Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus

Today is the beautiful Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.  Several months ago my Pastor ask a number of people in our parish to share a few words on the affects prayer has had on them. He asked us to write to him our thoughts.  Sitting down at home after Mass thoughts flowed quickly. 

I humbly share some of what came that morning:

What has prayer given me-

a tenderizing of my heart, ....a sensitivity to the use of Our Lord's name and an awareness of the use of Our Lord's name and a desire not to hear it misused. 

There was more included in my letter to my Pastor but one thing that stood out to me was how prayer had changed my response to the Name of Jesus. It was nothing that someone had forced upon me but rather this sensitivity to the use of the Name had come gently and from the depths of my heart. 

In looking at one of the children from our Children's Rosary group that exists within an orphanage in Bien Hoa Vietnam, one can see the tenderness the child has with the Baby Jesus. She carries Him in hay with a blanket. She smiles when looking at Him. This is a child that prays the Rosary daily in her Children's Rosary group. It is a beautiful thought to imagine that through prayer more and more children will develop in a very tender way a love of the Name of Jesus.