With God/Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus
Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus
AFTER eight days were accomplished, that the Child should be circumcised, His name was called Jesus, which was called by the angel, before He was conceived in the womb (Luke ii. 21).
And in His name the Gentiles shall hope (Matt. xii. 21).
He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross, for which cause God also hath exalted Him, and hath given Him a name which is above all names: that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth (Philipp. ii. 8-10).
And thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins (Matt. i. 21).
There is no other name under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved (Acts iv. 12).
And now. Lord, behold their threatenings, and grant unto Thy servants, that with all confidence, they may speak Thy word; by stretching forth Thy hand to cures, and signs, and wonders, to be done by the name of Thy holy Son Jesus (Acts iv. 29, 30).
Amen, amen, I say to you: if you ask the Father anything in my name. He will give it you (John xvi. 23).
Whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water in My name, because you belong to Christ, Amen, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward (Matt. ix. 40).
All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him (Col. iii. 17).
The Holy Name Society in America
THE blessing of a Holy Name Society in a parish is recognized by the illustrious prelates and zealous priests of our hierarchy. Nearly all our bishops east of the Rocky Mountains have written me commending the general establishment of the Holy Name Society throughout their dioceses. To bring about this recognition and to effect the strong organization that we have to-day has been on the part of many a labor of love for God. Many silent but effectual forces of priestly and religious lives have been spent in the service of the Master and for the honor of His name.
A Retrospect
I may be permitted to say to my brethren of the clergy that in the retrospect of forty years in Holy Name activity I see scores of zealous, saintly priests, now dead, whose names will never be associated with the great movement but who worked enthusiastically for the honor of the Holy Name. Surprise is sometimes expressed at "the prominence into which the Holy Name Society has come in recent years." We priests of the older generation who saw the sowing of the seed see no disproportion in the harvest. The work was done quietly, but effectively. The ground was well prepared. In the greater number of dioceses, and in most of the principal cities of the country, at least one or two Holy Name Societies flourished and furnished proof of the important factor that a well-organized society of men is in the life of a parish. The Holy Name Society seems to be peculiarly well adapted to unite and to preserve in unity the Catholic men of the United States. It requires the mere essentials of a decent, honest, churchgoing man of clean speech. As Bishop McFaul has aptly expressed it, the Holy Name Society supplies members with "just that amount of 'moral suasion' which many men need in order to keep them loyal to the regular reception of the Sacraments." When we see to-day the desertion of Catholic m.en in Catholic countries, the fact is forcefully brought home to us that in the Old World there was not enough attention given to the organization of boys and men into Church societies or confraternities along lines that would not have been too exacting. Throughout the Latin countries a great number of sodalities and pious confraternities have existed, but the membership of these was practically made up of women. A few devout men, of course, sought the spiritual advantages of these societies. So far as I know, I have not learned of a confraternity or society on the continent for the past four decades, requiring corporate action in the practice of the essentials of their religion, that has been successful in uniting the majority of the men of the parishes throughout a diocese.
Thank God, our priests here in the United States appreciate fully how necessary it is for the Church to have a hold on our men through the organized effort of a church society. It is recognized that such an organization can not ask too much of our men without failing to hold the majority of them. The Holy Name Society in the providence of Almighty God has filled just the requirements tbat our priests would have asked for had they been assembled in council with the authority of the Holy See to form a society peculiarly adapted to the Catholic men of America. The Society says to our American Catholic men: "No decent man can refuse to do what the Holy Name Society requires of you. It asks nothing but what the Church asks, but in discharging the obligations imposed on you by the Church, the Holy Name Society merely requests you for a corporate action, that you may have strength in unity and that strength of your numbers may be an example and an invitation to all weak-kneed men, who, left to themselves, would be devoid of courage or indifferent or careless about the practice of their religion." Writing of the Holy Name Society, his Excellency, our present Most Reverend Apostolic Delegate, Monsignor Falconio, says: "Example is a powerful force for good or evil, and the example of a large body of men in a parish practising their religious duties faithfully is at once a stimulus and a help to the members to fervor and perseverance and an inducement to others, who, without this example, might be careless and indifferent."
While rejoicing at what has been done and what is being done by our priests, and while thanking God for the firm hold the Church has on our American men, we must not fail to recognize the Divine element that has been at work. Men united in the Name of God found the Master in their midst. Their union must have been dear to His Divine Heart; and with infinite affection must He have blessed the laborers and their work. or vain would have been the efforts of His priests, however heroic; vain, as St. Paul said, would have been our preaching. While passing these thoughts over in our minds let us not forget to ask ourselves whether the priests of the next two or three generations will have, in so far as it depends on us. as good material to work with as we have had through the efforts of the saintly priests who have gone to their eternal reward. Let us also incessantly invoke God's benediction on the work, without which the blessing of development and permanence of the Holy Name Society in America will not be granted.
This leads me to a subject dear to my heart, and that is the organization of our boys and young men into Holy Nam.e Societies. We are living in a day of organization. !Men in all walks of life are reaching out to bring everything under organization. Our young men see this and desire it, and if they can not have organization within the Church, they will seek it outside. Let not our boys and young men get away from us. Let the hand of religion ever hold them gently but firmly. If we show interest in our boys and young men. as we can in a hundred ways: if by solidly practical instruction, suited to the temperament of their years, we prove to them that religion is the best thing in the world and that without religion they can not be men in the truest and best sense; if our priests will only study their boys and young men and. according to circumstances, locality, and conditions of parishes, devise methods of interesting them in religion, success will attend their efforts. Thus will our successors in the royal line of the priesthood of Jesus Christ have material to work with in organizing and keeping the men of America devout Catholics.
History of the Society
The Holy Name Society owes Its origin to the Second Council of Lyons in 1274. when it was enjoined that the faithful should "demonstrate more reverence for that Name above all names, the only Name in which we claim salvation — the Name of Jesus Christ." Pope Gregory X in effecting this reformation of giving more honor to the Adorable Name and of making reparation for the blasphemies of the Albigensians and other heretics of that period deemed it practical to entrust this special commission to the newly founded Order of St. Dominic. His apostolic letter was directed 20 September, 1274, to Blessed John Vercelli, the sixth Master General of the Dominicans. The brief letter we give in full:
Gregory, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God, to our very dear son, the Master of the Order of Preachers, salutation and apostolic benediction.
" Recently, during the Council held at Lyons, we deemed it a useful commendation to exhort the faithful to enter the house of God with humility and devotion, and to conduct themselves while there in a becoming manner, so as to merit the divine favor and at the same time give edification. We have also judged it proper to persuade the faithful to demonstrate more reverence for that Name above all names, the only Name in which we claim salvation — the Name of Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us from the bondage of sin. Consequently, in obedience to that apostolic precept, 'In the Name of Jesus let every knee be bent,' we wish that at the pronouncing of that Name, chiefly at the Holy Sacrifice, every one would bow his head in token that interiorly he bends the knee of his heart.
" Wherefore, very dear son, we, by our apostolic authority, exhort and enjoin upon you and the brothers of your Order to use solid reasons in preaching to the people, that they may be led to comply with our desires. Thus you will win the crown of justice in the day of recompense.
" Given at Lyons, XIII Kalends of October, third year of our Pontificate."
The Master General lost no time in addressing the Provincials of his Order. On 4 November, 1274, he wrote instructing each Provincial "that the preachers subject to your jurisdiction carry out the ordination of His Holiness with scrupulous diligence and by methods calculated to persuade. This we command." It was singularly fitting that this apostolic commission should have been given to the sons of Dominic. The saint, according to a tradition, used to add the Name of Jesus to the Hail Mary, a practice not then adopted in the Church. The successor of St. Dominic, Blessed Jordan, composed the Little Office of the Most Holy Name, recited even to-day by his children. So dear was this Name to him that he used to sing five psalms, the initial letters of which spelled the name of Jesus. Blessed Jordan, speaking of his contemporary, Fr. Henry, O.P., of Cologne, says: "He used to advise all Christian people to practise devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus." The martyred Dominican, St. Peter, who died in 1252, was accustomed to gather pious people together to sing the praises of the Adorable Name. This devotion of the first sons of Dominic to the Divine Name may have been known to the Sovereign Pontiff Gregory N. At any rate he knew that the Friars Preachers spoke with the zeal of their Founder, whose life and death were still fresh in their minds; he knew that all Europe resounded with their preaching; he knew that the office of preaching, as their special work, was in perpetuity given to them by apostolic authority; and, therefore, what more wise provision could be made than that they should receive the perpetual commission of preaching greater reverence for the Name of God?
