Ever since most of us were first learning how to talk our parents taught us some basic prayers. It began with the Sign of the Cross and continued through the Hail Mary, the Our Father and many others. Probably one of the first holy words we ever learned was the Name of Jesus. He is the One Who died on that Cross for us. He is in the tabernacle at Church. We started to learn all about Him and how much He loved us. Can you remember when you first learned His Name? It was a long time ago, wasn't it? You're so used to it that you will be surprised at how special this Name really is. The Holy Name of Jesus is more than an ordinary name. It is a prayer. God has given us, in this Holy Name, an easy, simple and powerful way of bringing graces down for ourselves, our families, the Catholic Church and the entire world. All that we need to do is understand clearly the value of the Name of Jesus, and to invoke it often with great love and devotion.
You know, at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass the Crucifixion at Calvary is taking place again and being offered up to God the Father. Well, every time that you say "Jesus" you can offer to God the Father the infinite merits of the whole Passion and Death of Jesus. You can also add to your intentions*, that every time you say the Name of Jesus, you wish to renew and offer every Mass for all your intentions and the intentions Jesus asks us to pray for. This is very pleasing to God and gives Him a great deal of joy and glory. Each time we say Jesus' Name it is an act of perfect love, because we are offering Jesus' infinite Love to God.
Not only should we pray Jesus' Name often but we should pray IN Jesus' Name. Jesus Himself says in the gospels, "If you ask the Father any thing in My Name He will give it to you." (John 16:23) We know that Jesus does not exagerate nice things, nor does He lie, so we should take Him at His word.
We can also offer everything we DO in the Name of Jesus. St Paul says, "All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Col. 3:17). By doing this we will gain many graces to do the works more perfectly and well and they will become acts of love and merit. Saying His Name will also give us a peace and joy in our souls and the grace to bear our cross.
*An 'intention' is simply the person or thing you are praying for. Examples of intentions would be: yourself, your parents, your friends, that a sick person you know gets well, etc.
The Saints and the Holy Name
All of the Saints had a love for Jesus' Holy Name. They offered everything they thought, said and did to God for the love of Jesus. This greatly increased the value and merits of their actions, as it can do to ours. Some had more of a devotion to it than the others. For example, Peter, the first pope, performed one of his first miracles and healed a lame man in Jesus' Name - "Silver and gold I have none; but what I have, I give thee: In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise, and walk." (Acts 3:6). St. Paul also shows his love and faith in this all-powerful Name in many of his letters. In his letter to the Philippians he says "in the Name of Jesus every knee shall bend in Heaven, on earth and in hell." This shows the infinite power that this Holy Name possesses. EVERY time you say it you give INFINITE joy to God, Our Lady, and all of Heaven! Think how grateful they will be to you when you die and while you still yet live. They will certainly want to help you get to Heaven to share the joy that you infinitely increased. Frequently saying this Name is a habit that is not hard to get into, but only needs a good strong will (which I am sure you have).
The love that burned in the heart of Blessed Catherine of Rocconigi for the Holy Name was so great and she said it so fervently and often that after her death the word JESUS was found on her heart, in golden letters. If our devotion is similar to the Saints, then we, too, will have Jesus' Name shining from our souls throughout all eternity for all of Heaven to see.
Many of the Saints, like St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. Dominic, Bl. Giles of Santarem, St. Frances de Chantal and St. Francis of Assisi found a great consolation and joy whenever they said, heard or even read the Holy Name. Some of the Saints preached about it's power and wonders. St. Leonard of Port Maurice, for example, would preach on the Holy Name with such love and sincerity that tears would come to the eyes of all who heard him. He begged his listeners to write this powerful Name on a card and place it over their doors. Many of them did and great good came from it. Those who had done so were saved from sicknesses and disasters that would otherwise have fallen upon them. One man however shared a house with a Jew who refused to put a card with "Jesus" on it over their door. (because he did not believe in Jesus, much less think there was any power in His Name.) The man decided then, that he would write the Holy Name on all the windows that belonged to him. Shortly afterwards there was a fire in their house. All of the rooms belonging to the Jew were burnt, while all the rooms of the Catholic, whose windows bore the Son of God's Name, were completely unharmed. The whole city witnessed it.
