“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. ” ~ Colossians 3:17
“We realize that the meaning of Jesus is ‘Lord the Savior’. We should bow in reverence to His name and submission to His holy will.”
~Blessed Henry Suso
“Are you troubled? Think but of Jesus – speak but the name of Jesus, the clouds disperse
and peace descends anew from heaven. Have you fallen into sin? So that you fear death? Invoke the name of Jesus
and you will soon feel life returning. No obduracy of the soul, no weakness, no coldness of heart can resist this holy name – there is no heart which will not soften and open in tears at this holy name.'”
~ St. Bernard of Clairvaux
“The name of Jesus is the glory of preachers because the shining splendor of that name causes HIs word to be proclaimed and heard. And how do you think such an immense, sudden and dazzling light of faith came into the world, if not because Jesus was preached?'”
~ St. Bernardine of Siena
“Was it not through the brilliance and sweet savor of this name, that God called us into His marvelous light?'”
~ St. Bernardine of Siena
“And after eight days were accomplished that the Child should be circumcised, His name was called Jesus.”
~ Luke 2:21
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
~ Acts 4:12
“So great is the most holy name of Jesus that God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bend.”
~ Phillippians 2:9
“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, 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.”
~ Philippians 2:10-11
“Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
~ Romans 10:13
“Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name. Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
~ John 16:23-24
“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His holy name is the greatest spiritual force in the world today. It is a source of joy and inspiration in our youth; of strength in our manhood, when only His holy name and HIs grace can enable us to overcome temptation.”
~ Blessed Henry Suso
“And you shall call His name Jesus because in His name, we adore the entire majesty of the Godhead.”
~ St. Peter Chrysologus
“To live Jesus is to have the name of Jesus engraved on one’s heart.”
~ St. Francis de Sales
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower.”
~ Proverbs 18:10
“This short prayer — Jesus and Mary — is easy to remember and powerful to protect. It is strong enough to deliver us from all the assaults of our enemies.”
~ Thomas à Kempis
“O God, our Savior, come to our help. Come for the sake of the glory of Your name. O Lord, our God, forgive us our sins. Rescue us for the sake of Your Name.”
~ Psalm 78:9
“O God, save me by Your name. By Your power uphold my cause.”
~ Psalm 53:1
“I will give you glory, O God my King. I will bless your name forever. I will bless you day and day and praise Your Name forever.”
~ Psalm 144:1-2
“If thou art bound down by sickness, if sorrows weary thee, if thou art trembling with fear, invoke the name of Jesus.”
~ St. Lawrence Justinian
“In my name, they will cast out demons. They will speak in new tongues.”
~ Mark 16:17
“How great is Your name O Lord, our God, through all the earth!”
~ Psalm 8:2
“And it shall come to pass that all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.”
~ Joel 2:32
“No one can say “Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”
~ 1 Corinthians 12:2
“She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save His people from their sins.”
~ Matthew 1:21
“The name of Jesus was first preordained by God.”
~ St. Bernard of Clairvaux
“So I will praise Your Lord among the nations: I will sing a psalm to Your name.”
~ Psalm 17:50
“The name of Jesus places before thee all that God has done for the salvation of the human race.”
~ St. Bernard of Clairvaux
“The sweet name of Jesus produces in us holy thoughts, fills the soul with noble sentiments, strengthens virtue, begets good works, and nourishes pure affection. All spiritual food leaves the soul dry, if it contain not that penetrating oil, the name Jesus.”
~ St. Bernard of Clairvaux
“I will praise You, Lord my God, with all my heart and glorify Your name forever.”
~ Psalm 85:12
“All who dwell in the heavens, those who abide upon the earth, and every one of those who are held in the depths of hell, bow down prostrate to this Name. This is the Name which gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, agility to the lame, speech to the mute, and life to the dead. The power of this name forced the mastery of the devil entirely from the bodies of the possessed.”
~ St. Peter Chrysologus
St. Bernard of Clairvaux Sermon on the Holy Name of Jesus
“The Name of Jesus is Light, and Food, and Medicine. It is Light, when it is preached to us; it is Food, when we think upon it; it is the Medicine that soothes our pains when we invoke it. Let us say a word on each of these. Tell me, whence came there, into the whole world, so bright and sudden a light, if not from the preaching of the Name of Jesus? Was it not by the light of this Name that God called us unto his admirable Light? Wherewith being enlightened, and in this light, seeing the Light, we take these words of Paul as truly addressed to ourselves: Heretofore, you were darkness; but now, light in the Lord [Eph. v. 8].
‘Nor is the Name of Jesus Light only; it is also Food. Art thou not strengthened, as often as thou thinkest of this Name? What is there that so feeds the mind of him that meditates upon this Name? What is there that so restores the wearied faculties, strengthens virtue, gives vigor to good and holy habits, and fosters chastity? Every food of the soul is dry, that is not steeped in this unction; it is insipid, if it be not seasoned with this salt. If thou write, I relish not thy writing, unless I read there the Name of Jesus. If thou teach me, or converse with me, I relish not thy words, unless I hear thee say the Name of Jesus. JESUS is honey to the mouth, and music to the ear, and gladness to the heart.
