Category: The HOLY NAME

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The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Final Part – 24 July

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the wonders of the holy name-day fifteen-24 july

The Awful Crime of Ingratitude:

We thank our friends most effusively for any
little favour they do us but we forget or neglect to
thank God for His immense love of us, for becoming
man for us, for dying for us, for all the Masses we
can hear and the Holy Communions we can receive
– and do not receive.   What black ingratitude!

By repeating often the Name of Jesus we correct
this grave fault and thank God and give Him great
glory and joy.
Do you not wish to give joy to God?   You do.
Then dear friend thank, thank God.   He is waiting
for your thanks.
God loves each one.
We have said that Our Lord in the dreadful
sufferings of His Passion, in the Agony in the
Garden, when He was hanging on the Cross, saw
us all and offered for each one every pang of pain,
every drop of His Precious Blood.
Can it be possible that God is so good that He
thinks of each one, that He loves each of us so
much?
Our poor hearts and minds are small and mean
and find it hard to believe that God can be so
good, that He troubles Himself about us.
But God, as He is Omnipotent, as He is infinitely
wise, He is also infinitely good and generous
and loving.   To understand how God thought of
each one of us in the Passion, when He was hanging
on the Cross, we have only to remember what happens
in the millions of Holy Communions received
every day.
God comes to each one of us with all the
plenitude of the Divinity;  He enters into each one
as fully and entirely as He is in Heaven.   He comes
into each one as if that one were the only one who
received him that day.   He comes with infinite,
personal love.   That we all believe.
And how does He enter into us?   He does not
merely come into our mouths, our hearts, He comes
into our souls, He unites Himself to our souls so
intimatelv that He becomes one with us.
Let us think for a moment of how the Great,
Almighty, Eternal God is in our very soul in the
most intimate possible way, that He is there with
all His infinite love, that He remains there and
this not once but every morning if we so wish.
If we think and understand this it will be easy
to see how He offered all His merits and all His
sufferings for each one.

The Devil:

The great, great evil, the great danger that
threatens each of us every day and every night
of our lives is the Devil.
St Peter and St Paul warn us in the strongest
language to beware of the Devil, for he is using
all his tremendous power, his mighty intelligence
to ruin us, to harm, to hurt us in every way.
There is no danger, no enemy in the World we
have to fear as we should fear the Devil.
He cannot attack God so he turns all his implacable
hate and malice against us.
We are destined to take the thrones he and the
other Angels have lost.   This lashes him into wild
fury against us.   Many foolish, ignorant Catholics
never think of this;  they take no care to defend
themselves and so allow the Devil to inflict on them
infinite harm and cause them untold sufferings.
Our best, onr easiest remedy is the Name of
Jesus.   It drives the Devil flying from our sides
and saveS us from countless evils.
Oh dear readers say constantly this all-powerful
Name and the Devil can do you no harm.   Say it
in all dangers, in all temptations.   Wake up if
you have been asleep.   Open your eyes to the terrible
enemy who is ever seeking your ruin.
Priests should preach frequently on this all-important
subject.  They should warn their penitents
in the confessional against the Devil.   They counsel
them to avoid bad companions, who make them
lead bad lives.   Incomparably more dreadful is the
influence of the Devil on them.
Teachers, Catechists and Mothers should constantly
warn their children against the Devil.
All their efforts will be only too little.

Lord Jesus, I love You with all my heart and soul, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Amen

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The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Part Fourteen – 23 July

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the wonders of the holy name-day FOurteen -23 july

We can ask for everything in the Name of Jesus.

The Angels are our dearest and best friends and
are most ready and able to help us in every difficulty and danger.
It is most regrettable that many Catholics do not
know, love and ask the Angels for help.  The
easiest way is to say the Name of Jesus is in n their
honour.  This gives them the greatest joy.  They
in return will help us in all our troubles and keep
us safe from many dangers.
Let us say the Name of Jesus in honour of all
the Angels but especially in honour of our dear
Angel Guardian who loves us so much.

Our Sweet Lord is present in millions of
Consecrated Hosts in the countless Churches
of the World.
During many hours of the busy day and during
the long nights He is forgotten and left alone.
We can do much to console and comfort Him by
saying: My Jesus I love and adore You in all the
Consecrated Hosts of the World and I thank You
with all my heart for remaining on all the altars
of the World for love of us. Then say twenty,
fifty or more times the Name of Jesus with this
intention.
We may do most perfect penance for our sins
by offering the Passion and Blood of Jesus many
times each day for this intention.
The Precious Blood purifies our souls and raises
us to a high degree of holiness. It is all so
easy! We have only to repeat lovingly, joyfully,
reverently Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

If we are sad, or cast down, if we are worried
with fears and doubts this Divine Name will give
us a delightful peace.  If we are weak and wavering
it will give us a new strength and energy.
Did not Jesus, when on Earth, go about consoling
and comforting all those who were unhappy?  He
is still doing it every day for those who ask Him.
If we are suffering from weak health, if we are
in pain, if some disease is taking hold of our poor
bodies, He can cure us.  Did He not cure the sick,
the lame, the blind, the lepers? Does He not say
to us: “Come to me all you who labour and are
heavily burdened and I will refresh you”.  Many
could have good health if they only asked Jesus
for it.  By all means consult doctors, use remedies,
but above all call on Jesus.
The Name of Jesus is the shortest, the easiest,
the most powerful of all prayers. Our Lord tells
us that anything we ask the Father in His Name,
viz. in the Name of Jesus, we shall receive. Everytime
we say Jesus we are saying a fervent prayer
for all, all we need.