St. Ignatius of Loyola had a great devotion to the Name of Jesus. Such was his devotion that the order he founded was not named after him in any way but instead was called the "Society of Jesus". All of the Saints agree with St. Francis de Sales when he says that anyone with the holy habit of repeating the Name of Jesus may be sure of dying a holy and happy death. This is a very wonderful grace to obtain since the hour of death is so important. The devils know this and in that hour try to tempt us to sin as much as they can, because they only have 60 more minutes to get us to turn from God forever. You should say a prayer every day that you die in God's grace, and no other prayer would be better than the Son of God's Name. Many of the Saints spent their dying days repeating the Holy Name.
St. Edmund, in fact, was shown that God does want us to invoke His Holy Name in order to obtain a happy death. Once, while Edmund was alone, he met a young Boy. The Boy asked if Edmund knew His Name. When our Saint answered that he did not know it, the Child said, "look at Me and you will see Who I am". Edmund did as he was asked and read on the little Boy's forehead, in letters of gold, the words 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.'
"Fear not, Edmund, for I am Jesus Christ, your Lord, and I shall be your defender here while you live." Edmund fell down humbly and gave thanks to God for His mercy and goodness. Then the beautiful Boy said, "Every time you go to bed, and also when you arise from it, make the Sign of the Cross and, while you are doing so, say these words: 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, Son of God, have mercy on me!' Pray these words while remembering My Passion." Then Edmund was told that if he did this, the devil would never have power to overcome him and he would be protected from a sudden and unprovided-for-death. The same reward would be given to all who did likewise. Then the Boy disappeared.
One night, as Saint Edmund attempted to do as Jesus had requested, the devil immediately made his arm paralyzed, unable to move. Edmund calmly, lovingly, said the prayer that Jesus had taught him and the devil fled in terror, leaving him unharmed.
Another form of this devotion is to mark the letters ‘INRI’ on your forehead while saying the words given to Saint Edmund. The ‘INRI’ stands for 'Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Judaeorum' ('Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews'. This was written on a board, in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and placed over Jesus when He was crucified. Latin has no ‘J’ letter and so the letter ‘I’ is used in place of the ‘J’. That is why, it is ‘INRI’ and not ‘JNRJ’).
St. Alphonsus Liguori - a great bishop, Doctor of the Church and Saint - strongly recommends both of these devotions.
The Holy Name: Protection against Evils
Not only does the Holy Name bring down special and extraordinary graces, but it also protects us against evils, most especially the demons. Venerable Francis Ypes got the devil to admit that there are three things they fear the most. Two of them are the Name of Mary and her Brown Scapular. But the first thing they feared, of course, was the Holy Name of Jesus.
When great evils threatened the Catholic Church and the world, Pope Gregory X called a council of bishops in Lyons to decide the best way to save society. Their conclusion was calling upon the Name of Jesus and repeating it often and devoutly. The Dominicans began preaching about the worth and necessity of this devotion. Two of the greatest preachers and propagators of the Holy Name were St. Bernadine of Siena (1380-1444) and St. Leonard of Port Maurice, who were both Franciscans. God heard their prayers. The enemies of the church were held at bay and society for the time being was saved from the evils that awaited it. God does listen to prayers and we should offer some for our world in our own time, which is in desperate need of your generosity.
Another example of the great love and mercy of God regarding the devotion of the Holy Name is when a horrible plague entered Lisbon, Portugal in 1432. The plague was very intense. People could catch it by the slightest touch and it didn't give you long once you caught it. Men would die in the streets, at the table, in the market, anywhere. So many of the priests, nuns and doctors died that many of the dead laid unburied in the streets. People fled the city in order to escape it but wound up spreading the plague across the whole country. One bishop, Monsignor Andre Dias, urged the people to call upon the Holy Name for help. Everywhere that he went, he said: "Write it on cards and keep those cards on your persons; place them at night under your pillows; place them on your doors; but above all, constantly invoke with your lips and in your hearts this most powerful Name." And was God deaf to their poor prayers? Did the children He love so tenderly ask in vain? His Heart was filled with joy upon hearing them turn to Him in their time of need. In the bishop's town the plague suddenly began to loose its strength. The dying arose and the sick recovered. Word spread to the other towns of the Holy Name's miraculous power and soon, by its intercession, the entire country was freed from the dreadful catastrophe.
More coming.
