Thomas Griffin 1/1/25
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There is power in a name.
Names identify us. When someone calls your name, you respond. Yes, out of habit but also because your name is part of who you are.
January 3rd is the feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. The name Jesus means, “God saves.” Jesus is God. Through Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection we are given the forgiveness that we did not deserve. The incarnation is God’s move to draw closer to us than ever before. In the very naming of Jesus, we can know what he will accomplish: he has come to bring us to the Father.
St. Paul wrote that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10). There is true power in the name of Jesus because of his identity. All people are called to take notice when his name is proclaimed because of what he accomplished. The victory that Jesus won over sin, evil and death makes his name the most powerful. We can all upon his name for protection and for help. When we say his name in a prayerful manner it can bring us peace and clarity because it is the name of our salvation.
Unfortunately, saying the name, “Jesus Christ,” is one of the most common ways for people to take out their frustration about a situation or a person. Even for people who were not brought up in the faith, the name of Jesus is commonplace. There is something about it that draws others to it, even if it is to tear down rather than sanctify. This shows that we know the power of Jesus.
The invitation of today’s celebration is to reflect on how often we use the name of Jesus and how we do so.
A good starting point is considering how we talk to Christ when we are at Sunday Mass. Are we in our own thoughts or are we having a conversation with the one who suffered and died for us? Are we caught up in the frustrating moments from this past week or are we saying the name of Jesus in gratitude for what he did for us?
The next time you are at Mass, think about how you can use this time to call upon the powerful name of Jesus. Prayerfully look at the cross and give gratitude to the God of the universe who suffocated to death out of love fro you. As you are walking up to receive Holy Communion, think about the fact that this is truly Jesus you will receive. As you receive him, say his name over and over again as you return to kneel and pray.
Make your Mass experience focused on the person and name of Jesus Christ so that you can encounter him more powerfully.
Second, we can incorporate different practices as a part of our daily personal prayer time to aid us in meeting Christ in a more potent manner. Two phrases come to mind. The Jesus prayer and a line from Mother Teresa that is less well-known.
“Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This line has been the foundation and heart of countless prayer lives over the years. People repeat it slowly, often looking at a cross and they repeat it many times. If this is done early in the morning it can be picked up throughout one’s day as you go through your tasks at work and in your home. Doing so, sanctifies our vision for Christ. It also makes us more aware that we are in need of his aid. Saying his name more frequently helps us see that we are in need of being saved – which is the entire meaning of his name.
Another line from Mother Teresa’s Varanasi Letter can help us tremendously. This was a letter she wrote to her religious community outlining her desires for their relationship with Jesus. She said, “I worry some of you have never really met Jesus…one to one, you and him alone.”
Even though her sisters were spending a few hours in prayer each day, Mother Teresa knew that we too often make prayer about everything except for Jesus. Repeating this phrase in our daily prayer routine can help us make prayer less about a habit and more about encountering the living person of Jesus. Saying his name and remembering that we are invited to meet him when we pray reminds us that faith is a relationship.
Taking an intentional Mass focus and spending time with these phrases each day can enable us to become more attached and dependent on the name of Jesus so that we can become closer to the person behind the name. The God-man who lives among us and calls us to see his eyes pierced at us as we invoke the name above every other name.
Thomas Griffin is the chairperson of the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island where he lives with his wife and two sons. He has a masters degree in theology and is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine. He is the author of Let Us Begin: Saint Francis’s Way of Becoming Like Christ and Renewing the World.
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