DO ALL IN THE NAME OF JESUS

In apostolic times, St Paul erected two pillars of truth concerning the Holy Name of Jesus upon which the faith of Christian civilization was built. Firstly, he told of the absolute power of the Name, "In the name of Jesus, every knee shall bend in Heaven, on Earth and in Hell". Secondly, he commanded us that we ought do everything, absolutely everything in His Name, "Whatever you do in word or in work, do all in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ."

Rather than just read St Paul's exhortations, and allow it to wash off us, and leave them as though they were instructions in the manuals we keep piled up in an old cupboard, may we take them to heart? May we ask ourselves do we revere the awesome power of the Holy Name, such that when it is evoked in prayer the demons of Hell prostrate themselves? And do we do set our will to do all in the Name of Jesus?

We are in Advent, which is our essential time of preparation to welcome the Divine Infant Jesus into our hearts, which seems so sentimental to most of us that it is like a syrupy line from a greeting card because we are at a loss as to how to really prepare our hearts. The concept of crucial preparation needs to take a practical form whereby we inquire of ourselves as to how much respect we have for the Holy Name, which may then inform the steps we take to remedy our lack of esteem for our Savior's Name.
 
To begin, we may need to remind ourselves of how we like to have our names spoken with respect. Perhaps I might ask you to contemplate how others say your name and how it betrays their true feelings for you. If they say your name fondly, you may denote fondness, but if they say it contemptuously, you know you are being held in contempt which bodes so badly for your relationship with them that if you are experienced in human affairs you may decide on no further closeness with them.  You may consider asking yourself how you say the Holy Name of Jesus, and in true humility ask if you say it with contempt.

Also, imagine if a feast were planned for your birthday. People who claimed they loved you got together a spread of all your favorite foods and sought out gifts for you which satisfied your deepest longings for things of this world. As you approached the party, imagine that you heard champagne corks go off, and giddy chatter, but you also several of the other guests snarl your name, or say it in a snide way as though they snorting out your name as opposed to saying it with that standard decency we are called to treat our fellow man. You'd know instantly in your gut that your birthday was just an excuse for them to get in on the party. Now, meditate for a moment that if you were to approach the Feast of the King where Jesus is the Guest of Honor, ask yourself how you might say His Name.
 
If we do not stand in awe, as St Paul did, of the Holy Name, every other effort we make to ready our hearts for the Christ Child will have a hollowness, that lead balloon of the soul which is the painful, heavy void, which may only be filled by Our Savior Who may come into our midst if we bid Him to, and call upon His Name with respect and love. Our awe will grow when we commit to the truth that every knee bows in Heaven and Hell before the Name Jesus, and in orientating all our actions in the Name of Jesus we ensure our hearts are always open to Him.

Long-suffering readers of this blog will have noted that I posted about the Holy Souls in November. My aim was to do a post for every working day of November, which I completed as a good work for the population of Purgatory which if accepted as a worthy offering would lessen their pain. In tandem with the Purgatory posts, I was doing my very last re-writes of my Padre Pio book, in preparation for the next final round with my editor where we will decide on the concluding edits, which I will then implement. Of your love, please pray for my editor and I as we do this sensitive work.