The Souls In Purgatory:

It is very lamentable that so many Christians
forget and neglect the souls in Purgatory.
It is possible that some of our dear friends
are suffering in these dreadful fires waiting.
waiting for our prayers and help which we could
so easily give them and do not give them.
We have pity for the poor whom we see in the
streets, for the hungry and for all those who suffer.
None suffer so terribly as the souls in Purgatory.
for the fire of Purgatory as St. Thomas tells us is
the same as the fire of Hell!
How often, dear reader, do you pray for the holy
souls?  Days and weeks and perhaps months pass
and you do little, perhaps nothing for them!
You can easily help them if you say frequently
the Name of Jesus.
Because:
a) you thus offer for them the Precious Blood
and sufferings of Jesus Christ as we have explained;
b) also you gain every time you say Jesus 300 days Indulgence.
Having the custom of repeating often the Holy
Name you can like St. Mechtilde relieve thousands
of souls, who will never cease praying for
you with incredible fervour.

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PURGATORY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The HOLY NAME

The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Part Thirteen – 22 July

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the wonders of the holy name-day thirteen-22 july

The Doctrine of the Holy Name contd

The Passion:

The second meaning of the word Jesus is –
Jesus-dying-on-the-Cross for St. Paul tells us that our
Lord merited this most Holy Name by His sufferings
and death.
Therefore when we say Jesus we should also
wish to offer the Passion and Death of Our Lord
to the Eternal Father for His greater glory and
for our own intentions.
Just as Our Lord became man for each one of
us, as if that one were the only one in existence,
so He died not for all men in general but for
each one in particular.   When He was hanging
on the Cross He saw me, He saw you, dear reader, –

and offered every pang of dreadful agony, every
drop of His Precious Blood, all His humiliations,
all the insults and outrages for me, for you, for
each one of us.   He has given us all these infinite
merits as our very own.   We may offer them
hundreds and hundreds of times every day to
the Eternal Father for ourselves and for the WorId.
We do this every time we say Jesus.   At the
same time let us wish to thank Our Lord for all
He has suffered for us.
It is appalling that many Christians know so
little of this Holy Name and all that it means. As
a result they are losing every day precious graces
and forfeiting the greatest rewards in Heaven.
Sad, deplorable ignorance!

How to share in 500.000 Masses:

The third intention we ought to have when
saying Jesus is to offer all the Masses that are
being said all over the World for the glory of God,
for our own needs and for the World at large.
About 500.000+ Masses are celebrated daily.   And
we can and should share in all these.
The Mass is Jesus.  He once more becomes man,
renews the Incarnation in every Mass as really as
when He became man in His mother’s womb.  He
also dies on the Altar as really and truly as He
died on Calvary.   The Mass is said not only for
all those who assist at it in Church but for all those
who wish to hear it and offer it with the priests.
All we have to do is to say reverently Jesus.
Jesus with the intention of offering these Masses
and participating in them.   By doing this we have
a share in all of them.
It is a wonderful grace to assist at and to offer
one Mass;  what will it not be to offer and share in
500.000 Masses every day!
Therefore every time we say Jesus, let it
be our intention.
1. To offer to God all the infinite. love
and merits of the Incarnation.
2. To offer to God the Passion and Death
of Jesus Christ.
3. To offer to God all the 500.000
Masses being celebrated in the World
for His glory and our own intentions.
All that we have to do is to say the one word
Jesus but knowing what we are doing.

St Mechtilde was accustomed to offer the Passion
of Jesus in union with all the Masses of the
World for the souls in Purgatory.
Our Lord once showed her Purgatory open and
thousands of souls going up to Heaven as the
result of her little prayer.
When we say Jesus we can offer the Passion
and the Masses of the World either for ourselves
or for the souls in Purgatory or for any other
intention we please.
We should always. too, offer them for the World
at large and our own country in particular.

Posted in DEVOTIO, MORNING Prayers, The HOLY NAME

The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Part Twelve – 21 July

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the wonders of the holy name-day twelve-21 july

The Doctrine of the Holy Name contd:

