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Jésus
n°213

God saves: the power of the holy name of Jesus

Revealed by God to the Virgin Mary and then to Saint Joseph through the Archangel Gabriel, the name Jesus, meaning "Saviour", is the direct choice of God the Father. This name sums up the whole person and mission of Christ, works miracles and casts out demons. As Christ urged the apostles to do, the Church has invoked the name of Jesus with force and authority from her very beginnings, demonstrating her divine power throughout the centuries. In this way, she demonstrates that the name of Jesus is the only one that  saves humanity. The feast of the holy name of Jesus is celebrated on 3 January.

The IHS monogram, short for "Iesus Hominum Salvator" (Jesus the Saviour of Mankind) / © CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED, Leo Reynolds via Flickr.
The IHS monogram, short for "Iesus Hominum Salvator" (Jesus the Saviour of Mankind) / © CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED, Leo Reynolds via Flickr.

Reasons to believe:

  • According to the Gospels, Jesus himself affirmed the power of his name: "Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you" (Jn 15:16). In particular, he gave his disciples the power to use his name to heal the sick and expel demons. Jesus also declared that his name would be a force of unity: "When two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them " (Mt 18:20).

  • Very early on, the disciples witnessed the reality of Jesus' promises: "The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name." (Lk 10:17).

  • In the Acts of the Apostles  (Acts 3:6), Peter and John, challenged by a cripple who was begging outside the Beautiful Gate in Jerusalem, replied that they had "neither gold nor silver", but were going to give the man what they had: "In the name of Jesus Christ, get up and walk". The miracle was performed, the first of many and a demonstration that this name, as the Apostle Paul would later say, is "the name above all names", adding "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and in hell" (Phil 2:10), thus proclaiming the divinity of Jesus and his omnipotence.

  • The suppliants who crossed Jesus' path felt for themselves the power of this name, which they invoked spontaneously: "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!" the blind man by the side of the road exclaimed (Lk 18:38).

  • From then on, it is from this precious name that the Church has always drawn her strength and graces: the name of Jesus is the constancy of her martyrs, the light of her teachers, the purity of her virgins and the source of all steadfastness in the faith.

  • The Church asks for and acts only in the name of Jesus, because "there is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved" (Acts 4:12). The name of Jesus is truly salvific: "Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

  • All the prayers of the Church end with the invocation of the name of Jesus, but it is in the ritual of exorcism that it most clearly displays its power. The Catechism teaches that: "Through exorcism, the Church publicly asks with authority in the name of Jesus that a person or an object be protected from the hold of the Evil One and removed from his empire."So it is not the exorcist who delivers, but the power of the holy name of Jesus, "fearsome to the devil".

Summary:

Giving a name confers a kind of power on the one who names over the one who receives the name. Ancient cultures knew this. For this reason, it would have been inappropriate for humans to choose the name of the holy child begotten in Mary's womb by the Holy Spirit, for creatures have no power over the Uncreated, even in his Incarnation. It was therefore necessary for this name to come directly from God the Father, who perfectly knows the Son he begets in eternity and in time, and for this name to be revealed through the angel Gabriel, who told it to Mary and then to Joseph in a dream. The paternal privilege was then delegated to Joseph, who named the child on the day of circumcision.

So the name Jesus, chosen by the Father and meaning "Saviour", has great power, because it is God's name. In the title of Saviour, the name of Jesus sums up all the messianic names announced by the prophets of old: Emmanuel, Wonderful Counsellor, Strong God, Prince of Peace...

Recapitulating everything in its role as Saviour, the name of Jesus teaches the Church that Jesus, in order to save us, "destroys sin, overcomes death, strips the underworld bare, triumphs over the devil, enlightens the universe, restores us to grace and our dignity as children of God". This name sums up the life and work of the Son, reminding us of them every time we utter or hear it. For when we say "Jesus", we are reminded of the entire mystery of the Incarnation, from the crib to the Cross, and we confess a God who has become human, poor and humble, suffering and dying.

The name of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian life: "Whatever you do or say, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus" Saint Paul says (Col 2:17). It is therefore highly recommended to invoke Jesus in temptations that he can dispel; in moments of anguish, doubt or sadness, and in the throes of agony.

The name of Jesus is also the joy and glory of those who suffer for his sake, as Peter and John proclaimed when they were beaten for performing miracles in the name of the Crucified One: "And they went away, glad that they had been judged worthy to suffer insults for the name of Jesus" (Acts 5:41).

Although the Fathers and Doctors devoted many writings to the subject, it was not until the 15th century, under the impetus of the Franciscan Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380 - 1444), that devotion to the holy name of Jesus became widespread. This preacher held up a sign bearing the letters "IHS", the emblem or monogram representing the Holy Name of Jesus (In the Middle Ages the Name of Jesus was written: IHESUS), but also the initials of the Latin formula I​​​​esus Hominum Salvator - "Jesus the Saviour of mankind". Saint Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits helped to spread this devotion from the 16th century onwards, with the dome of their Roman church of Gesù, where Ignatius is buried, representing the triumph of the name of Jesus.

Pope Innocent XIII instituted the feast in 1721 for the universal Church. It was also the time when the litanies of the holy name of Jesus became popular.

Anne Bernet is a specialist in Church History, the postulator of a cause for beatification, a journalist for a number of Catholic media, and the author of over forty books, most of them on holy lives.

Beyond reasons to believe:

The name of God is intimate and secret: by revealing it, God gives himself to the people who will receive it. The God who, revealing himself to Moses in the burning bush, says "I am who I am" (Ex 3:14) is also the God whose name (Yahweh or Jehovah) couldn't be pronounced except by the mouth of the high priest, once a year, in the secret of the Holy of Holies. When God was mentioned, he was referred to as "hashem" ("the name") or "Adonai" ("Lord"). But today, thanks to the Incarnation, God reveals the intimacy of his Being by revealing his name through the one he has chosen for his Son: "Yeshua", "Jesus", "Saviour", or "God saves". - You shall call him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:21 and Lk 1:31).

So the name Jesus, which means "Saviour", has great power, because it is the power of God himself.

Going further:

The Wonders of the Holy Name by Paul O'Sullivan O.P., TAN Books (June 1, 1993)

More information:

  • Ludolphe le Chartreux: note on the holy name of Jesus.
  • Saint Bernardine of Siena, "The Holy Name of Jesus", Sermon no. 49.
  • Dom Florent Broquin, La Grande vie de Jésus Christ, 1888.
  • Catholic Answers article "The Power of Jesus' Name" by Eric Sammons
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