John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

When you meet a person, whether someone you know or don’t know, what do you do? What is your reaction? Name is so important to people in our daily interactions. We use name to build up or to destroy. What we call others affects them. The names we use can be means of blessing or cursing. We even give our pets a name. As Dale Carnegie once said, “Names are the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” In John 1:29, we see John the Baptist proclaimed “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” He was referring to Jesus. The ONE when the priest holds and elevates while facing the people at the communion rite during Mass. This is how we ought to respond to the most holy name of JESUS as St. Paul wrote: “At the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10).

 The name “Jesus” means “God saves” in Hebrew. This name was given to God the Son by the angel Gabriel at the annunciation. The name “Jesus” tells us who our Lord is and what he came on earth to do. Jesus came to save us, his people, from our sins. St. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, declared, “There is no other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12).

In the fifteenth century, St. Bernardine of Siena promoted devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. He preached about the power of Jesus’ name and was responsible for the addition of the name Jesus to the Hail Mary: “Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.”

Through the centuries, the Church has taught us to use the name of Jesus with reverence and love. [bow your head anytime you hear the Name of “Jesus”] In the liturgy, we end every prayer with the words, “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” There is even a short prayer called The Jesus Prayer, which is very easy to memorize and repeat. It goes like this: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Many great followers of Jesus, such as St. Joan of Arc, have died pronouncing his name as a prayer.

 We should always use the holy name of Jesus with respect. It’s a very bad habit to use the Lord’s name in the wrong way, and we should never do this. When we hear other people using the name of Jesus disrespectfully, we can make up for it by praying silently, “Blessed be the name of Jesus.” (Saint A Day)

Peace in Infant Jesus,

Father Vincent-Vuong Nguyen