The Incarnation
God became man for love of us but what does
it avail us if we do not understand this love.
God the Infinite, Immense, Eternal, all-powerful,
God, the mighty Creator, the God that fills Heaven
with His Majesty hid all His power, His Majesty,
His greatness and became a little child in order
to become like us and so to gain our love.
He entered into the pure womb of the Virgin
Mary and there lay hidden for nine whole months.
Then He was born in a stable between two
animals.   He was weak and defenseless like every
child.    He was poor and humble.   He passed 33
years working, suffering, praying, teaching His
beautiful Religion, working miracles, doing good
to all.   He did all this to prove His love for each
of us and so constrain us to love Him.
This stupendous act of love was so great that
not even the highest Angels in Heaven could
have conceived it possible had not God revealed
it to them.
It was so great that the Jews, God’s chosen
people, who were expecting a saviour were
scandalised at the thought that God could humble
Himself so much.
The Gentile Philosophers, notwithstanding their
vaunted wisdom, said that it was madness to think
that the Almighty God could do so much for love
of man.
St. Paul says that God exhausted all His power,
wisdom and goodness in becoming man for us,
“He emptied Himself out.”
Our Lord confirms the words of the Apostle for
He says: “What more could I do?”
All this God did not do for all men in general but
for each one of us in particular.   Think; think
of this.
Do you believe, do you understand. dear reader,
that God loves you so much, that He loves you
so intimately, so personally?   What a joy, what
a consolation if you really knew and felt that the
great God loves you – you so sincerely.
He has done still more for He has made over
to us all His infinite merits so that we can offer
them to the Eternal Father as often as we like, a
hundred, a thousand times a day.
And that is what we can do each time we
say Jesus, if only we remember what we are
saymg.
A Doctrine, you may have never heard it before?
But now at least that you know the infinite
wonders of the Name of Jesus say this Holy
Name constantly, say it devoutly.
And in future when you say Jesus remember that
you are offering to God all the infinite love and
merits of His Son.   You are offering Him His own
Divine Son, You cannot offer Him anything holier,
anything better, anything more pleasing to Him,
anything more meritorious for yourself .
How ungrateful are those Christians who never
thank God for all He has done for them.   Men
and women live 30, 50, 70 years and never think
of thanking God for all His wonderful love.
When you say the Name of Jesus remember, too,
to thank Our Sweet Lord for His Incarnation.
When He was on Earth He cured ten lepers of
their loathsome disease.   They were delighted and
went away full of joy and happiness but only one
came back to thank Him!   He was very hurt and
said: “Where are the other nine?”
Has He not much more reason to feel grieved
and hurt with you and me who thank Him so
little for all He has done for us in the Incarnation
and in His Passion.
St. Gertrude was wont to thank God often with
a little ejaculation for His goodness in becoming
man for her.   Our Lord appeared to her one day
and said:  “My dear Child every time you honour
my Incarnation with that little prayer I turn to
my Eternal Father and I offer all the merits of
the Incarnation for you and for all those who do
as you do”.
Shall we not then try to say often Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus sure of receiving a like wonderful grace.

Posted in MORNING Prayers, The HOLY NAME

The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Part Eleven – 20 July

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the wonders of the holy name-day ten-12 july

The Doctrine of the Holy Name:

We shall now explain the doctrine of the Holy
Name – the most important chapter in this booklet
– in order to show our readers whence comes
the power and the divine value of this Name and
how the Saints worked their wonders with it and
how we ourselves can obtain by its means every
grace and blessing.
You may ask, dear reader, how it is that one
word can work such prodigies?
I answer that with a word God made the World.
With His word He called out of nothing the Sun,
the Moon, the Stars, the high .Mountains and the
vast Oceans.   By His word He sustains the whole
Universe.
Does not the priest, too, in Holy Mass, work a
prodigy of prodigies, does He not transform the
little white host into the God of Heaven and
Earth by the words of Consecration and though
God alone can pardon sin, does not the priest also
in the confessional pardon the blackest sins and
the most awful crimes?
How? because God gives to His words this infinite
power.
So, too, God in His immense goodness gives to
each of us an all -powerful word with which
we can do wonders for Him, for ourselves and for
the World.   That word is Jesus.
Remember what St. Paul tells us about It.
That it is “a Name above all Names” and that:
“In the Name of Jesus every knee shall bend in
Heaven, on Earth and in Hell”.
But why?
Because Jesus signifies God-made-man – viz the
Incarnation.  When the Son of God became man
He was called Jesus so that when we say Jesus
we offer to the Eternal Father the infinite love,
the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, in a word, we
offer Him His own Divine Son Himself, we offer
Him the great mystery of the Incarnation.   Jesus
is the Incarnation.
How few Christians have any adequate idea of
this sublime mystery and yet it is the greatest
proof that God has given or could give us of His
personal love for us.   It is everything to us.

 

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DEVOTIO, MORNING Prayers, The HOLY NAME

The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Part Ten – 19 July

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the wonders of the holy name-day ten-17 july

The Saints and the Holy Name contd.

Blessed Gonzalo de Amarante:  reached a very
eminent degree of sanctity by the frequent repetition
of the Holy Name.

The Blessed Giles of Santarem:  felt so much
love and delight in saying the Holy Name that he
was raised in the air in ecstasy.
Those who repeat frequently the Name of Jesus
feel a great peace in their souls “that peace which
the World cannot give”, which God alone gives,
a peace “that surpasses all understanding”.

St Leonard of Portmaurlce:  cherished a tender
devotion to the Name of Jesus and in his continual
missions taught the people who thronged to
listen to him the wonders of the Holy Name.
This he did with such love that tears flowed from
his eyes and from the eyes of all who heard him.
He begged them to put a card with this Divine
Name on their doors.   This was attended with the
happiest results for many were thus saved from
sickness and disasters of various kinds.
One, unfortunately, was prevented from doing
so as a Jew who was part-owner of the house in
which he lived sternly refused to have the Name
of Jesus placed on the door.   His fellow lodger then
decided that he would write it on his windows,
which he accordingly did.   Some days after a
fierce fire broke out in the building which destroyed
all the appartments belonging to the Jew while
the rooms belonging to his Christian neighbour in
no wise suffered from the conflagration.
This fact was made public and increased a
hundred fold the faith and trust in the Holy Name
of Our Saviour.   In fact the whole city of Ferrajo
was a witness of this extraordinary protection.

