LITANY OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS
Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy
God our Father in heaven have mercy on us
God the Son, have mercy on us
Redeemer of the world have mercy on us
God the Holy Spirit have mercy on us
Holy Trinity, one God have mercy on us
Jesus, Son of the living God have mercy on us
Jesus, splendor of the Father have mercy on us
Jesus, brightness of everlasting light have mercy on us
Jesus, king of glory have mercy on us
Jesus, dawn of justice have mercy on us
Jesus, Son of the Virgin Mary have mercy on us
Jesus, worthy of our love have mercy on us
Jesus, worthy of our wonder have mercy on us
Jesus, mighty God have mercy on us
Jesus, father of the world to come have mercy on us
Jesus, prince of peace have mercy on us
Jesus, all-powerful have mercy on us
Jesus, pattern of patience have mercy on us
Jesus, model of obedience have mercy on us
Jesus, gentle and humble of heart have mercy on us
Jesus, lover of chastity have mercy on us
Jesus, lover of us all have mercy on us
Jesus, God of peace have mercy on us
Jesus, author of life have mercy on us
Jesus, model of goodness have mercy on us
Jesus, seeker of souls have mercy on us
Jesus, our God have mercy on us
Jesus, our refuge have mercy on us
Jesus, father of the poor have mercy on us
Jesus, treasure of the faithful have mercy on us
Jesus, Good Shepherd have mercy on us
Jesus, the true light have mercy on us
Jesus, eternal wisdom have mercy on us
Jesus, infinite goodness have mercy on us
Jesus, our way and our life have mercy on us
Jesus, joy of angels have mercy on us
Jesus, king of patriarchs have mercy on us
Jesus, teacher of apostles have mercy on us
Jesus, master of evangelists have mercy on us
Jesus, courage of martyrs have mercy on us
Jesus, light of confessors have mercy on us
Jesus, purity of virgins have mercy on us
Jesus, crown of all saints have mercy on us
Lord, be merciful Jesus, save your people
From all evil Jesus, save your people
From every sin Jesus, save your people
From the snares of the devil Jesus, save your people
From your anger Jesus, save your people
From the spirit of infidelity Jesus, save your people
From everlasting death Jesus, save your people
From neglect of your Holy Spirit Jesus, save your people
By the mystery of your incarnation Jesus, save your people
By your birth Jesus, save your people
By your childhood Jesus, save your people
Jesus, save your people Jesus, save your people
By your hidden life Jesus, save your people
By your public ministry Jesus, save your people
By your agony and crucifixion Jesus, save your people
By your abandonment Jesus, save your people
By your grief and sorrow Jesus, save your people
By your death and burial Jesus, save your people
By your rising to new life Jesus, save your people
By your return in glory to the Father Jesus, save your people
By your gift of the holy Eucharist Jesus, save your people
By your joy and glory Jesus, save your people
Christ, hear us Christ hear us
Lord Jesus, hear our prayer Lord Jesus, hear our prayer
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world have mercy on us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world have mercy on us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world have mercy on us
Let us pray.
Lord, may we who honor the holy name of Jesus enjoy his friendship in this life and be filled with eternal joy in the kingdom where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
THE MEMORIAL OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS
Trivia for the Day:
A litany is a prayer divided in two parts: in public use, one person recites the first part, then the rest of the people answer with the response. Litany is from the Greek word lite which means prayer or supplication.
About this Memorial:
We were blessed to have a beautiful Mass at our home parish, Holy Name of Jesus, since this day marks the feast for our parish. Father Paul gave an excellent homily about how we should regard the Holy Name of Jesus. God’s Holy Name was reverenced from the Old Testament times as today’s first reading from Exodus 3:14 God tells Moses “I AM WHO AM” and the Third Commandment given to Moses is “You shall not take the name of the Lord in Vain” (more on this below). The second reading from Paul’s letter to the Phillipians (2:10-11) is also mindful of the reverence due Jesus’ Most Holy Name: “So that at Jesus’ name every knee must bend in the heavens, on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue proclaim to the glory of God the Father: Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Reverencing the Holy Name
In my teen years in the 1980s I believed the “f word” to be worst curse word ever.
Starting out as a fiction writer in high school, how did I (a professed Christian) deal with the issue of cuss words in my work? Yes, I certainly avoided that “f word” but I occasionally had a character use the name of Christ without a thought to doing it.
Why didn’t I give it a thought? I didn’t really think about that question until 2011 or 2012 when I was asked to sponsor someone at R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, instruction in the faith folks take to enter fully into the Catholic Church) and attended Father Tom McCarthy’s adult education classes. Father McCarthy was talking about taking God’s name in vain. He said that while shows bleeped out the “f word” they failed to block out misusage of God’s name. And the more I thought on it, the more Father McCarthy made sense. Which was worse? The “f word” or profanations of God’s Holy Name?
Today in his homily, Father Paul talked about some of the craziness modern society has bought into when we no longer reverence the Holy Name of Jesus. So it left me again with a question that as a writer, if I want “realism” when my characters are speaking, how do I handle language?
My Scottish detective hero Ian is a practicing Catholic; occasionally temper gets the better of him and yes, like all of us imperfect human beings, he fails and utters a cuss word or two, and yes, it’ll will probably be that “f” one because if Ian utters Jesus’ name, it would most definitely be in a prayer, even if it’s “Sweet Jesus, help me,” his most used aspiration (short prayers like “My Lord and My God”). And in the end, I’ve found that aspirations are the best way to combat profanation of Jesus’ Holy Name. For a while now when I hear someone in public using Christ’s name wrongly, I will try to pray “Praise His Holy Name” even if it’s a quiet utterance.
TODAY’S PRAYER MISSION
In whatever way you like, praise Jesus’ Holy Name. And maybe, when you hear His name misused (or read it in that new best-selling novel) get in the habit of praising His name and praying for all of us to be mindful of how we speak it.
If you need help with short aspiration prayers here are a few of my favorite ones:
Jesus, I trust in You.
I love you, Lord, my Life.
Praise His Holy Name.
Sweet Jesus, Savior, help me.
Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by Your Holy Cross, you have saved the word.
My Lord and My Life.
Praised be Jesus Christ.
Weaver's Grace 