The Litany Project: Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Part 15

Jesus, teacher of Evangelists, have mercy on us.

Evangelists are those who preach the Gospel, those who spread the Good News that God became Man in Jesus Christ, that Jesus died for our sins and rose again, and that He loves us and desires our love in return. We might think of the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, who wrote the Gospels, or perhaps we might think of Paul and his missionary companions or the great preachers, theologians, and saints of times past or even of today.

Yet we are all called to be evangelists. We are all called to preach the Gospel in our words and actions. Perhaps we may protest that we don’t know how to do this. It’s a good thing, then, that we have the very best Teacher to inspire us with what to say and do. Our job is to listen and obey.  

Jesus, strength of Martyrs, have mercy on us.

What would we do if we faced the choice between death and compromise with regard to our Christian faith? Most of us will likely never know, but many people throughout the centuries have experienced the dilemma, and those who drew their strength from Jesus went to their deaths willingly, even joyfully, knowing that God would sustain them and reward them.  

Martyrdom does not always have to be about death, however. We are all called to little martyrdoms, little self-sacrifices, every day. While they don’t involve the ultimate choice, they can still be difficult moments when we have to decide between what is right and what is sin, between God’s will and our own will. Jesus gives us the strength to make the correct choices even in these smaller, non-bloody instances of martyrdom, so we must turn to Him constantly that we may be His witnesses at all times.

Jesus, light of Confessors, have mercy on us.

The word “confessors” here does not mean priests who hear and absolve sins in the sacrament of Confession. Rather, a confessor, in this sense, is a person who confesses the Christian faith, a person who speaks the truth whether it is easy or difficult, welcome or unwelcome. When we are willing to do that, Jesus enlightens us. He tells us what to say and shows us what to do. We must allow Him to work and cooperate as He does so that His light can shine through us.

The Litany Project: Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Part 14

Jesus, joy of the Angels, have mercy on us.

In the dark of the first Christmas midnight, the shepherds watched over their flocks. Then suddenly, the sky exploded with the light of rejoicing angels, proclaiming that the Savior has been born. “Glory to God in the highest,” they exult, “and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased!” (Luke2:14). 

The angels surrounded Jesus all during His life. They served Him after He resisted temptation in the wilderness. An angel comforted Him in the garden the night before He died. The angels would have descended in legions upon legions to assist Jesus during His Passion if He had only said the word. But He did not, so they watched in silence and sorrow. But we can be sure that the angels were the first to rejoice at Jesus’ resurrection, and they were clearly eager to spread the news that the Lord had risen, conquering death and bringing new life to all those who accept Him in faith and love.

Jesus, King of Patriarchs, have mercy on us.

The Patriarchs (people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses) may have lived long before Jesus, but they looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. They understood that God had a plan for His people and that He ruled over them in a special way to prepare them to bring Him to the whole world. Jesus is now the King of Patriarchs because, as He explained to the disbelieving Sadducees, God is the God of the living. Jesus is the God of the living. The Patriarchs are alive, far more alive than we sometimes are, and they know their God and King in Jesus Christ. 

Jesus, master of Apostles, have mercy on us.

Apostles are those who are sent. They do not act on their own authority but on the authority of the Sender. When we think of “Apostles,” we usually think of the Twelve, but all of us are called to participate in the Church’s “apostolate.” We are all sent out on a particular mission, and God gives us the skills and graces we need to do it well. While we may not always feel like we are successful, our job is to cooperate and leave the results to the Master.

The Litany Project: Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Part 13

Jesus, eternal Wisdom, have mercy on us.

Proverbs 8 offers an intriguing reflection on wisdom. Personified as a woman (because the word for “wisdom” is feminine in gender), wisdom is mysteriously described as both eternal, existing before creation, and somehow also created. This points toward the Incarnation when the eternal Son of God took on a created human body and human soul.  

In Proverbs, wisdom is a “master workman,” intimately involved in the creation of the world, delighting and rejoicing in all its wonder and especially in human beings. Wisdom also teaches those human beings how to please God, and these instructions are far better than gold or silver because they lead to true wealth: to righteousness and justice and life with God.  

We can see how wisdom, as portrayed here, is a type of Christ, the Word of God, the Logos, through Whom the world was made and Who became incarnate to lead us to true wealth, eternal life with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus, infinite Goodness, have mercy on us.

Infinite goodness. Just reflect on that for a moment. Because Jesus is God, His is all-good, perfectly good, infinitely good. In Luke 18:18, an official asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus immediately pounces on the adjective “good.” He asks the man, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but God alone.” Exactly. Jesus is nudging the man (and us) to identify Him correctly. We call Him good because recognize His deep, flawless goodness, but when we do so, we are implicitly recognizing something else as well: Jesus is God.

Jesus, our way and our life, have mercy on us.

In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me.” Jesus is our goal and our way to our goal. He is true life and the path that gets us to true life. He is our home and our way home. He is the destination and the journey. He is our all in all.

The Litany Project: Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Part 12

Jesus, Good Shepherd, have mercy on us.