St Edmund:  had special devotion to the Name
of Jesus which Our Lord Himself taught him.
One day when he was in the country and separated
from his companions a beautiful child stood
by him and asked: “Edmund do you not know
me?”   Edmund replied that he did not.    Then
replied the child:  “Look at me and you will see
who I am.”   Edmund looked as he was bidden
and saw written on the Child’s forehead:  “Jesus
of Nazareth. King of the Jews” “Know now who
I am” said the child “every night make the sign
of the cross and say these. words: “Jesus of Nazareth
King of the Jews.”   “If you do so this
prayer will deliver you and all who say it from
sudden and unprovided-for deaths.”
Edmund faithfully did as Our Lord told him.
The devil once tried to prevent him and held his
hands so that he could not make the holy sign.
Edmund invoked the Name of Jesus and the devil
fled in terror leaving him unmolested for the
future.
Many people practise this easy devotion and so
save themselves from unhappy deaths.   Others
with their forefinger imprint with holy water on
their foreheads the four letters I. N. R. I. to signify
Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judeorum. the words
written by Pilate for the cross of Our Lord.
St Alphonsus earnestly recommends both these
devotions.

St Frances of Rome:  enjoyed the extraordinary
privilege of constantly seeing and speaking to her
Angel Guardian.   When she pronounced the Name
of Jesus the Angel was radiant with happiness and
bent down in loving adoration.
Sometimes the devil dared to appear to her
seeking to frighten her and do her harm.   But
when she pronounced the Holy Name he was filled
with rage and hatred and fled in terror from her
presence.

St Jane of Chantal:  that most lovable friend
of St. Francis de Sales, had many beautiful devotions
taught her by this holy Doctor who acted
as her spiritual adviser for many years.   She so
loved the Name of Jesus that she actually wrote
it with a hot iron on her breast.

Blessed Henry Suso – had done the same with a pointed steel
rod.

We may not aspire to this holy daring, we may
with reason lack the courage of inscribing the
Holy Name on our breasts.   This needs a special
inspiration from God.   But we may follow the
example of another dear St B. Catherine of
Racconigi, a daughter of St. Dominic, who repeated
frequently and lovingly the Name of Jesus so
that after her death the Name of Jesus was found
engraved in letters of gold on her heart.   We
all can do as she did and thus the Name of Jesus
will be emblazoned on our souls for all Eternity
in sight of the Saints and Angels in Heaven.

St Gemma Galganl:   Almost in our own days this
dear girl Saint also had the privilege of frequent
and intimate converse with her Angel Guardian.
Sometimes the Angel and Gemma entered into a
holy contest as to which of them could say more
lovingly the Name of Jesus.

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DEVOTIO, MORNING Prayers, The HOLY NAME

The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Part Nine – 18 July

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the wonders of the holy name-day nine-18 july

The Saints and the Holy Name contd

St Francis of Asslsi:  that burning Seraph of
love found his delights in repeating the loved Name
of Jesus.   St. Bonaventure says that his face lit
up with joy and his voice showed by its tender
accents how much he loved to invoke this all-Holy
Name.
No ‘wonder then that he received on his hands
and feet and side the marks of the Five Wounds
of Our Lord, a reward of his burning love.

St Ignatius of Loyola:  was second to none in
his love for the Holy Name.   He gave to his great
Order not his own name but called it the Society
of Jesus.   This Divine Name has been, as it
were a shield and defence of the · Order against
its enemies and a guarantee of the holiness and
sanctity of its members.   Glorious, indeed is the
great Society of Jesus.  And now, our present Holy Father , too is a Jesuit.

St Francis de Sales:   has no hesitation in saying
that those who have the custom of repeating
the Holy Name frequently may feel certain of
dying a holy and happy death.
And, indeed, there can be no doubt of this
because every time we say Jesus we apply the
saving Blood of Jesus to our Souls, at the same
time we implore God, to do as He has promised,
granting us everything we ask in His Name.   All
who desire a holy death can secure it by repeating
the Name of Jesus.   Not only will this practice
obtain for us a holy death but it will lessen
notably our time in Purgatory and may very possibly
deliver us altogether from that dreadful fire.
Many saints spent their last days repeating
constantly Jesus, Jesus.
ALL the doctors of the Church agree in telling
us that the devil reserves his fiercest temptations
for our last moments and then he fills the minds
of the dying person with doubts, fears and
dreadful temptations in the hope of, at last,
carrying the unfortunate . soul to Hell.   Happy
those who in life have made sure of acquiring
the habit of calling on the Name of Jesus.
Facts like these we have just mentioned are to
be found in the 1ives of all the great servants of
God who became saints and reached the highest
degrees of sanctity by this simple and easy
means.
St Vincent Ferrer:  one of the most famous
preachers that the World has ever seen, converted
the most abandoned criminals and transformed
them into the most fervent Christians.   He converted
80000 Jews, and 70000 Moors, a prodigy
we read of in the life of no other saint.   He
worked an incredible number of miracles.  Three
miracles are demanded by the Church for the
canonisation of the saints, whereas in the bull of
canonisation of St. Vincent 873 are mentioned.
This great saint burned with love for the Name
of Jesus and with this Divine Name worked
extraordinary wonders. .
We, therefore, sinful as we are, can with this
Omnipotent Name obtain every favour and every
grace.   The weakest mortals become strong, the
most afflicted find in it consolation and joy.
Who then can be so foolish or negligent as not
to acquire the habit of repeating Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
constantly.   It robs us of no time, presents no
difficulty and is an infallible remedy for every evil.

