“Thou shalt call His Name Jesus” (Mt.1:21)

Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, January 4, 2015

By: Fr. Campbell 

“Therefore God also has exalted him and has bestowed upon him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father” (Phil.2:9-11). “For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

These words from Sacred Scripture, words anointed by the Holy Spirit, teach us that we must have a loving reverence for the Holy Name of Jesus, and a holy fear of offending Him. “Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain,” says the Commandment. Why should God’s Commandment be difficult to observe? There is no one like Jesus Christ, the One Who has laid down His life to save us, the Good Shepherd Who guides His sheep to everlasting life, the sinless and all perfect Son of God Who now sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us (Rom.8:34). If we profess to know Him, if we say we love Him, how could we possibly think of pronouncing His Sacred Name without reverently bowing our heads?

“In the Name of Jesus we obtain every blessing and grace for time and eternity, for Christ has said: ‘If you ask the Father anything in my name he will give it you’ (Jn.16: 23). Therefore the Church concludes all her prayers by the words: ‘Through Our Lord Jesus Christ,…’” (Holy Name of Jesus, The Catholic Encyclopedia). The Father is not pleased to have the Holy Name of His beloved Son abused.


After speaking of various sins against the Second Commandment, the Catechism of the Council of Trent declares: “Still more enormous is the guilt of those who, with impure and defiled lips, dare to curse or blaspheme the holy name of God – that name which is to be blessed and praised above measure by all creatures, or even the names of the Saints who reign with Him in glory. So atrocious and horrible is this crime that the Sacred Scriptures, sometimes when speaking of blasphemy use the word blessing” (Tan Books, 1982, p. 394). 


The same Catechism seems to speak directly to our time: “…[T]here are not wanting those who are so blinded by the darkness of error as not to dread to blaspheme His name, whom the Angels glorify. Men are not deterred by the Commandment laid down from shamelessly and daringly outraging His divine Majesty every day, or rather every hour and moment of the day. Who is ignorant that every assertion is accompanied with an oath and teems with curses and imprecations? To such lengths has this impiety been carried, that there is scarcely anyone who buys, or sells, or transacts business of any sort, without having recourse to swearing, and who, even in matters the most unimportant and trivial, does not profane the most holy name of God thousands of times” (p. 382).

The full text of the Second Commandment as we find it stated in the Book of Exodus is: “You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. For the Lord will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain” (Ex.20:7). About this we read in the same Catechism: “The threat is general; it declares that whoever is guilty of this crime shall not escape unpunished. The various chastisements, therefore, with which we are every day visited, should warn us against this sin. It is easy to conjecture that men are afflicted with heavy calamities because they violate this Commandment… Deterred, therefore, by a holy dread, the faithful should use every exertion to avoid this sin. If for every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account on the day of judgment (Mt.12:26), what shall we say of those heinous crimes which involve great contempt of the divine name?” (p. 395). We must resolve, as the year 2004 begins, never again to take the Name of God or the Holy Name of Jesus in vain.


Among the greatest promoters of devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus were St. Bernardine of Siena and St. John Capistran. We read in the Catholic Encyclopedia: “They carried with them on their missions in the turbulent cities of Italy a copy of the monogram of the Holy Name, surrounded by rays, painted on a wooden tablet, wherewith they blessed the sick and wrought great miracles. At the close of their sermons they exhibited this emblem to the faithful and asked them to prostrate themselves, to adore the Redeemer of mankind. They recommended their hearers to have the monogram of Jesus placed over the gates of their cities and above the doors of their dwelling (cf. Seeberger, Key to the Spiritual Treasures, 1897, 102)”.


What a wonderful idea for our time! The emblem or monogram representing the Holy Name of Jesus consists of the three letters IHS, standing for “Iesus Hominum Salvator,” which means Jesus, Savior of Man. What a wonderful way to inspire devotion to the Holy Name in our families! We could teach the children to bow their heads and invoke the Holy Name each time they pass under the emblem. And to those visitors who might ask what the emblem represents we might say: “That emblem represents the Holy Name of Jesus. As the Israelites trusted in the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts, so we trust that our reverence for the Holy Name of Jesus will bring us Divine Protection from the chastisements to come.” 

St. Bernard of Clairvaux encourages us with these words:  

“The sweet Name of Jesus produces in us holy thoughts, fills the soul with noble sentiments, strengthens virtue, begets good works, and nourishes pure affections. All spiritual food leaves the soul dry, if it contain not that penetrating oil, the Name Jesus. When you take your pen, write the Name Jesus: if you write books, let the Name of Jesus be contained in them, else they will possess no charm or attraction for me; you may speak, or you may reply, but if the Name of Jesus sounds not from your lips, you are without unction and without charm. Jesus is honey in our mouth, light in our eyes, a flame in our heart. This name is the cure for all diseases of the soul. Are you troubled? think but of Jesus, speak but the Name of Jesus, the clouds disperse, and peace descends anew from heaven. Have you fallen into sin? so that you fear death? invoke the Name of Jesus, and you will soon feel life returning. No obduracy of the soul, no weakness, no coldness of heart can resist this holy Name; there is no heart which will not soften and open in tears at this holy name. Are you surrounded by sorrow and danger? Invoke the Name of Jesus, and your fears will vanish.”

St Alphonsus on Blasphemy