‘It is also Medicine. Is any one among you sad? Let but Jesus come into his heart, and the mouth echo him, saying Jesus! and lo! the light of that Name disperses every cloud, and brings sunshine back again. Have any of you committed sin? and is despair driving you into the snare of death? Invoke the Name of life, and life will come back to the soul. Was there ever a man, that, hearing this saving Name, could keep up that common fault of hardness of heart, or drowsiness of sluggishness, or rancor of soul, or languor of sloth? If any one, perchance, felt that the fountain of his tears was dry, did it not gush forth more plentifully than ever, and flow more sweetly than ever, as soon as he invoked the Name of Jesus? If any of us were ever in danger, and our heart beat with fear, did not this Name of power bring us confidence and courage the moment we pronounced it? When we were tossed to and fro by perplexing doubts, did not the evidence of what was right burst on us as we called upon the Name of light? When we were discouraged, and well nigh crushed, by adversity, did not our heart take courage, when our tongue uttered the Name of help ? All this is most true; for all these miseries are the sicknesses and faintings of our soul, and the Name of Jesus is our Medicine.”
St. Leonard of Port Maurice Sermon on the Holy Name of Jesus
“The thing I yearn for from you is a tender devotion to the Most Holy and sweet Name of Jesus. This is that great Name, which is above all names, in which we must be saved, and without which there is no health. Oh Most Sacred Name, Name of peace, Balsam of life, which was the center of all the sighs of the most fervent lovers of Jesus. The sign of those who truly love Jesus is to bear Jesus imprinted in the heart and to name often and with devotion the Most Holy Name of Jesus. St. Paul the Apostle had so impressed on his soul, that at all hours he still had it on his tongue and on his pen, and five hundred times he names in his Epistles the Most Holy Name of Jesus. Oh what a beautiful language! Ignazio Martire wore it with gold letters in the middle of his heart.
Oh what a beautiful embroidery! My Bernardine of Siena was the first to expose it in public veneration and with the Most Holy Name of Jesus he soaked the hardest hearts, converted the most obstinate sinners, and almost reformed Italy as a whole, and everywhere he wanted to see that beloved figure of the Most Holy Name of Jesus carved on the doors of houses, at the head of the bed, on the frontispiece of the Churches, everywhere he wanted to see the Most Holy Name of Jesus carved and painted. This is precisely what I want from you, my beloved listeners, let all of you have the Most Holy Name of Jesus carved or painted on the doors of your homes. And here I show you the model…
Oh, do not deny me this grace, which will all redeem for your good. Preaching our glorious St. Bernardine in the city of Ferrara assaulted by a fierce plague, he exhorted everyone to the devotion and veneration of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, and all those citizens lit themselves up with such a beautiful devotion that they placed the Most Holy Name of Jesus on the doors of their homes, and with this they remained free from the infectious disease. Those from Padua obtained the same, who in persuasion of the Saint embraced so holy a devotion; and in Camaiore, land of the Republic of Lucca, the Saint promised that if they had carved, and painted the Most Holy Name of Jesus on the doors of their houses, they would never have been assaulted by the plague and, in conformity, promised, so it happened, although at various times all the surrounding places have been desolated by a scourge. What do you say, beloved? will you have repugnance to this little inconvenience? But consider it grace the great good that will come to all your houses, be
assured, that in those houses, on the doors of which you will see the Most Holy Name of Jesus painted or carved, there will be nothing more than fear, nor of witches , neither of evil, nor of accidents of fate. Oh how many lightning strikes, how many disasters your houses will be free of! A hundred, therefore, a hundred, and a thousand times blessed are those houses which will bear the Most Holy Name of Jesus on their foreheads, and woe to those houses where Jesus will not be seen! it will be a nest of demons, and will be subject to a thousand misfortunes. Go on, compete with those who make him paint more beautiful, or waste your time, from tomorrow on, explain such a beautiful livery of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.
Oh what a blessed place this will be; see all the houses embellished and sanctified by this Most Holy and Most Sweet Name! And because I seem to see you all willing, all inflamed with love and devotion to the Most Holy Name of Jesus, I take heart to end the Preaching with that beautiful sentiment of the Apostle. “All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do ye all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Yes, yes, whatever you do, do it all in honor and glory of Jesus, and in the Most Holy Name of Jesus. If you leave the house, go out with Jesus your servant; if you walk the streets, walk with Jesus your companion; if you enter the Church, you enter with Jesus your Advocate. Jesus be with you in your works, Jesus be among you in your speeches, Jesus be for you and your rest. The sun never comes out, that you are not with Jesus, nor the sun goes down, that you do not leave with Jesus. The Name of Jesus is the first, who opens your mouth in the morning, and the Name of Jesus is the last that you seal it up in the evening; so that Jesus is the one, who will gather your soul in his arms, when you give your last breath, dying with Jesus on the eyes, with Jesus in the mouth, with Jesus in the heart; and I hope it will succeed if you are Brothers of the Congregation of true lovers of Jesus and if you have the Most Holy Name of Jesus painted or sculpted on the door of your houses. Go up, as a sign that you want to obey, that you want to do everything, say all three times aloud: VIVA JESUS, VIVA JESUS, VIVA JESUS!
Lenten sermons of B. Leonardo from Porto Maurizio Reformed Minor and Apostolic Missionary of the Retreat of San Bonaventura in Rome, Vol. III, Assisi, 1806, pp. 325-328.