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, MORNING Prayers, The HOLY NAME

The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Part Eight – 17 July

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the wonders of the holy name-day eight-17 july

The Saints and the Holy Name

St Augustine:
This great Doctor of the Church,
found his delights in repeating the Holy Name.
He himself tells us that he found much pleasure
in books which made frequent mention of this all-consoling
Name.
St Bernard – felt a wonderful joy and consolation
in repeating the Name of Jesus.   He felt it, as he
says, like honey in his mouth and a delicious
peace in his heart.   We, too, shall feel immense
consolation and peace steal into our souls if we
imitate St. Bernard and repeat frequently this
Holy Name.
St Dominic – spent his days preaching
and discussing with the heretics.   He always went on
foot from place to place as well in the oppressive
heats of the summer as in the cold and rain of
winter.   The Albigensian heretics whom he tried to
convert were more like demons let loose from Hell
than mortal men.   Their doctrine was infamous
and their crimes enormous.   Yet, as another St.
Paul, he converted 100.000 of these wicked men so
that many of them became eminent for sanctity.
Wearied at night with his labours he asked only
for one reward which was to pass the night before
the Blessed Sacrament pouring out his soul in love
for Jesus.   When his poor body could resist no
longer he leaned his head against the Altar and
rested a little, after which he began once more his
intimate converse with Jesus.   In the morning he
celebrated Mass with the ardour of a seraph so that
at times his body was raised in the air in an
ecstasy of love.   The Name of Jesus filled his soul
with joy and delight.
Blessed Jordan of Saxony –  who succeeded St
Dominic as Master General of the Order, was a
preacher of great renown.   His words went straight
to the heart of his hearers above all when he spoke
to them of Jesus.   Learned professors of the University cities came
with delight to hear him and so many of them be~
came Dominican friars that others feared to come,
lest they, too, should be induced to join his Order.
So many were drawn by his irresistible eloquence
that when his visit to a city was announced the Prior
of the convent bought at once a great quantity of
white cloth to make habits for those who were
sure to seek entrance to the Order.   Blessed Jordan
himself received one thousand postulants to the
habit among whom were the most eminent professors
of the European Universities.

Posted in The HOLY NAME

The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Part Seven – 16 July

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the wonders of the holy name-day seven-16 july

The Saints and the Holy Name:

All the Saints had an immense love for and
trust in the Name of Jesus. They saw in this
Name as in a clear vision all the love of Our Lord,
all His Power, all the beautiful things He said
and did when on Earth.
They did all their wonderful works in the Name
of Jesus. They worked miracles, cast out devils,
cured the sick and gave comfort to everyone using
and recommending to all the habit of invoking
the Holy Name.   St. Peter and the Apostles converted
the World with this all-powerful Name.
The Prince of the Apostles began his glorious
career preaching the love of Jesus to the Jews in
the streets, in the Temple, in their synagogues.
His first striking miracle occurred when he was
going into the Temple with St. John.    A lame man,
well known to the Jews who frequented the Temple
stretched out his hand expecting to receive an alms.
St. Peter said to him:  “Gold and silver I have not
but what I have I willingly give thee. In the
Name of Jesus get up and walk”. .
And instantly the lame man bounded to his
feet and danced for joy.
The Jews were astonished but the great Apostle
said to them:  “Why your wonder and surprise
as if we made this man sound by our
own power. No, it is by the power of Jesus that
this man walks”.
Innumerable times since the days of the Apostle
has the Name of Jesus been glorified.
We will quote a few of these countless examples
which show us how the Saints derived all their
strength and consolation from the Name of Jesus.

St Paul
St. Paul was in a very special way the preacher
and doctor of the Holy Name.   At first he was a
fierce persecutor of the Church, moved by a false
zeal and hatred for Christ.   Our Lord appeared
to him on the road to Damascus and converted
him, making him the great Apostle of the Gentiles
and giving him his glorious mission which was to
preach and make known His Holy Name to Princes
and Kings, to Jews and Gentiles, to all nations
and peoples.
St. Paul filled with a burning love for Our Lord
began his great mission uprooting paganism,
casting down the false idols, confounding the
Philosophers of Greece and Rome, fearing no enemies
and conquering all difficulties, all, all in the
Name of Jesus.
St. Thomas of Aquinas says of him:  “St Paul bore
the Name of Jesus on his forehead because he
gloried in proclaiming it to all men, he bore it on
his lips because he loved to invoke it, on his hands
for he loved to write it in his epistles, in his feet
because he carried it every where, in his heart for
his heart burned with love of it.   He tells us
himself:  “I live, yet not I but Christ liveth
in me”.

st paul bore the name of Jesus-st thomas aquinas

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, MORNING Prayers, The HOLY NAME

The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Part Six – 15 July

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the wonders of the holy name-day six-15 july

St Gregory of Tours relates that when he was
a boy his father fell gravely ill and lay dying.
Gregory prayed fervently for his recovery.   When
asleep at night Gregory’s Angel Guardian appeared
to him and told him t.o write the Name of Jesus
on a card and place this under the sick man’s
pillow.
In the morning he acquainted his mother with
the Angel’s message which she advised him to
obey.    He did so and placed the card under his
father’s head when, to the delight of the whole
family, the patient grew rapidly better.