Not satisfied merely with preaching, the Dominicans everywhere erected in their churches an altar to the Holy Name. This devotion continued to be cultivated among the sons and daughters of Dominic. Blessed Henry Suso, O.P., who died in 1365, cut the letters of the Sacred Name into his flesh. St. Catharine of Siena, whose death occurred in 1380, began all her letters, " In the Name of Jesus Crucified." To give permanency to the devotion, societies or confraternities were established in Dominican churches. Naturally these, in the beginning, had not that definite organization which subsequent Papal Constitutions gave them. Thus during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the history of these confraternities is somewhat obscure. We find, however, that Boniface IX, in his Constitution Hodie, dated 31 October, 1401, granted indulgences for visiting the altar of the Confraternity in the Dominican Church of Schusen, Saxony.
Portugal, now almost in a state of anarchy and sadly in need of a Holy Name Society to renew the faith of its men, and to imbue them with courage for the defense of their religion, has the honor of having organized the Holy Name Society, practically in the form in which we have it to-day. For some years the retired Dominican Bishop Andre Diaz preached energetically devotion to the Holy Name, urging the establishment of a confraternity. There was raging a plague in Lisbon during the year 1432. The saintly prelate, putting his trust in the Sacred Name, besought the faithful to join the confraternity as a means of delivering their affected city, assuring them that the compassionate Master would not turn a deaf ear to their petitions. He blessed water in honor of the Sacred Name of Jesus, distributing it among the plague-stricken people. The effect seemed miraculous. The bishop was regarded as an instrument in God's hands for the deliverance of the people. Taking advantage of his influence, he assembled the faithful of the Confraternity in honor of the Holy Name, i January, 1433, to give thanks to God. Statutes for the Society were drawn up. It was then determined that the Feast of the Circumcision should be the principal feast of the Confraternity, as it was on that day Jesus received His Name. A ruling was also adopted that on i January there should be a solemn procession in which an image of the Infant Jesus should be carried.
Some years previously St. Vincent Ferrer (d. 1419) had powerfully preached on devotion to the Holy Name. This great Dominican saint, known as the preacher of the Apocalypse, on leaving Italy announced the advent of another saint, his brother in the Franciscan family, Bernardine of Siena, who became the renowned promoter of the devotion in Italy. In the sixteenth century Charles V and Philip II of Spain, wishing to suppress in their kingdoms blasphemies, perjury, and the terrible profanation of the Divine Name, urged the Dominicans to establish everywhere the Confraternity of the Holy Name of God. The greatest preacher and leader was Father Didacus, of Metoria. Pius IV wrote 13 April, 1564: "We have learned that our beloved son Didacus of Victoria, a religious of the Order of Preachers, a man eminent in the word of God and in zeal, has instituted a most useful Confraternity called the Society of the Holy Name of God, in order to prevent improper language and blasphemy. . . , This Confraternity has been canonically erected and received in different cities and villages of Spain. The faithful have joined it in great numbers, and have used all their endeavors to prevent blasphemy, perjury, and other unlawful swearing. . . . And we command all and every one of our venerable brethren, patriarchs, archbishops, ordinaries of places, vicars general, and their officers, to favor with all their power the aforesaid Confraternity; to assist and sustain it when and where it is necessary and as often as may be required by the Confraternity." The Society established by Bishop Diaz and the loosely organized sodalities to promote devotion to the Holy Name first founded and existing in Dominican churches now came under the approbation of Pius IV. From a work written by Ponce de Leon, dated 27 May, 1500, we learn that he considered the Holy Name Society in his day among the sodalities and confraternities that fiourished in the Church, deguissima maximeque necessaria . . . et utillisima."
The Society was known, under different names, such as Confraternity of the Holy Name of God, Society of the Holy Name of Jesus, Confraternity against Oaths. Benedict XIII, 26 May, 1727, mentions this in his constitution Pretiosus. The official title is now "The Society of the Holy Name of Jesus." Many of the Popes, principally Gregory XIII, Pius V, Innocent XI, and Benedict XIV, Pius IX, Leo XIII, approved of the Society. Pope Pius X on two occasions has by an autograph communication to the Bureau of the Holy Name Society blessed the Society and its work in the United States. In one of these letters he granted three distinct indulgences to the Society throughout the world. Bishop O'Connor, of Newark, has sent a yearly cablegram to Pope Pius X on the occasion of the annual demonstration of the Holy Name Society. In the year 1910 the homage of 65,000 men in the Newark diocese participating in the demonstration was offered to His Holiness. When Pius X was told for the first time of the great army of Holy Name men in the United States, and of their fidelity to the Church and of their regularity in receiving the sacraments, he took his pen and wrote: " Sit Nomen Domini benedictum."
Practical Working of the Society
For the canonical establishment of the Society a diploma must be issued from Rome. These diplomas are sent to me in great numbers, duly signed, and I am authorized to fill them out for the various churches. In the last few years I have issued more than a thousand diplomas. During the first three months of the present year one hundred and sixteen pastors have applied and have established in their churches the Holy Name Society. Formerly only one Society was permitted in a city. This Clementine restriction prevented the expansion of the Society. Many years ago I requested the Procurator General, Fr. Cicoganni, that he explain our conditions here to the Holy Father and that he address a petition to the Holy See that our bishops be authorized to dispense with the law of Clement VIII. The petition was graciously granted by Leo XIII. Our bishops welcomed the authorization and many of them addressed letters to their priests urging the general establishment of the Holy Name Society. When the diploma has been granted, every pastor is authorized to proceed with the formal establishment of the Society, and is given faculties to receive into it the men of his parish. Very much depends upon the proper beginning of a society. I may be permitted to state briefly a few points about its organization, also to lay down some principles which, as experience proves, have governed the flourishing societies.
1. Priests desiring the Roman diploma of institution can procure it directly and within a few days from me. I would ask priests who know from experience what a blessing a Holy Name Society is for the good of religion in a parish, to call the attention of their brother priests to the simple requirements of establishment. Such co-operation will effect within the present year the establishment of a Holy Name Society in practically every parish of the United States. The apostolic blessing is granted to all priests who promote the extension of the Society.
2. On the day of establishment it is advisable to invite a priest who has had some experience with the Holy Name Society, a neighboring spiritual director, or a missionary of the various religious orders or diocese and bands. Let the men get together at an hour best suited to the convenience of the majority. At the meeting make sure to get the Christian and family name of each man. Equally important as the name is the address.
3. The spiritual director should appoint for the first time the officials of the Society. So much depends upon the co-operation that the spiritual director gets, and he can hope to secure this only from the right kind of officers. He knows the men who will work best with him.
4. The names of the members should be entered in a parish registry of the Society. This is a necessary condition to gain the indulgence. In most parishes one of the assistant priests is spiritual director. When this is the case, he should ask the pastor to sign his name once at the bottom of each page of the registry. Assistant priests can secure this personal faculty for themselves.
5. Teach the men from the very beginning that the Holy Name Society is a strictly religious organization, as much so as the Blessed Virgin's Sodality or any confraternity in the parish. Men must realize that the primary object is to keep them practical Catholics, men of clean speech, who are willing in a sensible, prudent way to suppress as far as they can in others every form of unbecoming speech. The Holy Name Society is not merely a society made up of Catholic men; it is a part of the very life of the parish. Each Society must be interested in its own parish church. Instruct the men that whatever affiliations they have to religious confraternities or sodalities, the Holy Name Society requires them to be an example and an apostle for the good of religion in their own parish. The members must make their pastors and spiritual directors feel that they will have their co-operation in every way for the good of religion when sought. Every Holy Name Society is as independent as each parish is independent. When the Societies unite in a diocesan union, this independence is not lost. The union depends strictly upon the authority of the bishop and the diocesan director to whom the bishop delegates his authority. As the bishop may make a regulation for all the parishes, so he may command through his diocesan director all the Holy Name Societies. Our diocesan unions do not frame laws; they simply counsel, inviting the co-operation of all the local spiritual directors.
