In the Gospel today Jesus is preparing to leave His apostles. He will no longer be able to protect and care for them as he had done while they walked together. As a parent cares for his children Jesus beseeches His own Father to care and protect them once He is no longer there. “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me”.(John 17:11-12)
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.(John 17:15-19)
Just as a parent sending their child off to school has a few parting words of advice, Jesus also tries to help us. What is one of the last things a parent says to their child as they leave them. Most often it is if you have a problem call me. As the most perfect of parents Jesus says the same thing. Jesus gives us many ways to sanctify ourselves such as the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Spirit, and reading of The Word of God. However, He knows that we will stumble as all children do. He does not want us to be lost to the evil one as He says in the gospel today. Therefore when we are in trouble we have only to say His Name. In the gospel yesterday Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, He will give it to you in My Name". (John 16:23) We can say only one word and blessings and protection are poured down upon us. The word that we should say is Jesus.
The devils revealed to Francis of Yepes, the brother of St. John of the Cross, that three things especially torment them. The first is the Name of Jesus; the second is the name of Mary; and the third, the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
St. Francis of Rome was given the grace to be able to speak to her guardian angel. When St. Francis pronounced the Name of Jesus, the Angel was radiant with happiness and bent down in loving adoration. Sometimes the devil dared to appear to her, seeking to scare her and do her harm. But when she pronounced the Holy Name, he was filled with rage and hatred and fled in terror from her presence. (Excerpt from the Book The Wonders of the Holy Name of Jesus by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan)
As Ascension Thursday is behind us let us never forget the power and protection of the Holy Name of Jesus. "Each time we say Jesus it is an act of perfect love, for we offer to God the infinite love of Jesus".(Fr. Paul O'Sullivan)
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