We could fill pages and pages with the miracles
and wonders worked by the Holy Name at all
times and in all places not only by the Saints but by
all who invoke this Divine Name with reverence
and faith.
Marchese says “I refrain from relating here the
miracles worked and graces granted by Our Lord to
those who have been devout to His Holy Name,
because St. John Chrysostom reminds me that
Jesus is always named when miracles are worked
by holy men;  hence to attempt to enumerate them
would be to try to give a list of the countless
miracles which God has performed through all the
ages, either to increase the glory of His Saints
or to plant and strengthen the faith in the hearts
of men”.

Cards of the Holy Name.

The use of cards with the Holy Name inscribed
on them has been used and recommended by the
great lovers of the Holy Name such as Mgr. Andre
Dias (see page 6), St. Leonard of Portmaurice,
St. Gregory of Tours, above mentioned.
Our readers would do well to use the use cards,
carrying them about on their persons during the
day, putting them under their pillows at night and
placing them on the doors of all rooms.

Posted in MORNING Prayers, The HOLY NAME

The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Part Five – 14 July

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St. Alexander and the Pagan Philosophers.

During the reign of the Emperor Constantine,
the Christian Religion was constantly and rapidly
making progress.
In Constantinople itself the Pagan Philosophers
felt much aggrieved at seeing many of their adepts
deserting the old religion and joining the new.
They pleaded with the Emperor himself, demanding
that in justice they should get a hearing and
be allowed to hold a public conference with the
Bishop of the Christians.   Alexander, who at the
time ruled the See of Constantinople, was a holy
man but not a keen logician.
He did not, for that fear to meet the representative
of the pagan Philosophers who was an astute
dialectician and an eloquent orator.   On the
appointed day before a vast assembly of learned
men the Philosopher began a carefully prepared
attack on the Christian teaching.   The Holy
Bishop listened for some time and then pronounced
the Name of Jesus which at once confounded the
Philosopher who not only completely lost the
thread of his discourse but was utterly unable,
even with the aid of his colleagues, to return to
the attack.

St Christina
St Christina a young Christian girl was a slave
in Kurdistan, a region almost entirely pagan.
It was the custom in that country when a child
was gravely ill that the mother should take it in her
arms to the houses of her friends and ask them
if they knew of any remedy that might benefit or
cure the little one.   On one of these occasions a
mother brought her sick child to the boys where
Christina lived,
On being asked if she knew of a remedy for that
sickness she looked at the child and said:
“Jesus, Jesus”.
On the instant the dying child smiled and leapt
with joy.   It was completely cured.
This extraordinary fact became soon known and
reached the ears of the Queen who herself was an
invalid.   She gave orders that Christina should be
brought to her presence.
On arriving at the Palace the royal patient
asked her if she could with the same remedy cure
her disordet:  which had baffled the skill of the
physicians.   Once more Christina pronounced with
great confidence:  “Jesus, Jesus”. and again this
divine Name was glorified.   The Queen instantly
recovered her health.
A third wonder was yet to be worked.   Some
days after the cure of the Queen the King found
himself suddenly face to face with certain death.
Escape seemed impossible. Mindful of the divine
power of the Holy Name, which he had witnessed
in the cure of his wife, his Majesty called out
Jesus, Jesus. whereupon he was snatched from the
dreadful peril.   Calling in his turn for the little
slave he learned from her the truths of Christianity
which he and a great multitude of his people
embraced.
St. Christina became a saint and her feast is
kept 11 December 15th.

the wonders of the holy name-day five-12 july

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The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Part Four – 13 July

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the wonders of the holy name-day four-13 july

Genseric the Goth

In the reign of Genseric the Arian King of the
Goths one of his favourite courtiers, the Count of
Armogasto, was converted from Arianism and joined
the Catholic Church.
The King on hearing of the fact fell into a
violent fury and calling the young nobleman to
his presence tried by every means in his power to
induce him to recant and return to the Arian sect.
Neither threats nor promises availed.  The Count
refused all overtures and held fast to his new
found faith.   Genseric then gave vent to his fury
and ordered the young man to be bound with
strong cords as tightly as the brawny executioners
could draw them.   The torment was intense but
the victim showed no sign of pain.   He repeated
two, or three times, Jesus. Jesus. Jesus, and lo!
the cords snapped like spiders’ webs and fell at his
feet.
Enraged beyond measure the tyrant now commanded
that the sinews of oxen, hard and tough as
wire, should be brought.   The Count was again
bound and the king bade the executioners use
their utmost strength.   Once more their victim
invoked the Name of Jesus and the new thongs,
like the old, snapped like threads.  Genseric
foaming with rage ordered the martyr to be bound
by the feet and hung from the branches of a tree,
head downwards.
Smiling at this new mode of torture Count
Armogasto folded his arms on his bosom and
repeating the Holy Name fell , into a tranquil
sleep as though he were lying on a soft and
comfortable couch.