6. It is left to each local director to say how often the Society should approach the sacraments in a body. In some sections of the country it is customary for the Holy Name Society to receive Holy Communion once every three months, but in most places the members go once a month in a body. Individual members should be encouraged to go as often as they can. The second Sunday of the month is the regular Communion Sunday for the Society. This was determined by Gregory XIII in 1580. Holy Name men can gain a plenary indulgence by going to Communion on every second Sunday.
7. The meetings can be held at any time during the month, on Sunday, or week day evenings, that will suit the convenience of the greater number.
8. Great good has been accomplished by Holy Name demonstrations. They are at once a public profession of faith and a protest against profanity, false oaths in and out of court, and all immodest and indecent language. The demonstrations must vary according to dioceses. In some places ten, twenty, and even thirty thousand men parade in the episcopal city. This is not possible in dioceses where the cities and parishes are separated by great distances. The Brooklyn and Newark and Boston Unions have admirable arrangements by which the dioceses are divided into a certain number of sections. Each section or group of societies at the same hour conducts its public demonstrations. In this way near-by small towns can unite and the place of demonstration may be changed each year. These demonstrations have a wonderful effect, not only on the Catholic population, but even more wonderful on our non-Catholic brethren. When we see fifty, sixty, and seventy thousand people gathered together for public benediction we realize that we are living again in the ages of faith.
9. Untold good is being done by establishing Holy Name Societies for boys and young men. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The best way to have no profanity and indecent language among men is to prevent them as boys and young men from contracting the habit. Boys are soon taught that profanity and obscenity are unmanly. In some places a body enters the Holy Name Society as soon as he has received his First Communion.
Let us take care of our boys and young men now and thus wall we ensure, so much as it depends on us, a loyal Catholic manhood in the next generation. Praised be God and blessed be His Adorable Name for all that the Holy Name Society has done for the good of religion among the men of the United States!
Worship of the Holy Name
JESUS, Name of wondrous love!
Name of all other names above,
Unto which must every knee
Bow in deep humility.
Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, the feast of which very fittingly occurs in the first month of the year, is a truly Franciscan devotion. So great was the reverence of our Seraphic Father for the holy name that he could not bear to see it exposed even to the slightest material profanation. "Wheresoever," he says in his "Instructions to All Clerics," "the names and written words of the Lord may be found in unseemly places they ought to be collected and put away in a becoming place." And Thomas of Celano writes: " Those who lived with him will remember how the name of Jesus was the daily, nay the continual, theme of his discourses."
St. Bernardine's Preaching
The worship of this adorable name was still more widely extended and popularized by the preaching of the disciples of St. Francis. One of the foremost of them, St. Bernardine of Siena, was not satisfied with preaching the holy name of Jesus in the cities and towns of Italy, he had the monogram of Our Lord, surrounded with rays, painted on httle tablets and advised all his hearers to procure one of these tablets for their homes. He himself always wore one, and he would show it to the people at the end of his sermon, inviting the congregation to bend the knee before the holy picture in honor of Jesus. This devotion had a great effect in producing reverence, love, and fear for the Saviour of mankind. When, in 1427, Bernardine was denounced to Pope Martin V for having introduced "a profane and idolatrous new devotion by exposing the people to the danger of adoring the letters of the name of Jesus, and not the Saviour Himself," the saint, accompanied by St. John Capistran and Blessed Matthew of Girgenti, pleaded the cause of the Holy Name so well that the Pope exhorted him to pursue his fruitful apostolate, to teach the people reverence and love for the Holy Name of Jesus, and, moreover, told him that he might present without fear to the veneration of the faithful the representation of this blessed name. Then he ordered a general procession in Rome in honor of the Holy Name of Jesus, so as to leave no doubt as to the feeling of the Church for a devotion from which she gathered such precious fruits. St. John Capistran carried the banner of the name of Jesus, against which so many sacrilegious attacks had been directed. Religious of all Orders, the secular clergy and a large body of the people followed, singing canticles. Thus the holy name of Jesus was blessed, glorified, and extolled to the enthusiastic delight of every Christian heart. The memory of this event was perpetuated later on in the Order of St. Francis, by the feast of the Triumph of the Holy Name of Jesus. This feast was, by permission of Pope Innocent VIII, established in the Franciscan Order in the year 1530, and observed on the 14th day of January. In 1721 Innocent XIII extended the celebration of the feast to the universal Church, and appointed it to be kept on the second Sunday after Epiphany. In 1863 Pius IX approved the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, at the request of the general of the Franciscan Order.
Next to the devotion to Our Lord's holy infancy the worship of the name of the holy child has thus become one of the sweetest traditions bequeathed by St. Francis to his children.
The Dominicans and the Holy Name Society
In the course of time a number of associations were formed, having for object the love and honor of the Holy Name of Jesus. The Dominican Friars were especially zealous in spreading these fraternities. They were eventually united into the present Holy Name Society, "which has since encircled the globe, developing a sturdy religious spirit, a deep love of God, and an abiding reverence of the name of Jesus. Nowhere has the society made more rapid growth than here in our own country. The good it has done can be only faintly estimated, but it is certain that the Society is checking the foul habit of profane and indecent language, that it is teaching men to mention with reverence the name of Jesus, that it is bringing to Mass on Sundays and to the sacraments at regular intervals, thousands of men who would probably be negligent Catholics were it not for the Society. In the providence of God, it is, furthermore, a most potent factor in maintaining belief in the Divinity of Christ among the men in America" ("Manual of the Holy Name Society").
In many dioceses of the country the Holy Name Society is officially established, and in the diocese of Pittsburg its introduction has recently been made obligatory in every parish.
The author of Auxilium Infirmorum says: "We must bear the office and spirit of the Holy Name of Jesus, which means Saviour.
"We must be the saviours of one another, healing the wounds of one another, bearing one another's burdens, and we shall in our measure be worthy not only of the name of Christ, the anointed of the Lord, but also of the name of Jesus, Saviour, Who went about doing good.
"How are we to heal others? First, by keeping in good spiritual health ourselves, lest we be told: ^Physician, heal thyself! ' By lives of regularity, by regular prayer, and regular sacraments; by lives that keep ever in touch with God, that look to God, that are spent in His presence, and are filled with work done for His cause. Thus shall we spread the light of truth, and make the force of good example felt: thus shall we make a protest against the disease of sin, and reparation to the Sacred Heart.
"And in our active work for others, how shall we heal their wounds?
"By kindness; by always being kind — kind in word, kind in thought, kind in deed; never speaking scandal, never picking holes, covering every wound and failing with the clean linen of charity, that the heart of mankind may beat less heavily, that the world of men may rejoice more fully in God, its Saviour, who bore the name of Jesus, and wished the spirit of that name to be uppermost in the lives of all. Each one may ask himself: Is my life spiritually healthy and sound, vigorous and regular? Do I go about doing good by the sweet apostolate of kindness, or do I, by want of charity open wide and make to bleed afresh the wounds of my neighbor?
"My Lord, from this day I take up my cross and follow Thee! I will look back no more. Help me to observe Thy new commandment — to love my neighbor as Thou hast loved me."
Novena in Honor of the Holy Name of Jesus
O MERCIFUL Jesus, Who didst in Thy early infancy commence Thy office of Saviour by shedding Thy precious blood and assuming for us that name which is above all names; we thank Thee for this manifestation of Thy infinite love. We venerate Thy sacred name, in union with the profound respect of the angel who first announced it to the earth, and unite our affections to the sentimients of tender devotion which the adorable name of Jesus has in all ages enkindled in the hearts of Thy saints. Animated with a firm faith in Thy unerring word, and penetrated with confidence in Thy mercy, we now most humbly remind Thee of the promise Thou hast made, that where two or three should assemble in Thy name. Thou Thyself wouldst be in the midst of them. Come, then, into the midst of us, most amiable Jesus, for it is in Thy sacred name we are here assembled; come into our hearts, that we may be governed by Thy holy spirit; mercifully grant us, through that adorable name, which is the joy of heaven, the terror of hell, the consolation of the afflicted, and the solid ground of our unlimited confidence, all the petitions we make in this novena.
