453)

Acquire the habit of saying vocal prayers in the morning, while you are dressing, like little children. You will have greater presence of God later during the day. (Ibid, op cit, 473)

For those who use their intelligence and their study as a weapon, the Rosary is most effective. Because that apparently monotonous way of beseeching Our Lady as children do their Mother, can destroy every seed of vainglory and pride. (Ibid, op cit, 474)

The scene of the Anunciation is a very lovely one. How often we have meditated on this. Mary is recollected in prayer. She is using all her senses and her faculties to speak to God. It is in prayer that she comes to know the divine Will. And with prayer she makes it the life of her life. Do not forget the example of the Virgin Mary. (Ibid, op cit, 481)

Foundation of the Abbey of Dunes, in Flanders, in honor of the Blessed Virgin, in the year 1128, by Fulk, a Benedictine monk. (Bethlehem 'Observer' Historical Calendar)