D. Melchior smiles at his tormentors.

We have another incident of a similar kind
narrated of the Chinese Martyr, the Venerable
Dominican Bishop, D Melchior.
In one of the many persecutions which raged in
China and which gave so many saints to the
Church, this holy Bishop was seized and, after
having undergone the most brutal torments, was
condemned to a cruel death.
He was dragged to the market place in the
midst of a howling mob who came to gloat over
his sufferings.
They stripped him of his garments and five executioners,
armed with rough-edged swords, proceeded
to chop off his fingers one by one, joint by
joint, then his arms, then his legs, causing him
excruciating agony. Finally they hacked the flesh
from his poor body and broke his bones.
During this prolonged martyrdom no sign of
pain was visible on the Bishop’s countenance.
He was smiling and saying aloud, slowly, Jesus.
Jesus. Jesus, which gave him this wonderful
strength to the amazement of his executioners.
Neither cry nor groan escaped from his lips until
finally after hours of torture he quietly breathed
his last, with the same lovely smile lingering on
his face.
What wonderful consolation would we too not
feel, when confined to bed with sickness, or racked
by pain if we repeated devoutly the Name of Je sus.
Many people find it hard to sleep.
They will find help and consolation by invoking
in these sleepless moments the Holy Name, and
very probably will fall back into a tranquil slumber.

 

 

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The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” Part Three – 12 July

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Parts One and Two – here:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/the-wonders-of-the-holy-name-fr-paul-osullivan-o-p-revealing-the-simplest-secret-ever-of-holiness-and-happiness/https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/category/the-holy-name/

the wonders of the holy name-day three-12 july

The Plague in Of Lisbon.
The City saved by the Holy Name.

A devastating plague broke out in Lisbon in
I432.    All who could do so fled in terror from the
city and thus carried the plague to every corner
of the entire country of Portugal.
Thousands of men, women and children, of all
classes, were swept away by the cruel sickness.
So virulent was the epidemic that men died everywhere,
at table, in the streets, in their houses, in
the shops, in the market places, in the Churches.    To
use the words of historians, it flashed like lightning
from man to man, or from a coat, a hat or
any garment that had been used by the plague
stricken.   Priests, doctors and nurses were carried
off in such numbers that the bodies of many lay
unburied in the streets so that the dogs licked up
the blood and ate the flesh of the dead, becoming
as a result infested with the dread disease and
spreading it still more widely among the unfortunate
people.
Among those who assisted the dying with
unflagging zeal was a venerable Bishop, Monsignor
Andre ‘ Dias who lived in the Convent of St. Dominic.
This holy man seeing that the epidemic,
far from diminishing, grew every day in intensity
and, despairing of human help, urged the
unhappy people to call on the Holy Name of
Jesus.   He was seen wherever the disease
was fiercest, urging, imploring the sick and the
dying as well as those who had not as yet been
stricken down, to repeat Jesus. Jesus.   “Write it
on cards”, he said, “and keep those cards on your
persons, place them at night under your pillows,
place them on your doors but above all constantly
invoke with your lips and in your hearts this most
powerful Name”.
He went about as an Angel of peace filling the
sick and the dying with courage and confidence.
The poor sufferers felt within them a new life and,
calling on Jesus, they wore the cards on their
breasts or carried them in their pockets.
Then summoning them to the great Church of St.
Dominic he once more spoke to them of the power
of the Name of Jesus, blessed wafer in the same
Holy Name, ordering all the people to sprinkle themselves
with it and sprinkle it on the faces of the sick
and dying.   ‘Wonder of wonders! the sick got well,
the dying arose from their agonies, the plague
ceased and the city was delivered in a few days from
the most awful scourge that had ever visited it.
The news spread to the whole country and all
began to call, with one accord, on the Name of
J esus.    In an incredibly short time all Portugal
was freed from the dread sickness.
The grateful people, mindful of the marvels they
had witnessed, continued their love and confidence
in the Name of our Saviour, so that in all their
troubles, in all dangers, when evils of any kind
threatened them they invoked the Name of Jesus.
Confraternities were formed in the Churches, processions
of the Holy Name were made monthly,
altars were raised in honour of this blessed Name,
so that the greatest curse that had ever fallen upon
the country was transformed into the greatest
blessing.
For long centuries this great confidence in the
Name of Jesus continued in Portugal and thence
spread to Spain, to France, and to the whole World.

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The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.” – PART TWO – 11 July

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Part One – here:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/the-wonders-of-the-holy-name-fr-paul-osullivan-o-p-revealing-the-simplest-secret-ever-of-holiness-and-happiness/

the wonders of the holy name-day two-11 july

What must we do?

St. Paul tells us that we must do all we do
whether in word or work in the Name of Jesus.
“Whether you eat or whether you drink or
whatever else you do, do all in the Name of our
Lord Jesus Christ”.
In this way every act becomes an act of love
and of merit and moreover we receive grace and
help to do all our actions perfectly.
We must therefore do our best to form the
habit of saying Jesus, Jesus, Jesus very often
every day.   We can do so when dressing, when
working – no matter what we are doing – when
walking, in moments of sadness, at home and in
the street, everywhere.
Nothing is easier if only we do it methodically.
We can say it countless times every day.
Bear in mind that each time we say Jesus 1) we
give God great glory, 2) we receive great graces
for-ourselves 3) and we help the souls in Purgatory.
We shall now quote a few examples to show
the power of the Holy Name.

The World in Danger – Saved by the Holy Name.

