The Litany Project: Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Part 4

Jesus, King of glory, have mercy on us.

Jesus, fully God and fully man, is the true King of the universe. His Father has given Him dominion over all peoples and all things, over the entire cosmos, and Jesus rules at His Father’s right hand in the kingdom of Heaven, in the brightness of divine glory. 

But do we allow Jesus to be King over our lives? Do we surrender to Him as our sovereign? Do we let Him governor us and obediently submit? Or do we rebel? It is important to remember, especially for people who are not especially familiar with or favorable toward a monarchy, that Jesus’ reign is not like those of human kings and queens. Jesus’ rule is perfect. He knows exactly what we need and exactly what is best for us at all times, and when He commands us to do or not do something, it is only and always for our own good. Only our stubborn minds and hearts prevent us from seeing that and embracing our King’s loving will.

Jesus, sun of justice, have mercy on us.

This petition associates justice with the light of the sun. We, on the other hand, might think of justice as something harsh and demanding. We who are sinners may be afraid of the idea of justice because, quite justly, we deserve punishment.

Yet Jesus is the sun of justice, the bright, shining warmth of perfect justice, which, in God, is always balanced by perfect mercy. How this can be is a mystery to us, but Jesus is perfectly just in His mercy and perfectly merciful in His justice. 

Jesus, Son of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.

Here we remember that Jesus is fully human, that He is the son of a human mother who was beautifully prepared to miraculously conceive her Son. Our Lady was conceived without sin, perfectly imbued with God’s indwelling presence from the moment of her conception. She herself conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and gave birth to Jesus Christ, truly Son of God and truly Son of the Virgin Mary.

The Litany Project: Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Part 3

Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on us.

Jesus is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, begotten by the Father from all eternity. This Divine Son took on our humanity in the Incarnation and became like us in all things except sin, yet He did not cease to be truly and completely God. 

Notice how Jesus is called the Son of the living God. This adjective distinguishes between the one true God and the many idols we human beings create for ourselves. We give ourselves to those idols, but they are not alive. Rather, they are dead, and they draw us into death, whether they be material objects of stone or metal or the lures of wealth, sex, fame, or whatever else we put before God and worship instead of God. Rather, we must turn to the living God, the God Who wants to give us eternal life.

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

When Philip told Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied,” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:8-9). Jesus shows us the Father. He radiates the Father, for He is perfectly united to the Father in a way we cannot grasp. But we must believe because Jesus commands us to: “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in me” (John 14:11). From that unity of Father and Son, Jesus reveals the beauty, the magnificence, the splendor, and the love of God, His Father and ours.

Jesus, brightness of eternal light, have mercy on us.

“I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Jesus is the light of the world because He is the brightness of eternal light. His divine glory shines upon us and shines out of us when we are in a state of grace because of the divine indwelling we received at Baptism. The Fathers of the Church called Baptism “illumination” or “enlightenment,” for when we are baptized, we receive the light of Christ, really Christ Himself. We are united to Him, and we must let His light shine through us to a world wrapped in darkness.

The Litany Project: Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Part 2

God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.

As with most litanies, this one invokes all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, praying for mercy from each One. We begin by reaching up in love to God the Father of heaven. Jesus teaches us to call God our Father, to refer to Him even as “Abba,” an intimate name that emphasizes God’s love and care for us. It should also express our devotion to Him in love and obedience. 

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.

Next, we pray to God the Son, the Redeemer of the world. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity became incarnate for us in Jesus Christ, God and Man. He went to the cross for us, taking the covenant curses upon Himself for all the times when we broke our covenant with God. He bought us back from slavery to sin and death and opened the gates of Heaven. He made it possible for us to partake in the divine life, to bask in the indwelling presence of God Himself in our very souls.  

God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.

The Holy Spirit is the very love between the Father and the Son. The First and Second Persons of the Blessed Trinity pour themselves out in love for one another, and that Love is so powerful, so vivid, so alive, so perfect, so infinite, that He is another Person. 

Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Our God, then, is three and one, Trinity and Unity. This is a great, beautiful mystery, and it surpasses our human ability to understand. We cannot grasp it, but we must believe it, for God has revealed it.  We should stand amazed that our God, Who is so perfect in and of Himself, needing nothing, created us out of love, holds us in existence out of love, redeems us out of love, and allows us to share in His own love. 

The Litany Project: Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Part 1

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Most litanies begin with a plea for God’s mercy in the three-part formula we use at Mass. In this, we recognize our sinfulness and our need for God’s forgiveness. As we pray these words, we should experience true repentance for our sins as well as an assurance that God always holds out His mercy to those who desire it.

Jesus, hear us.
Jesus, graciously hear us.

Jesus always hears us when we pray to Him, so why do we beg Him to do so here, especially in such emphatic language? First, at times, our Lord may seem distant, and we wonder, in our pain and grief, if He is listening at all or even cares. He does hear us, of course, but we must remind ourselves of that truth.

Second, as we ask Jesus to hear us, we should remember that we need to hear Jesus, too. Jesus does hear us, and He does respond to us, but sometimes we’re so distracted that we failed to notice His gentle replies to our prayers. We have to open our hearts, trusting that our Lord always hears and answers our prayers.