Oh I blessed Mother of our Redeemer! who didst participate so sensibly in the sufferings of thy dear Son when He shed His sacred blood and assumed for us the name of Jesus, obtain for us, through that adorable name, the favors we petition in this novena. Beg also, that the most ardent love may imprint on our hearts that sacred name, that it may be always in our minds and frequently on our lips; that it may be our defense and our refuge in the temptations and trials of life, and our consolation and support in the hour of death. Amen.
Indulgences granted for Invoking the Holy Name of Jesus
I. Fifty days, every time any one says to another: Laudetur Jesus Christus; or answers: Amen or, In saecula. Praised be Jesus Christ. For evermore.
II. Twenty-five days, every time any one invokes the most holy name of Jesus.
III. Plenary, at the point of death, to any one who has had the devout practice of saluting and answering as above, or of invoking often the said most holy name, provided that he then invokes this holy name at least in his heart, if he is unable to do so with his lips. — Clement XIII, Sept. 5, 1759.
INDULGENCED EJACULATIONS IN HONOR OF THE HOLY NAME
My Jesus, mercy!
Indulgence of 100 days, for each recital. — Pius IX, Sept. 24, 1846.
My sweetest Jesus, be not my judge, but my Saviour.
Indulgence of 50 days, for each recital. — Pius IX, Aug. II, 1851.
Jesus, my God, I love Thee above all things.
Indulgence of 50 days, each time. — Pius IX, May 7, 1854.
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! (Luke iii. 38).
Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. — Leo XIII, Feb. 27, 1886.
Devotion to the Holy Name
For saying: Glory be to the Father, etc., and May the holy name of Jesus he infinitely Messed, five times, the following indulgences are granted on the usual conditions: I. Three hundred days, each time.
II. Plenary, on the Sunday after the Epiphany, if said daily, to all who visit a church where the Feast of the Holy Name is being celebrated.
III. Plenary, to all who assist at the annual requiem for those who were devout to the holy Name. — Pius X, Nov. 26, 1906.
Prayer to Jesus Our Redeemer: An Act of Reparation for Blasphemies Uttered Against the Holy Name
O JESUS, Son of the living God, my Saviour and Redeemer, behold us prostrate at Thy feet. We beg
pardon, and make this act of reparation for all the blasphemies uttered against Thy holy Name for all the outrages
committed against Thee in the most holy Sacrament of the
Altar, for all irreverence shown to Thy most blessed and
immaculate Mother, and for all the calumnies spoken
against thy spouse, our holy Mother, the Catholic Church.
O Jesus, who didst say: Whatever you shall ask the Father
in my Name, that I will do, we pray and beseech Thee for
our brethren who are living in danger of sin, that Thou
wouldst preserve them from the seductions of apostasy.
Save them who stand over the abyss; give them light and
knowledge of the truth, power and strength in the conflict
against evil, and perseverance in faith and active charity.
And therefore, most merciful Jesus, do we pray to the
Father in Thy name, with whom Thou livest and reignest
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.
Indulgence of 300 days, once a day. — Leo XIII, May 13, 1903
INVOCATIONS
Jesus and Mary.
Indulgence of 300 days, each time. — Pius X, Oct. 10, 1904.
Saviour of the world, have mercy on us.
Indulgence of 50 days, once a day. — Leo XIII, Feb. 21, Thirty-Three Petitions in Honor of the Sacred Humanity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Suitable for Christmas, New Year, and the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.
O GOOD Jesus! Word of the Eternal Father, convert me!
O good Jesus! Son of Mary, make me her child!
O good Jesus! my Master, teach me!
O good Jesus! Prince of peace, give me peace!
O good Jesus! my Refuge, receive me!
O good Jesus! my Pastor, feed my soul!
O good Jesus! Model of patience, comfort me!
O good Jesus! my Redeemer, save me!
O good Jesus! my God and my All, possess me!
O good Jesus! the true Way, direct me!
O good Jesus! eternal Truth, instruct me!
O good Jesus! Life of the blessed, make me live in Thee!
O good Jesus! my Support, strengthen me!
O good Jesus! my Justice, justify me!
O good Jesus! my Mediator, reconcile me to Thy Father!
O good Jesus! Physician of my soul, heal me!
O good Jesus! my Judge, absolve me!
O good Jesus! my King, govern me!
O good Jesus! my Sanctification, sanctify me!
O good Jesus! Abyss of goodness, pardon me!
O good Jesus! living Bread from heaven, satiate me!
O good Jesus! the Father of the prodigal, receive me!
O good Jesus! Joy of my soul, refresh me!
O good Jesus! my Helper, assist me!
O good Jesus! Magnet of love, attract me!
O good Jesus! my Protector, defend me!
O good Jesus! my Hope, sustain me!
O good Jesus! Object of my love, make me love Thee!
O good Jesus! Fountain of life, cleanse me!
O good Jesus! my Propitiation, purify me!
O good Jesus! my last End, let me obtain Thee!
O good Jesus! my Glory, glorify me. Amen. Jesus, hear my prayer!
Jesus, graciously hear me.
Let us pray
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who hast said, Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall he opened unto you! mercifully attend to our supplication, and grant us the gift of Thy divine charity, that we may ever love Thee with our whole heart, and never desist from Thy praise: Who livest and reignest one God, world without end. Amen.
O Lord, give us a perpetual fear as well as love of Thy holy name, for Thou never ceasest to govern those whom thou foundest upon the solidity of Thy love.
O God, Who didst appoint Thine only begotten Son Saviour of mankind, and didst command that He should be called Jesus; mercifully grant that we may enjoy the vision of Him in heaven, Whose holy name we venerate on earth. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer in Honor of the Most Holy, the Most Adorable Name of Jesus
O GOOD Jesus! O most tender Jesus ! O most sweet Jesus ! O Jesus, Son of Mary the Virgin, full of mercy and kindness! O sweet Jesus, according to Thy great mercy, have pity on me ! O most merciful Jesus, I entreat Thee by that precious blood of Thine which Thou didst will to pour forth for sinners, to wash away all my iniquities, and to look upon me poor and unworthy as I am, asking humbly pardon of Thee, and invoking this holy name of Jesus. O name of Jesus, sweet name ! Name of Jesus, name of joy ! Name of Jesus, name of strength ! Nay, what meaneth the name of Jesus but Saviour? Wherefore, O Jesus, by Thine own holy name, be to me Jesus, and save me. Suffer me not to be lost — me, whom Thou didst create out of nothing. O good Jesus, let not my iniquity destroy what Thy almighty goodness made. O sweet Jesus, recognize what is Thine own, and wipe away from me what is not of Thee! O most kind Jesus, have pity on me while it is the time of pity, and condemn me not when it is the time of judgment. The dead shall not praise Thee, Lord Jesus, nor all those who go down into hell. O most loving Jesus! O Jesus most longed for by Thine own! O most gentle Jesus! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let me enter into the number of Thine elect. O Jesus, salvation of those who believe in Thee; Jesus, consolation of those who fly to Thee. Jesus, Son of Mary the Virgin, pour into me grace, wisdom, charity, chastity, and humility, that I may be able perfectly to love Thee, to praise Thee, to enjoy Thee, to serve Thee, and to glory in Thee, together with all those who invoke Thy name, which is Jesus. Amen.
Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. — Pius IX, Nov. 26, 1876.
Prayer "Divine Jesus"
Divine Jesus, incarnate Son of God, Who for our salvation didst vouchsafe to be born in a stable, to pass Thy life in poverty, trials, and misery, and to die amid the sufferings of the cross, I entreat Thee, say to Thy divine Father at the hour of my death: Father, forgive him; say to Thy beloved Mother: Behold thy Son; say to my soul: This day thou shalt he with Me in paradise. My God, my God, forsake me not in that hour. I thirst; yes, my God, my soul thirsts after Thee, Who art the fountain of living waters. My life passes like a shadow; yet a little while, and all will be consummated. Wherefore, O my adorable Saviour! from this moment, for all eternity, into Thy hands I commend my spirit. Lord Jesus, receive my soul. Amen.
His Holiness, Pope Pius IX, by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, June 10, 1856, confirmed an indulgence of three hundred days, to be gained by all the faithful every time that they shall say this prayer with contrite heart and devotion.
Little Office of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
Matins
MAY the name of the Lord be blessed forever. Amen.