In the year 1274 great evils threatened the World.
The Church was assailed by fierce enemies from
within and without.   So great was the danger
that the Pope Gregory X, who then reigned called
a Council of Bishops in Lyons to determine on the
best means of saving society from the ruin that
menaced it.   Among the many means proposed
the Pope and Bishops chose what they considered
the easiest and most efficacious of all,
viz. the frequent repetition of the Holy Name of
Jesus.
The Holy Father then begged the Bishops of
the World and their priests, to call on the Name
of Jesus and to urge their peoples to place all their
confidence in this all-powerful Name, repeating
it constantly with boundless trust.   The Pope
entrusted the Dominicans especially with the
glorious task of preaching the wonders of the
Holy Name in every country, a work they accomplished
with unbounded zeal.
Their Franciscan brothers ably seconded them.
St Bernardine of Siena and St. Leonard of PortMaurice
were ardent Apostles of the Name of
Jesus.
Their efforts were crowned with success so
that the enemies of the Church were overthrown,
the dangers that threatened society disappeared
and peace once more reigned supreme.
This is a most important lesson for us because
in these our own days dreadful sufferings are
crushing many countries and still greater evils
threaten all the others.
No government, or governments seem strong
and wise enough to stem this awful torrent of
evils.   There is but one remedy and that is prayer.
Every Christian must turn to God and ask Him
to have mercy on us.   The easiest of all prayers,
as we have seen, is the Name of Jesus.
Everyone without exception can invoke this
Holy Name hundreds of times a day, not only
for bis own intentions, but also to ask God to
deliver the World from impending ruin.
It is amazing what one person who prays can
do to save his country and save society.   We
read in Holy Scripture how Moses saved by his
prayer the people of Israel from destruction, how
one pious woman, Judith of Betulia, saved her city
and her people when the rulers were in despair
and about to surrender themselves to their enemies.
Again we know that the two cities of Sodom
and Gomorrha, which God destroyed by fire for
their sins and crimes, would have been pardoned
had there been only ten good men to pray for
them!
Over and over again we read of kings, emperors,
statesmen and famous military commanders who
placed all their trust in prayer thus working
wonders.   If the prayers of one man can do much
what will not the prayers of many do?
The Name of Jesus is the shortest, the easiest
and the most powerful of prayers.   Everyone can
say it even in the midst of his daily work.   God
cannot refuse to hear it.
Let us then invoke the Name of Jesus, asking
Him to save us from the calamities that threaten us.

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DEVOTIO, MORNING Prayers, The HOLY NAME

The Wonders of the Holy Name – Fr Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. – “Revealing the Simplest Secret Ever of Holiness and Happiness.”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

You will remember a while ago I posted the entire book by Fr Paul O’Sullivan “How to Avoid Purgatory” – you will find the entire Booklet in chapters here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/category/purgatory/

Again I wish to share one of Fr Paul’s wonderful booklets which are such amazing works to grow our faith and inspire our daily lives.  The byline states “revealing the simplest secret ever of holiness and happiness.”  Although January is the Month of the Holy Name – we can never learn this devotion too soon, by January we will be totally ready to give praise, honour and glory to His Name!

 

We have been hearing and have been repeating
from childhood the Holy Name of Jesus, but alas!
many, very many have no adequate idea of the
great wonders of this Holy Name.
What do you know, dear reader, about the Name
of Jesus?  You know that it is a holy name and
that you must bow your head reverently when
you say it.   That is very little.   It is as if you
looked at a closed book and merely glanced at
the title on the cover.   You know nothing of all
the beautiful thoughts in the book itself.

BOW YOUR HEAD!
Even so when you pronounce the Name of Jesus
you know very little of the treasures hidden in it.
This Divine Name is in truth a mine of riches,
it is the fount of the highest holiness and the
secret of the greatest happiness that a man can
hope to enjoy on this Earth.   Read and see.
Devotion to the Holy Name is so easy that
everyone without exception can practice it.   It
demands no time so that the busiest man can
repeat it countless times.
It is so powerful, so certain that it never fails
to produce in our souls the most wonderful results.
It consoles the saddest heart and makes the
weakest sinner strong.   It obtains for us all kinds
of favours and graces, spiritual and temporal.
Two things we must do:  First of all we must
understand clearly the meaning and value of the
Name of Jesus.
Secondly we must get into the habit of saying
it frequently, hundreds and hundreds of times
every day.   Far from being a burden it will be
an immense joy and consolation.

What does the Name of Jesus mean

The Holy Name of Jesus is, first of all, an
all-powerful prayer.   Our Lord Himself solemnly
promises that whatever we ask the Father in His
Name we shall receive.   God never fails to keep
His word.
When, therefore, we say Jesus let us ask God for
all we need with absolute confidence of being heard.
For this reason the Church ends her prayers
with the words:  “Through Jesus Christ” which
gives the prayer a new and divine efficacy.
But the Holy Name is something still greater.
Each time we say Jesus we give God infinite
joy and glory for we offer Him all the infinite
merits of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ.
St Paul tells us that Jesus merited the Name
Jesus by His Passion and Death.
Each time we say Jesus let us clearly wish to
offer God all the Masses being said all over the
World for all our intentions.   We thus share in
these thousands of Masses.
Each time we say Jesus we gain 30O days
indulgence which we may apply to the souls in
Purgatory, thus relieving and liberating very many
of these holy souls from their awful pains.   They
thus become our best friends and pray for us
with incredible fervour.
Each time we say Jesus, it is an act of perfect
love for we offer to God the infinite love of Jesus.

The Holy Name of Jesus saves us from innumerable
evils and delivers us especially from
the power of the devil who is constantly seeking
to do us harm.

The Name of Jesus gradually fills our souls
with a peace and a joy we never had before.

The Name of Jesus gives us such strength that
our sufferings become light and easy to bear.

What must we do? – coming tomorrow………………..