Sheep aren’t the world’s brightest creatures and, often, neither are human beings. We stray away from our shepherd, getting ourselves into all kinds of trouble. We take in things we should not, things that make us sick. We become tangled up in the bramble and briers of this world, hurting ourselves in the process. 

Yet we have a good Shepherd, the very best Shepherd, to rescue us and protect us. Think about what a shepherd does for his sheep. He feeds and waters them and makes sure they are safe from predators and from their own stupidity. He cleans them up, sheers them, and comforts them. He searches for them when they are lost and leads them home when he finds them. Our Shepherd does all this and more. So may we not be stupid sheep but rather stay close to our good Shepherd, Jesus.

Jesus, true light, have mercy on us.

In the prologue of his Gospel, St. John writes that “The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world” (1:9). This true light is the Word of God Who was “with God” and “was God” (1:1).  “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (1:4-5). 

This Word, this light, this life “became flesh and dwelt among us” (1:14). Yet the world did not know Him or accept Him. Many people wanted to remain in the darkness, for the light shows them the truth, and the truth makes demands. But the light also fills us with the “power to become children of God,” to behold God’s glory, to know God in a wonderful new way, to experience His grace, to be filled with light ourselves.

The Litany Project: Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Part 11

Jesus, Father of the poor, have mercy on us.

We noted earlier that it seems odd to identify Jesus as a Father. We are used to thinking of Him as the Son of the God the Father. Yet in some cases, Jesus actually can legitimately and quite elegantly be described as a Father. Here, for instance, we address Him as Father of the poor. He cares tenderly for people who are poor. He protects them and nourishes them, defends them and supports them, teaches them and encourages them. This is exactly what a father does.

We would do well to think, too, of who the “poor” are. We can certainly refer to the materially poor who must rely on Jesus because they lack the resources necessary to live. Many poor people find themselves closer to God as they come to trust Him more and more for their basic survival.

Yet we might also identify the spiritually poor, those whom Jesus refers to as the “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). These are the anawim, God’s poor, those who know that no matter what their material status in the world, they are totally dependent upon God. These are the ones who place themselves in Jesus’ hands, trusting fully in Him, realizing that without Him they are nothing at all.

Jesus, treasure of the faithful, have mercy on us.

Jesus says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Our ultimate treasure in Heaven is Jesus Himself. He is the One we should be seeking always. He is where our hearts should be. For only in Him do we have true life, true happiness, and true wealth.

The Litany Project: Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Part 10

Jesus, zealous for souls, have mercy on us.

The word “zealous” comes from the Greek zēlos, which means ardor or noble passion or even jealousy. If we trace the etymology (word history) back even further, we find the Proto-Indo-European root *ya-, which means to seek or desire. So considering all this, when we say that Jesus is zealous for souls, we can say that He has an ardor, a passion, for souls. He wants to save us, eagerly, thoroughly. He seeks us. He desires us. He is even jealous for us, wanting us for Himself because belonging to Him is what is truly best for us. 

Jesus, our God, have mercy on us.

In 2 Peter 1, Peter writes that we have obtained our faith in “the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The original Greek construction indicates that both “God” and “Savior” apply to Jesus. This clear statement of Jesus’ divinity echoes throughout the New Testament. Jesus claims to be God (remember all those “I Am” statements in which He applies the divine Name to Himself) and shows Himself to be God by His miracles of physical and especially spiritual healing. 

Jesus is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Word, the Son of God, fully human and fully divine. Jesus is truly God. This is our Christian faith. 

Jesus, our refuge, have mercy on us.

We have all felt the world closing in on us, oppressing us, even attacking us. Many people clamor for safety, for security, but they’ll never find it in this fallen world. So where do we turn? We flee to Jesus and hide ourselves, immerse ourselves, in Him. For He is our refuge, our only safe place. 

The Litany Project: Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Part 9

Jesus, God of peace, have mercy on us.

The Scriptural concept of peace is much deeper and more intricate than the idea we usually have of peace. While we might think of the absence of conflict or of a sort of calm in which nothing really happens, in God’s definition, peace is so much more. It is a wholeness, a completeness within a person and among people. Peace also means that everything within a person or among people is in the right order, the way in which God intends it to be.

This is why Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27). Jesus’ peace goes far beyond the worldly definition. This is also why Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). Our broken world needs to be put back in proper order. It needs to be made whole again. This can be a painful process that looks like anything but peace. But in the end, Jesus’ peace will prevail for those who choose to immerse themselves in it.

Jesus, author of life, have mercy on us.

God created all things by His Word. “In Him was life: and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we saw His glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). 

Jesus, the Word of God, was the author of life at creation. And He is the author of life in our re-creation, our redemption from sin and death. He died for us on the cross that we might live with the Blessed Trinity forever in Heaven, the eternal life, the abundant life, that has no end.

Jesus, model of virtues, have mercy on us.

If we want to know how to live our lives according to the will of God, then we must study the life of Jesus. He entered fully into our human existence, but since He was fully God as well as fully man, He never sinned. So He shows us how to live human life to the fullest, perfect in all virtues, obedient to the Father’s will, deep in true love.