V. O Lord, Thou wilt open my lips.
R. And my mouth shall declare Thy praise.
V. Incline unto my aid, O God.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, etc. Alleluia.
From Septuagesima to Easter, instead of Alleluia
is said:
Praise be to Thee, O Lord, King of everlasting
glory. HYMN
THE memory sweet of Jesus' name
True joy gives to the breast,
But far above all honied sweets
Is His dear presence blest.
ANTHEM
THE Lord Jesus humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross: wherefore God hath also exalted Him, and hath given Him a name which is above every name: that in the name of Jesus every knee may bow, of things in heaven, of things on the earth, and of things under the earth.
V. Let all the earth adore Thee and sing to Thee, O God.
R. Let them sing a psalm unto Thy name,
O Lord Jesus. Let us pray
O God, Who hast made the most glorious name of Thine only-begotten Son. Our Lord Jesus Christ, lovely unto all Thy faithful for its perfect sweetness, but to the evil spirits terrible and greatly to be feared; mercifully grant that all who devoutly venerate this name, Jesus, may in this present life taste the sweetness of holy comfort, and in the life to come obtain the joys of heavenly gladness and jubilation without end. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, etc.
Prime
MAY the name of the Lord be blessed forever. Amen.
V. Incline unto my aid, etc.
HYMN
No tuneful song, no pleasant sound,
No fancy ever won Upon the senses like the name
Of God’s beloved Son.
ANTHEM
He humbled Himself, etc., and the prayeras above.
Terce
MAY the name of the Lord be blessed forever. Amen.
V. Incline unto my aid, etc.
HYMN
Jesus the contrite sinner’s hope,
To suppliants how kind?
How good art Thou to them that seek ?
But what to them that find ?
ANTHEM
He humbled Himself, etc., and the prayer as above.
Sext
May the name of the Lord be blessed forever. Amen.
V. Incline unto my aid, etc.
HYMN
Jesus, Thou Sweetness of all hearts,
Thou living spring of light,
So far exceeding all desire, All joys of sense or sight.
ANTHEM
HE humbled Himself, etc. With prayer as above.
None
MAY the name of the Lord be blessed forever. Amen.
V. Incline unto my aid, etc.
HYMN
No tongue can tell, no pen can write.
How sweet it is to love
Our sweetest Lord; but hearts that try
Full well that sweetness prove.
ANTHEM
He humbled Himself, etc., and the prayer as above.
Vespers
MAY the name of the Lord be blessed forever. Amen.
V. Incline unto my aid, etc.
HYMN
Jesus, Thou king most wonderful;
Thou conqueror divine;
Sweetness unspeakable, that wins
All loving hearts to Thine.
ANTHEM
He humbled Himself, etc., and the prayer as above.
Compline
MAy the name of the Lord be blessed forever. Amen.
V. Convert us, O God, our Saviour.
R. And turn away Thy wrath from us.
V. Incline unto my aid, etc.
HYMN
STAY with us, Lord, and round our souls
Still shed Thy radiance bright ;
O chase the shadows, and rejoice
The world with Thy sweet light.
ANTHEM
He humbled Himself, etc., and the prayer as above.
Offering of the Foregoing Office
THESE vows I breathe, with lowliest mind,
My Jesus sweet, to Thee,
And pray that in my parting hour Thou wouldst remember me,
And take me to Thy kingdom bright,
Thy glorious reign to see, Amen.
Hymns and Pslams in Honor of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
HYMN
Jesu Dulcis Memoria
Jesus! the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills my breast ;
But sweeter far Thy face to see,
And in Thy presence rest.
Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find,
A sweeter sound than Thy blest name,
O Saviour of mankind!
O hope of every contrite heart!
O joy of all the meek!
To those who fall, how kind thou art!
How good to those who seek!
But what to those who find? Ah! this
Nor tongue nor pen can show:
The love of Jesus — what it is,
None but His lov'd ones know.
Jesus! our only joy be Thou,
As Thou our prize wilt be;
Jesus! be Thou our glory now
And through eternity.
Psalms whose initial letters (in Latin) compose the most holy name of Jesus.
J
Ant. In the name of Jesus.
Ps. 99
Sing joyfully to God, all the earth: serve ye the Lord with gladness.
Come in before His presence with exceeding great joy.
Know ye that the Lord, He is God: He made us, and not we ourselves.
We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture: go ye into His gates with praise, into His courts with hymns, and give glory to Him.
Praise ye His name, for the Lord is sweet; His mercy endureth forever, and His truth to generation and generation.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
Ant. At the name of Jesus let every knee bend in heaven, on earth, and in hell.
E
Ant. But I will rejoice in the Lord.
Ps. 19
May the Lord hear thee in the day of tribulation: may the name of the God of Jacob protect thee.
May He send thee help from the sanctuary: and defend thee out of Sion.
May He be mindful of all thy sacrifices: and; may thy whole burnt-offering be made fat.
May He give thee according to thy own heart; and confirm all thy counsels.
We will rejoice in thy salvation: and in the name of our God we shall be exalted.
The Lord fulfil all thy petitions: now have I known that the Lord hath saved His anointed.
He will hear him from His holy heaven: the salvation of his right hand is in powers.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God.
They are bound, and have fallen: but we are risen, and are set upright.
O Lord, save the king: and hear us in the day that we shall call upon thee.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
Ant. But I will rejoice in the Lord, and I will exult in Jesus my God.
S
Ant. Holy and terrible is His name.
Ps. II
SAVE me, O Lord, for there is now no saint: truths are decayed from among the children of men.
They have spoken vain things every one to his neighbor: with deceitful lips, and with a double heart, have they spoken.
May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things.
Who have said: we will magnify our tongue: our lips are our own; who is Lord over us?
By reason of the misery of the needy, and the groans of the poor, now will I arise, saith the Lord.
I will set him in safety: I will deal confidently in his regard.
The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried by the fire, purged from the earth, refined seven times.
Thou, O Lord, wilt preserve us and keep us from this generation forever.
The wicked walk round about: according to thy highness. Thou hast multiplied the children of men.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
Ant. Holy and terrible is His name: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
U
Ant. Thou shalt call His name Jesus.
Ps. 12
HOW long. O Lord, wilt Thou forget me unto the end? How long dost Thou turn away Thy face from me?
How long shall I take counsels in my soul, sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider, and hear me, O Lord, my God.
Enlighten my eyes, that I never sleep in death: lest at any time my enemy say: I have prevailed against him.
They that trouble me will rejoice when I am moved: but I have trusted in Thy mercy.
My heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation: I will sing to the Lord, Who giveth me good things: yea, I will sing to the name of the Lord the most high.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
Ant. Thou shalt call His name Jesus: for he shall save His people from their sins.
S
Ant. My soul hath
thirsted.
Ps. 128
Often have they fought against me from my youth: let Israel now say.
Often have they fought against me from my youth: but they could not prevail over me.
The wicked have wrought upon my back: they have lengthened their iniquity.
The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners: let them all be confounded and turned back who hate Sion.
Let them be as grass upon the tops of houses which withereth before it be plucked up: wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that gathereth sheaves, his bosom.
And they that passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
Ant. My soul hath thirsted for Thy holy name, O Lord.
HYMN
Jesu Rex Admirabilis
O jesus! king most wonderful!
Thou Conqueror renowned!
Thou sweetness most ineffable!
In Whom all joys are found!
When once Thou visitest the heart,
Then truth begins to shine;
Then earthly vanities depart,
Then kindles love divine.
O Jesus! light of all below!
Thou fount of life and fire!
Surpassing all the joys we know,
All that we can desire.
May every heart confess, Thy name,
And ever Thee adore;
And seeking Thee, itself inflame
To seek Thee more and more.
Thee may our tongues forever bless;
Thee may we love alone;
And ever in our lives express
The image of Thine own.
V. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
R. From henceforth now and for evermore.
Let us pray
O God, Who didst appoint thine only-begotten Son Saviour of mankind, and didst command that He should be called Jesus; mercifully grant that we may enjoy the vision of Him in heaven, Whose holy name we venerate on earth. Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Sovereign Pontiff, Pius VII, by a rescript of the S. Congr. of Indulgences, June 13, 1815, granted to all the faithful, every time that they shall recite, with at least contrite heart and devotion, these psalms, hymns, antiphons, and prayers: i. An indulgence of 7 years and 7 quarantines. 2. A plenary indulgence once a month, to any one who shall recite them every
day for a month, on any day, when, after confession and communion, he shall pray for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff. 3. A plenary indulgence on the feast of the most holy name of Jesus (the second Sunday after Epiphany), to all those, who, having recited them frequently in the course of the year, being truly penitent, after confession and communion, shall pray for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff.
The same Pope, Pius VII, by another rescript of the same S. Congr., Nov. 13, 1821, added: a plenary indulgence on the feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Jan. i, and on that of Jesus of Nazareth, Oct. 23, for those who, being truly penitent, after confession and communion, shall pray devoutly for some time for the intention of his Holiness, provided that they have the pious practice of reciting these psalms, hymns, antiphons, and prayers, every day, for a month.
The Divine Praises
An Act of Reparation for Profane Language
BLESSED be God.
Blessed be His holy name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the name of Jesus.
Blessed be His most sacred Heart.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be her holy and immaculate conception.
Blessed be the name of Mary, virgin and mother.
Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints.
Indulgence of 1 year, each time; of 2 years, when said publicly after Mass or Benediction. — Pius VII, July 23, 1801; Pius IX, Aug. 8, 1847; Leo XIII, Feb. 2, 1897.
Reparation to the Holy Name of Jesus
WHEN we recall the blasphemies which ever have been, and are now more than ever, uttered against the holy and saving name of Jesus, it would seem unnecessary to suggest any form of reparation to those who love Our Lord, and who are animated with zeal for His glory. Nevertheless, even among such, a certain negligence will insinuate itself which, if not guarded against, will become habitual, until at length a coldness will gradually and almost imperceptibly take possession of hearts that once were loving and devoted. Let us suffer no occasion to pass of making reparation to that sacred name, for in doing so we shall console the Sacred Heart.
Act of Reparation to the Most Holy Name of Jesus
Jesus, admirable above all names, holiest of all that are holy, and sweeter than that of all names most beloved by men; I offer Thee the praise, adoration, love, and every kind of homage that has ever been offered Thee in heaven or upon earth, all that is now rendered Thee, and will be rendered Thee throughout eternity, in reparation for the blasphemies and the insults Thou receivest from the impious. I offer Thee the love with which faithful and consecrated souls constantly pronounce Thee with their lips and in their heart, the innocence with which little children lisp Thee, and the trusting confidence with which dying Christians invoke Thee with their last sigh. I offer Thee, above all, the tender love and reverence with which Mary and Joseph pronounced that adorable name when they spoke to Thee on earth, and finally, the profound veneration with which the Archangel Gabriel uttered it, when he announced at Nazareth the mystery of the Incarnation. I desire to honor that holy name all the days of my life, and to praise it throughout eternity. I will invoke it in my temptations, in my sorrows and discouragements, and if ever I hear it profaned or treated with levity, I will make acts of loving reparation in my heart, and if possible with my lips.
Sweet Name of Jesus, be Thou loved, praised, and glorified forever and ever. Amen.[1]
Aspirations to the Holy Name in Reparation for Blasphemies
1. JESUS!
2. Jesus, my Lord, my God, and my All!
3. Praised be Jesus Christ forever.
4. Blessed be the name of Jesus.
5. Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
6. Jesus, have mercy on us.
7. Sweet name of Jesus, may all poor sinners call upon Thee, and so find mercy.
8. Most holy name of Jesus, be Thou the comfort and the strength of those who are in their agony.
9. I praise and love Thee, dearest Lord, for in Thy name is our salvation.
10. Hail, Jesus, King of heaven and earth, hallowed by Thy name. Thy kingdom come!
11. O bone Jesus, esto mihi Jesu!
O good Jesus, be to me Jesus!
O merciful Jesus, be to us all a Jesus, a Saviour!
12. Hail, Jesus, joy of angels and of saints, I adore and bless Thy holy name, and pray that it may be known and loved throughout the world.
13. I praise and love Thee, dearest Lord; holy is Thy name.
14. Holy, holy, holy, is the sacred name of Jesus, the Saviour of the world!
Jesus I Mary!
INVOCATION OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS TOGETHER WITH THE BLESSED NAME OF MARY
Jesus! Mary!
Indulgence of 300 days, every time. — Pius X, Oct. 10, 1904.
The Psalter of Jesus
PART I
AT the name of Jesus let every knee bow of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; and let every tongue confess that Our Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.
First Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, ----> Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, have mercy on us, O God of compassion, and forgive the many and great offenses we have committed in Thy sight.
Many have been the follies of our lives and great are the miseries we have deserved for our ingratitude.
Have mercy on us, dear Jesus, for we are weak; O Lord, heal us who are unable to help ourselves.
Deliver us from setting our hearts upon any of Thy creatures, which may divert our eyes from a continual looking up to Thee.
Grant us grace henceforth, for the love of Thee, to hate sin, and, out of a just esteem of Thee, to despise all worldly vanities.
Have mercy on all sinners, Jesus, we beseech Thee; turn their vices into virtues, and making them true observers of Thy law, and sincere lovers of Thee, bring them to bliss in everlasting glory.
Have mercy also on the souls in purgatory, for Thy bitter Passion, we beseech Thee, and for Thy glorious name, Jesus.
O Blessed Trinity, one eternal God, have mercy on us. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.[2]
Second Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, -----> Help us.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, help us to overcome all temptations to sin, and the malice of our ghostly enemy.
Help us to spend our time in virtuous actions, and in such labors as are acceptable to Thee.
To render our hearts enamored of virtue, and inflamed with a strong desire of Thy glorious presence.
Help us to deserve and keep a good name, by a peaceful and pious living to Thy honor, O Jesus, our own comfort, and the benefit of others. Have mercy, etc.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
Third Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, ----> Strengthen us.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, strengthen us in soul and body, to please Thee in executing such works of mercy as may bring us to everlasting joy and felicity.
Grant us a firm purpose, most merciful Saviour, to amend our lives and atone for the years past.
Those years which we have misspent to Thy displeasure, in vain or wicked thoughts, words, deeds, and evil customs.
Make our hearts obedient to Thy will, and ready for Thy love, to perform every work of mercy.
Grant us the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which, through a virtuous life and a devout frequenting of Thy most holy sacraments, may at length bring us to Thy heavenly kingdom.
Have mercy, etc.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
Fourth Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, -----> Comfort us.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, comfort us, and grant us grace to place our chief, our only joy and felicity in Thee.
Send us heavenly meditations, spiritual sweetnesses and fervent desires of Thy glory; fill our souls with the contemplation of heaven, where we shall everlastingly dwell with Thee.
Bring often to our remembrance Thine unspeakable goodness. Thy gifts, and the great mercy which Thou hast shown us.
And when Thou bringest to our minds the sad remembrance of our sins, whereby we have so ungratefully offended Thee,
Comfort us with the assurance of obtaining Thy grace by the spirit of perfect repentance, which may cleanse away our guilt, and prepare us for Thy kingdom. Have mercy, etc.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
Fifth Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, -----> Make us constant.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, make us constant in faith, hope, and charity; give us perseverance in all virtues, and a resolution never to offend Thee.
Let the memory of Thy Passion, and of those bitter pains Thou didst suffer for us, strengthen our patience, and support us in all tribulation and adversity.
Let us always hold fast the doctrines of the Catholic Church, and render us diligent frequenters of all holy duties.
Let no false delight of this deceitful world blind us, no evil temptation or fraud of the devil shake our hearts.
Those hearts, which have forever set up their rest in Thee, and resolved to undervalue all for Thy eternal reward.
Have mercy, etc.
Our Lord Jesus Christ humbled Himself, being made obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Hear these our petitions, O most merciful Saviour, and grant us Thy grace so frequently to repeat and consider them, that they may prove easy steps whereby our souls may ascend to the knowledge, love, and performance of our duty to Thee and our neighbor, through the whole course of our lives.
R. Amen.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Creed.
PART II
At the name of Jesus, etc.
Sixth Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, ---> Enlighten us with spiritual wisdom.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, enlighten us with spiritual wisdom, that we may know Thy goodness, and all those things which are most acceptable to Thee.
Grant us a clear apprehension of our only good, and discretion to order our lives according to it.
Grant that we may wisely proceed from virtue to virtue, until at length we arrive at the clear vision of Thy glorious majesty.
Permit us not, dear Lord, to return to those sins for which I we have sorrowed, and from which we have been cleansed by confession.
Grant us grace to benefit the souls of others, by our good example, and to assist those by good counsel whom Thou hast confided to our care. Have mercy, etc.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
Seventh Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, ----> Grant us grace to fear Thee.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, grant us grace inwardly to fear Thee, and to avoid all occasions of offending Thee.
Let the threats of the torments which are to fall on sinners, the fear of losing Thy love and Thy heavenly inheritance, always keep us in awe.
Let us not dare to remain in sin, but return soon to repentance, lest, through Thine anger, the dreadful sentence of endless death and damnation fall upon us.
Let the powerful intercession of Thy blessed Mother, and all Thy saints, but above all, Thine own merits and mercy, O my Saviour, ever be between Thine avenging justice and our poor souls.
Enable us, O my God, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and let the apprehension of Thy secret judgments render us more humble and diligent supplicants at the throne of Thy grace.
Have mercy, etc.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
Eighth Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, -----> Grant us grace to love Thee.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, grant us grace truly to love Thee, for Thine infinite goodness, and those excessive bounties we have received, and hope forever to receive, from Thee.
Let the remembrance of Thy goodness and patience conquer the malice and wretched inclinations of our perverse nature.
Let the consideration of Thy many deliverances, Thy frequent calls, and continual assistance in the ways of life make us ashamed of our ingratitude.
And what dost Thou require of us for all Thy mercies, or by them, but to love Thee? and why dost Thou require it, but because Thou art our only good?
O dear Lord, our whole life shall be nothing but a desire of Thee and because we indeed love Thee, we will most diligently keep Thy commandments.
Have mercy, etc.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
Ninth Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, -----> Grant us grace to remember our death.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, grant us grace always to remember our death, and the great account we are then to give; that so our souls, being always well disposed, may depart out of this world in Thy grace.
Then by the holy intercession of Thy blessed Mother, and the assistance of the glorious St. Michael, deliver us from the enemy of our souls: and do thou, our good angel, we beseech thee, help us at that most important hour.
Then, dear Jesus, remember Thy mercy and turn not Thy most amiable face away from us, because of our offenses.
Secure us against the terrors of that day, by causing us to die daily to earthly things, and to have our conversation continually in heaven.
Let the remembrance of Thy death teach us to esteem our lives, and the memory of Thy resurrection encourage us to descend cheerfully into the grave.
Have mercy, etc.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
Tenth Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, -----> Send us here our purgatory.
Jesus, Jesus Jesus,
Jesus, send us here our purgatory, and so prevent the torments of that cleansing fire which awaits those souls in the next world that have not been sufficiently cleansed in this.
Vouchsafe to grant us those merciful crosses and afflictions which Thou seest necessary for taking off our affections from all things here below.
Since none can see Thee who love anything which is not for Thy sake, suffer not our hearts to find any rest here but in sighing after Thee.
Too bitter, alas! will be the anguish of a soul which is separated from Thee, which desires, but can not come to Thee, being bound with the heavy chains of sin.
Here then, O my Saviour, keep us continually mortified to this world, that, being purified thoroughly by the fire of Thy love, we may immediately pass from hence into Thine everlasting possession.
Have mercy, etc. Our Lord Jesus, etc.
Hear these, etc. Our Father, etc.
Hail Mary, etc. Creed.
PART III
At the name of Jesus, etc.
Eleventh Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, ---> Grant us grace to avoid bad company.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, grant us grace to avoid bad company and to shun the society of the worldly; but when duty or accident brings us into contact with them, we beseech Thee, by the sanctity of Thy conversation among sinners, to defend us and preserve us from being overcome by any temptations to mortal sin.
Cause us, O blessed Lord, to remember always with dread that Thou art present and will take an account of all our words and actions, and judge us according to them.
Repress in us, dear Jesus, all inordinate affection for the pleasures of taste and of sense, and grant us grace to avoid; all such as would excite the fire of these unhappy appetites.
Thy power defend, Thy wisdom direct, Thy fatherly pity chastise us and make us live so here among men that we may be fit for the conversation of angels hereafter.
Have mercy on all sinners, Jesus, we beseech Thee, turn their vices into virtues, and making them true observers of Thy law, and sincere lovers of Thee, bring them to bliss in everlasting glory.
Have mercy also on the souls in purgatory, for Thy bitter Passion, we beseech Thee, and for Thy glorious name, Jesus.
O Blessed Trinity, one eternal God, have mercy on us.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
Twelfth Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, -----> Grant us grace to call on Thee for help.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, grant us grace in all our necessities to call on Thee for help, faithfully remembering Thy death and resurrection for us.
Wilt Thou be deaf to our cries. Who wouldst lay down Thy life for our ransom? or canst Thou not save us, Who couldst take it up again for our crown?
Whom have we in heaven but Thee, O dear Jesus, Whose blessed mouth has pronounced: "Call on Me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee"?
Thou art our sure rock of defense against all sorts of enemies; Thou art our ready grace able to strengthen us in every good work.
Therefore in all our sufferings, in all our weakness and temptations, we will confidently call on Thee; hear us, O Jesus, and when Thou hearest, have mercy.
Have mercy, etc.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
Thirteenth Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, ----> Make us persevere in virtue.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, make us persevere in virtue and a good life, and never relinquish Thy service, till Thou bringest us to our reward in Thy kingdom. In all pious customs and holy duties, in our daily and necessary employments, continue and strengthen, O Lord, both our souls and bodies.
Is our life anything but a pilgrimage on earth toward the new Jerusalem, to which he that sits down, or turns out of the way, can never arrive? O Jesus, make us always consider, through how much pain, and how little pleasure, Thou didst press on to a bitter death, that being the way to a glorious resurrection.
Make us, O dear Redeemer, seriously weigh those severe words of Thine: "He only that perseveres to the end shall be saved."
Have mercy, etc.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
Fourteenth Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, ------> Grant us grace to fix our minds on Thee.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, grant us grace to fix our minds on Thee, especially in time of prayer, when we directly converse with Thee.
Stop the fancies of our wandering heads, and the desires of our unstable hearts; suppress the power of our spiritual enemies who endeavor to draw our minds from heavenly thoughts to many vain imaginations.
So shall we, with joy and gratitude, look on Thee as our deliverer from all the evils we have escaped, and as our benefactor for all the good we have received or can hope for.
We shall see that Thou Thyself art our only good, and that all other things are but means ordained by Thee to make us fix our minds on Thee, to make us love Thee more and more, and, by loving Thee, to be eternally happy.
O beloved of our souls, take up all our thoughts here, that our eyes, abstaining from all worldly vanities, may become worthy to behold Thee face to face in Thy glory forever.
Have mercy, etc.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc.
Fifteenth Petition
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, -----> Grant us grace to order our lives toward our eternal welfare.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, grant us grace to order our lives toward our eternal welfare, heartily intending and wisely designing all the operations of our souls and bodies for obtaining the reward of Thine infinite bliss and eternal felicity.
For what else is this world but a school to cultivate souls and fit them for the other world? And how are they to be fitted but by an eager desire of enjoying God, their only end? Break our froward spirits, O Jesus; make us humble and obedient; grant us grace to depart hence with contempt of this world and hearts filled with joy at our going to Thee.
Let the memory of Thy passion make us cheerfully undergo all temptations and sufferings here for Thy love, whilst our souls breathe after that blissful life and immortal glory which Thou hast prepared in heaven for Thy servants.
O Jesus, let us frequently and attentively consider, that whatsoever we gain, if we lose Thee, all is lost; and whatsoever we lose, if we gain Thee, all is gained.
Have mercy on all sinners, Jesus, we beseech Thee, turn their vices into virtues, and making them true observers of Thy law and sincere lovers of Thee, bring them to bliss in everlasting glory.
Have mercy also on the souls in purgatory for Thy bitter Passion, we beseech Thee, and for Thy glorious name, Jesus. O Blessed Trinity, one eternal God, have mercy on us.
Our Lord Jesus Christ humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Phil. ii. 8).
Hear these our petitions, O most merciful Saviour, and grant us Thy grace so frequently to repeat and consider them, that they may prove easy steps whereby our souls may ascend to the knowledge, love, and performance of our duty to Thee and our neighbor through the whole course of our lives.
R. Amen.
Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Creed.
Aspiration to Jesus, my Friend
By Ven. Claude de la Colombiere, S.J.
O JESUS! You are my true Friend, my only Friend. You take a part in all my misfortunes. You take them on Yourself; You know how to change them into blessings. You listen to me with the greatest kindness when I relate my troubles to You, and You have always balm to pour on my wounds. I find You everywhere. You never go away! If I have to change my dwelling, I find You there wherever I go. You are never weary of listening to me. You are never tired of doing me good. I am certain of being beloved by You if I love You; my goods are nothing to You, and by bestowing Yours on me You never grow poor; however miserable I may be, no one more noble or holier can come between You and me and deprive me of Your friendship; and Death, which tears us away from all other friends, will unite me forever to You. All the humiliations attached to old age, or to the loss of honor, will never detach You from me; on the contrary, I shall never enjoy You more fully, and You will never be closer to me than when everything seems to conspire against me, to overwhelm me, and to cast me down.
You bear with all my faults with extreme patience, and even my want of fidelity and my ingratitude do not wound You to such a degree as to make You unwilling to receive me back when I return to You, or to come to me when I call on You. O Jesus! grant that I may die praising You, that I may die for the love of You. Amen.
To the Holy Name of Jesus
O JESUS, sweet Jesus, O Jesus divine.
My life and my death unto Thee I resign:
Every action of mine shall Thy patronage claim;
For whatever I do shall be done in Thy Name.
If I walk, sweetest Jesus my footsteps shall guide;
If I sit, dearest Jesus shall be by my side;
And the greatest of joys I shall deem it to be.
In the night-time to watch, O my Jesus, with Thee.
When, with sleep overcome, my eyelids shall close.
Still breathing Thy love will I take my repose;
And when using my pen it shall be my delight
The adorable Name of my Jesus to write.
If I pray, sweetest Jesus my words shall prepare;
When fatigued, to my Jesus I'll offer my care;
For however with sorrow or labor oppress'd.
In the love of my Jesus I'll seek for my rest.
When sick, my physician sweet Jesus shall be,
And for comfort I'll turn, O my Jesus, to Thee;
In Thy bosom, O Jesus, I trust I shall die;
With confidence there I shall breathe my last sigh.
And when the cold turf shall be laid over me.
Thy name and Thy cross shall my epitaph be.
A Daily Oblation to Jesus
ADORABLE Jesus! divine model of that perfection to which all Christians should aspire, I will endeavor this day, after Thy example, to be mild, humble, chaste, zealous, patient, charitable, and resigned. Incline my heart, O Lord! to keep Thy commandments. I am resolved to watch over myself with the greatest diligence and circumspection, and to live soberly, justly, and piously for the time to come. I will place a guard on my mouth, and a gate of prudence before my lips, that I may not offend with my tongue. I will turn away my eyes, that they may not see vanity; and I will be particularly attentive not to relapse this day into my accustomed failings, but to struggle against them, and, with Thy gracious assistance, correct them. Enlighten my mind, O Lord, purify my heart, and guide my steps, that I may pass all my life in Thy divine service. Amen.
All for Jesus
GOOD Lord! I ask that this short day
Be spent for Thee and Thine;
Beloved! Grant its every hour
May reach Thy Heart Divine.
Let not my foolish love of praise
Rob work or prayer from Thee.
Jesus! From pride, from self, from sin,
May this one day be free.
Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus
IF we are in affliction, let us invoke Jesus, and He will console us. If we are tempted, let us invoke Jesus, and He will give us strength to withstand all our enemies. If, lastly, we are in aridity, and are cold in divine love, let us invoke Jesus, and He will inflame our hearts. Happy are they who have this most tender and holy name always on their lips! A name of peace, a name of hope, a name of salvation, and a name of love.
Since, then, O my Jesus! Thou art the Saviour Who hast given Thy blood and Thy life for me, I pray Thee to write Thy adorable name on my poor heart; so that, having it always there imprinted by love, I may also have it ever on my lips, by invoking it in all my necessities. If the devil tempts me. Thy name will give me strength to resist him; if I lose confidence, Thy name will animate me to hope; if I am in affliction. Thy name will comfort me by reminding me of all Thou didst endure for me. If I find myself cold in Thy love. Thy name will inflame me by reminding me of the love Thou hast shown me. If I have hitherto fallen into so many sins, it is because I did not call on Thee; from henceforth Thy name shall be my defense, my refuge, my hope, my only consolation, my only love. Thus do I hope to live, and so do I hope to die, having Thy name always on my lips.
Most holy Virgin, obtain for me the grace of invoking the name of thy Son Jesus in all my necessities together with thine own, my Mother Mary; but let me invoke them always with confidence and love. O my beloved Jesus! O Mary, my beloved Lady! give me the grace to suffer and to die for love of you. I will be no longer mine own, but altogether yours; yours in life, and yours in death, when I hope by your help to expire saying, Jesus and Mary, help me; Jesus and Mary, I recommend myself to you; Jesus and Mary, I love you, and I deliver up to you my whole soul.
A Prayer for Priests
SANCTIFY to Thyself, O my Lord, the hearts of Thy priests, that, by the merits of Thy sacred humanity, they may become living images of Thee, children of Mary, and full of the fire of the Holy Ghost, that they may guard Thy house, and defend Thy glory, and that through their ministry the face of the earth may be renewed, and they may save those souls which have cost Thee all Thy blood. Amen.
Queen of apostles, pray thy Son, the Lord of the harvest, to send laborers into His harvest, and to spare His people.
To the Most Sweet Name of Jesus
MOST sweet, most amiable Jesus, how great and holy is Thy name — a name full of delight, a name of good hope — a name that comforts the saint and imparts strength to the sinner! What else is the name of Jesus but Saviour? Therefore, Jesus, for Thine own sake be to me Jesus. Good Jesus, kind and gentle Jesus, Thou zealous lover of souls; for the sake of this Thy blessed name, do to me according to Thy name. Lest I perish be to me Jesus! O Jesus, have mercy on me, while yet there is time for mercy: do not condemn me at the day of judgment. Thy name is our glory and our salvation, our everlasting hope and protection, our battlement impregnable, and our defense that can not fail. O Jesus, O my Saviour, my Lord and my God, my only life, blot out all my sins; free me from Thy wrath and from the power of the evil spirits. Open the eyes of my mind, that I may learn to despise with a pure heart everything that is merely of earth, whether pleasing or displeasing, and may think only of the things that are of heaven and eternal; and may my soul attain the strength to be forever intent upon the contemplation of eternal blessings. Faithful Jesus, kindly Jesus, Jesus full of mercy, admit me into the number of Thy elect; that with them I may deserve to serve and praise and glorify Thee now and forever. Amen.
Prayers to St. Dominic
I
My Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst found the Church with Thy precious blood, and by the preaching of the apostles didst establish, propagate, and extend it throughout the whole world, and thereafter didst commission the holy patriarch Dominic to adorn, illustrate, and defend it with the splendor of his merits and doctrine; graciously hear the prayers which this apostolic man incessantly offers to Thee for the increase of her treasures, both spiritual and temporal. Pater, Ave, Gloria.
II
MOST merciful Redeemer, Who didst choose as Thy fellow-laborer for the salvation of souls St. Dominic, who by his zeal, aided by Thy grace, gained over to the Church so many heretics who had been lost to her, and so many sinners who had grieved her by their obstinacy; send, O my God, ever fresh laborers into Thy vineyard to work for Thy glory, and gather in the fruits of eternal life. Pater, Ave, Gloria.
III
O GOOD Jesus, Who didst delight to see St. Dominic prostrate every night before Thy altar, adoring Thee hidden in the most holy sacrament with most lively faith, and offering up, now groans, now prayers, now penances on behalf of the Church, at that time persecuted by her enemies and profaned by her servants; defend this Thy Spouse through the intercession of St. Dominic from the outrages and plots of the infernal enemy of mankind. Pater, Ave, Gloria.
V. Pray for us, St. Dominic.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.